Investigation of Seroprevalence of Maedi-Visna and Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis in Sheep and Goats in Siirt Province

Abstract

Maedi-visna (MV) and Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis (CAE) are economically important viral diseases that infectsheep and goats. The aim of this study is to determine the seroprevalence of MVV and CAEV on sheep and goats raised inSiirt region by using the ELISA method. Blood samples were collected to non-anticoagulant tubes from the jugular veins of apopulation of 465 small ruminants consisting of 182 sheep and 283 goats selected from different districts of Siirt Province.The samples were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 3000 rpm and the serum were transferred to Eppendorf tubes, which werestored at -20°C until further analysis. Commercial kits (IDEXX MVV / CAEV p28 Ab screening, IDEXX, USA) were used for thedetection of Anti-MVV/CAEV antibodies. All samples were found to be seronegative in terms of Anti-MVV/CAEV antibodies.As a result of this study conducted in the Siirt province, MVV and CAEV infections were not detected in the studied population.Given that the infections exist with varying seroprevalence levels in different regions of Turkey, however, it might beworthwhile to investigate the infection status in Siirt province by including larger herds in future studies.