Serological studies of two additional Australian blue-tongue virus isolates CSIRO 154 and CSIRO 156

Serological surveys revealed that some cattle in northern Australia possessed bluetongue virus (BTV) group-reactive (agar gel diffusion precipitin, AGDP, and complement-fixing, CF) antibodies, but not serum neutralizing (SN) antibodies, to BTV20, a new type previously found in Australia. Attempts were made during 1979 to isolate viruses causing these reactions. There was one isolate of a virus (CSIRO 154) and eight isolates of another virus (CSIRO 156) made from the blood of healthy cattle in the Northern Territory. These viruses could not be distinguished from BTV20 by AGDP, CF or fluorescent-abtibody tests and hence were designated members of the bluetongue serogroup. Serotyping was carried out using the plaque-inhibition and plaque-reduction SN tests. CSIRO 156 virus could not be distinguished from BTV1 by any of the SN tests and it was concluded that it was an Australian isolate of the BTV1 serotype. CSIRO 154 virus was found to be related to, but not identical with, BTV6. It is probably not one of the known 20 BTV serotypes and may represent a new BTV serotype. None of the three Australian BTV isolates is known to cause clinical disease in sheep or cattle under natural conditions, and biochemical comparisons with the African BTV serotypes may show differences not revealed by these serological studies.