Louping Ill
Revision as of 09:08, 21 October 2008 by Bepocock (talk | contribs) (New page: {{unfinished}} {{toplink |linkpage =Viruses |linktext =VIRUSES |sublink1=Flaviviridae |subtext1=FLAVIVIRIDAE |pagetype =Bugs }} <br> ====Hosts==== *Sheep *Grouse *Hares *Deer elk *Small...)
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Hosts
- Sheep
- Grouse
- Hares
- Deer elk
- Small rodents
- Ticks (eg. Ixodes ricinus)
- Man
Pathogenesis
- First phase:
- Pyrexia with virus in macrophages
- Recovery
- Second phase:
- Second replication in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and motor nuclei of the brain stem
- Trembling, torticollis, and irregular gait
- In grouse: starvation
- In man: flu-like symptoms can be followed by coma, but recovery normal
Epidemiology
- Reservoir host: Ticks (Ixodes ricinus)
- Passed to host by saliva
- Virus can be spread between ticks when co-feeding on small rodents
- Spread mirrors seasonal tick activity
Diagnosis
- Clinical signs
- PM: virus isolation and histopathology of brain tissue
Control
- Sheep dipping in acaracides (vector control)
- Inactivated vaccines in late pregnancy can boost maternal antibody
- Lambs inoculated >4 months of age
- Human vaccination where at risk