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==Description==
==Description==
Bluetongue is a non-contagious, arthropod-borne disease of ruminants, caused by bluetongue virus (BTV). The clinical severity of disease is variable, but is characterised by inflammation of mucous membranes, haemorrhages and oedema<sup>1</sup>. Although cattle are the main reservoir of infection, sheep are more severely affected and often suffer a cyanotic tongue, lending the disease its name. The virus has been isolated from hosts and vectors on all continents(excluding Antartica)<sup>2</sup>, despite being initially recognised in Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries<sup>3</sup>. Originally thought to be a disease of tropical and sub-tropical regions, bluetongue has shown a propensity to become established in temperate areas, and in recent years has spread North, through the Mediterranean Basin, to become endemic in many European countries including the UK. Although BTV's transmission and epidemiology is dependent on insect vectors, bluetongue greatly influences the global trade of ruminants as it is included on the Office International des Epizooties List A of animal diseases<sup>4</sup>.
Bluetongue is a non-contagious, arthropod-borne disease of ruminants, caused by bluetongue virus (BTV). The clinical severity of disease is variable, but is characterised by inflammation of mucous membranes, haemorrhages and oedema<sup>1</sup>. Although cattle are the main reservoir of infection, sheep are more severely affected and can suffer a cyanotic tongue, lending the disease its name. The virus has been isolated from hosts and vectors on all continents(excluding Antartica)<sup>2</sup>, despite being initially recognised in Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries<sup>3</sup>. Originally thought to be a disease of tropical and sub-tropical regions, bluetongue has shown a propensity to become established in temperate areas, and in recent years has spread North, through the Mediterranean Basin, to become endemic in many European countries including the UK. Although BTV's transmission and epidemiology is dependent on insect vectors, bluetongue greatly influences the global trade of ruminants as it is included on the Office International des Epizooties List A of animal diseases<sup>4</sup>.
==Aetiology==
==Aetiology==