A multistate surveillance project was conducted as a test of methods for determining bluetongue disease presence or absence based on antibodies in cattle and vector populations. The presence or absence of the bluetongue virus vector, Culicoides sonorensis, was assessed on 74 cattle operations across Nebraska, South, and North Dakota. Black light suction traps were operated at potential larval habitats, such as stock ponds, over-flowing water tanks, small streams and manure lagoons, for two nights over each of two consecutive weeks. The results indicate that C. sonorensis is widespread across Nebraska, present throughout western South Dakota, but absent in eastern South Dakota. In North Dakota, C. sonorensis was common only in far western counties, with sporadic presence in the central region. An analysis of biotic and abiotic factors associated with the distribution of C. sonorensis using geographic infomation system methods also will be presented.
Species 1: Diptera Ceratopogonidae Culicoides sonorensis (biting midge)
Keywords: cattle disease, arbovirus
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