Application of real-time reverse transcription PCR for the detecton of bluetongue virus

Real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) for the detection of bluetongue virus (BTV) in EDTA treated blood samples taken from BTV infected animals was described. A combination of two primer sets (representing eastern and western BTV serotypes) and two Taqman probes specific for a highly conserved region in BTV RNA segment 1 were used. The assay detected the viral RNA in blood samples collected from seropositive cattle imported to Poland from Germany at the end of 2007. No BTV RNA was detectable in samples from uninfected sheep. The rRT-PCR can provide quantitative as well as qualitative information and is more sensitive and much faster to perform than the conventional RT-PCR. It can be used in large-scale screening, because of its ability to simultaneous analysis up to 96 samples per run. The applied rRT-PCR is an accurate and reliable technique for the detection of BTV in blood samples.