biology

Wesselsbron virus

Wesselsbron virus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wesselsbron virus rather than just read about it. In short: Wesselsbron (WSL) virus is an arthropod-borne virus in the genus Orthoflavivirus of the family Flaviviridae that causes Wesselsbron disease in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, donkeys, horses, ostriches, and wild ruminants with occasional incidental spillover to humans. It is transmitted by mosquitoes in the genus Aedes including A. caballus and A. circumluteolus.

Key takeaways

Wesselsbron virus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wesselsbron virus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wesselsbron virus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wesselsbron (WSL) virus is an arthropod-borne virus in the genus Orthoflavivirus of the family Flaviviridae that causes Wesselsbron disease in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, donkeys, horses, ostriches, and wild ruminants with occasional incidental spillover to humans. It is transmitted by mosquitoes in the genus Aedes including A. caballus and A. circumluteolus.

History The first known outbreak was reported in 1955 on a sheep farm in the town of Wesselsbrons in Orange Free State Province, South Africa after an increase of lamb deaths and ewe abortions. Since the flock had been vaccinated 2 weeks before for protection against the Rift Valley virus, the possibility of a "new" disease was not put into consideration; the vaccine was assumed to be the culprit. Although they both share similarities, the WSL virus was isolated as distinct from the Rift Valley virus after the examination of a dead lamb's liver and brain.

Geographical Distribution Since 1955, WSL virus has been found in animals and mosquitos from Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Senegal, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. Serologic evidence has also shown the virus to be present in Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and Madagascar. Outside of Africa, WSL virus has been found in Thailand.

Effect on Sheep Although it can infect a wide variety of animals, WSL virus is most commonly found in sheep. In newborn lambs, death may occur within 72 hours following an incubation period of 1–3 days. Signs of illness, which include but are not limited to fever, anorexia, listlessness, weakness, and increased respiration, can often go undetected because they are not specific to any disease. Pregnant ewes generally suffer from abortions, but rams and non-pregnant ewes usually only develop a fever. There is no specific treatment for the virus, but sheep can be immunized with an attenuated vaccine that lasts a lifetime.

Human Cases Most documented human infections have been acquired by field workers bitten by mosquitoes or in the laboratory. Person-to-Person transmission of the virus has yet to be reported, so it is not considered to be contagious in humans. The WSL virus has an incubation period of 2–4 days before leading to a sudden onset of a generally mild, acute phase that includes fever, rigors, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, and impaired vision.

References

External links Media related to Wesselsbron virus at Wikimedia Commons

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wesselsbron virus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wesselsbron virus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wesselsbron virus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wesselsbron virus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wesselsbron virus

In research: Wesselsbron virus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wesselsbron virus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wesselsbron virus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bovine diseases, Flaviviruses, Sheep and goat diseases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wesselsbron virus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Wesselsbron virus” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Wesselsbron virus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wesselsbron virus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wesselsbron virus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wesselsbron virus in simple terms?

Why does Wesselsbron virus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wesselsbron virus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wesselsbron virus.