Bluetongue Virus in Cervids in Piedmont During the 2024-2025 Outbreak.

Abstract

The mid-end of 2024 witnessed a significant outbreak of bluetongue virus (BTV) in the Piedmont region of Italy, affecting a wide range of species including domestic ruminants and wild cervids. From the beginning of August 2024 to the end of March 2025, 1081 samples were confirmed positive for BTV, of which 1066 were from routinely monitored domestic species (632 from sheep, 405 from cattle, 23 from goats, one from a camel, four from alpacas and one from yak across 687 outbreak sites), while 15 were collected from cervids. This report focuses on the identification of the 15 cases of BTV in red deer and fallow deer during this outbreak; all animals were harvested throughout hunting sessions, and spleen samples were analysed to detect the virus by real-time RT-PCR. The study describes the detection of BTV-8 in wild ruminants, in Piedmont, amid the 2024 outbreak and explores the broader implications of BTV transmission dynamics in wildlife populations together with its potential impact on livestock. Continued surveillance in both wildlife and domestic species along with a more integrated approach to managing BTV outbreaks will be essential in the future.