20th October 2007
Scientists within the Institute for Animal Health’s Arbovirology* Department, based at Pirbright Laboratory, have intensified their midge-catching operation in the wake of the outbreak of bluetongue in Suffolk in September 2007.
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Bluetongue virus is spread only by biting Culicoides midges. When a midge takes a blood meal from an infected animal it too becomes infected. The virus grows within the midge, which then spreads the virus to another animal when it takes a further blood meal. The scientists want to know:
- How many Culicoides midges are active
- Which species of midge are present
- What proportion of the midges are infected with the virus
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This information will help to assess the risk of spread of the disease to various regions of the UK.
Midge-catching device
The device is called a light trap as it contains a 12 volt UV tube. This light attracts a wider variety of Culicoides midges than plain white light. The trap also has a computer fan at the bottom that sucks air through the netting and brings in any insect that flies past, as long as they are small enough to fit through the mesh. A small mesh size is used so as to exclude large insects that are irrelevant to the spread of bluetongue virus. The insects are collected into a beaker of water at the bottom of the trap.
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*The Arbovirology Department is so-called because the scientists within it study arthropod-borne diseases, where arthropods are creatures with a segmented body with appendages on each segment e.g. insects.
For more information about the outbreaks of bluetongue virus serotype 8 in northern Europe see
especially Bluetongue.
To speak with our bluetongue experts, contact:
Dr Dave Cavanagh at the Institute for Animal Health’s press office:
mobile 07789 941568 (message can be recorded);
office 01635 577241 (message can be recorded);
email dave.cavanagh@bbsrc.ac.uk.