Serological Investigation of Bluetongue Virus Infection by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) in Sheep in Konya Region

Abstract

This work was financially supported by the Selcuk University Scientific Research Projects Coordinator ship (Project number: 08201028). This article has also been extracted from MS thesis of Gulsen YIGIT Abstract Of ovine breeding has a special importance in Turkey's economy. In this sector to date, there have been major problems from production to consumption. Among these, animal husbandry and disease problems have always been up to date. Some of the most important factors that negatively affect sheep breeding are the decrease in yield characteristics, medical inputs for treatment, and diseases caused by viruses that can cause significant economic losses resulting in mortality in animals. Blue Tongue virus infection also causes great economic losses in sheep, cattle and goats. In this study, blood samples were collected from clinically healthy not vaccinated 460 sheep by random sampling method in some closed livestock model applied in and around Konya. The presence of blue tongue virus antibodies in the prepared sheep blood sera was investigated by competitive ELISA(c-ELISA) technique. All samples were run in duplicate, with known positive and negative controls included in each test plate. The optical density (OD) of each plate well was determined at 620 nm wavelength. As a result of the study, 46 (10%) of 460 sheep sera had BTV-specific antibodies. The study is important in terms of revealing the seroprevalence of the infection investigated by c-ELISA in blood serum taken from sheep in and around Konya.

Keywords: Bluetongue virus (BTV), Sheep, Serology, c-ELISA.

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/5-7-04