Traditionally, successful orbivirus identification and characterisation has been dependent upon the development and application of techniques for virus isolation. In recent years however polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular detection systems have revolutionised medical infectious disease diagnosis and in some instances have removed the requirement to isolate pathogens for confirmation of clinical diagnoses. In multiplexing formats, PCR-based methods also have the capacity to detect novel pathogens and variants of existing pathogens. Detection and characterisation of veterinary pathogens such as bluetongue virus will follow the same evolutionary path. Work is underway in a number of laboratories to develop the infrastructure and databases required to permit the use of DNA-based molecular systems for orbivirus detection and characterisation. Novel multiplexed protein analysis platforms also offer opportunities to not only enhance the speed and sensitivity of serological assays but also permit the development of serological procedures that a few years ago were not technically feasible.