Insight on Bluetongue virus transmission in small ruminants in Senegal

•We assess the current prevalence of Bluetongue in small ruminants and serotypes circulating in Senegal.•Through a cross-sectional study, the sampling collected were screened to the presence of BTV by serological and molecular analyses.•The Bluetongue virus is widely distributed among sheep and goats in Northern and Southeastern part of Senegal and BTV serotype 2 was found in Fatick, southwest region of the northern outcrop in Senegal.•Age and Sex were the risk factors associated to Bluetongue virus transmission in Senegal. Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious, arthropod-borne viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants. The disease causes animal mortality, production decrease and commercial limits for herds. Despite the active circulation of the disease in the world, few studies have been carried out in Senegal. The objective of this study was to assess the current prevalence of BT in small ruminants and the serotypes circulating in Senegal. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the fourteen regions of Senegal. After the sampling campaign, sera collected in sheep and goats herds were screened for the presence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) specific antibodies using c-Elisa. The whole blood of seropositive animals was further analyzed by RT-qPCR and positive samples were typed to identify BTV serotypes. Analysis of several risk factors such as age, sex and species of animals was performed using logistic regression. The overall seroprevalence of BTV in Senegal was 72.6% (95% CI: 70.3–74.9%) with 75.9% (95% CI: 72.2–79.5%) in goat and 70.6% (95% CI: 67.5–73.6%) in sheep. Female (prevalence=77.1%) and adult (prevalence=80%) animals showed the highest seropositivity to BTV compared respectively to male (55.7%, p=6.133e-09) and young (49.4%, p