Yılmaz Akça

Prevalence, Distribution, and Host Range of Peste des petits ruminants virus, Turkey

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV, genus Morbillivirus), which causes a severe disease in sheep and goats, has only recently been officially declared to be present in Turkey. We carried out a study to determine the prevalence, distribution, and host range of PPRV in Turkey. A total of 1,607 animals, reared in 18 different locations, were monitored for the presence of antibodies to PPRV and the related virus of large ruminants, Rinderpest virus (RPV). Only two farms had animals that were free of antibody responses to either disease. Prevalence for PPRV infection varied (range 0.87%–82.6%) and was higher in sheep (29.2%) than in goats (20%). The overall antibody responses to PPRV and RPV were 22.4% and 6.28%, respectively. Two PPRVs of lineage 4, which comprises many other PPRVs whose origins are in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia, were isolated from Turkish sheep.

Molecular characterization of Bovine virus diarrhea viruses species 2 (BVDV-2) from cattle in Turkey

Five BVDV species 2 (BVDV-2) isolates were detected from cattle in Turkey. Phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and E2 coding gene regions, respectively. The isolates were closely related to BVDV-2a strains from North America and Canada used as references. This is the first report of the detection of BVDV-2 in naturally infected Turkish cattle. It is important to consider BVDV-2 for planning future BVDV control and vaccination programs in Turkey.

A report on bovine ephemeral fever virus in Turkey: antigenic variations of different strains of EFV in the 1985 and 2012 outbreaks using partial glycoprotein gene sequences.

We described the aetiological agents of outbreaks of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) that occurred in 1985 and 2012 in Turkey, and identify mutations in the viruses from both outbreaks. Outbreaks have emerged periodically every 4-5 years in the same regions in Turkey. Because these regions are located in a subtropical climatic zone, good conditions for vector populations exist. The results of this study show that the BEFVs from outbreaks in Turkey vary significantly. Effective prevention will require a vaccine that contains BEFVs from different genetic clusters.

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus antibodies in Turkey

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) virus is an arthropod borne orbivirus related to bluetongue virus. The virus is not reported to cause disease in domestic animals, but often causes a fatal disease in white tailed deer in North America with clinical signs similar to bluetongue in sheep. However, within the EHD virus group of orbiviruses is also Ibaraki disease virus which in cattle causes oedema and haemorrhages of the nasal and oral mucous membranes and lameness. EHD virus has been isolated from Canada, North America, Nigeria and Australia, and Ibaraki disease virus is present in Japan and the Far East. It is likely that these viruses have a far wider distribution which awaits more systematic investigation. Sera were collected from 12 locations in southern Turkey, from cattle (11 locations) and sheep (4 locations) of mixed ages and breed. Soluble antigen was prepared from EHD 1 virus (New Jersey) and EHD 2 virus (Alberta) grown in BHK cells according to the method of LeFevre and Taylor (1983). The agar gel immuno-diffusion (AGID) test was carried out on glass microscope slides using the recommended procedure for bluetongue antibody detection, with a rosette of six wells surrounding a central well (LeFevre and Taylor, 1983). A control type specific positive serum was placed in the first and fourth well of the rosette. Test sera were placed in the remaining four wells and soluble EHD antigen was added to the central well. Each test was repeated using BHK cell antigen in the central well in place of the EHD virus antigen. The results are listed in Table I and indicate a low prevalence of animals with antibody to EHD virus. Taylor and Gumm (1985) showed that there was some cross-activity between antibody to the different serotypes of EHD virus; however, they found no cross-reactivity between the EHD 1 and 2 virus antigens used in this study and antibody to bluetongue virus. They did not consider that the AGID test was a suitable group specific test for EHD virus as it failed to detect antibodies to all EHD serotypes. The use of the two EHD antigens in this study does broaden the spectrum of cross-reactivity, but if neither E HD 1 or 2 viruses are responsible for the detected antibodies, the test may only be detecting high levels of heterologous activity and therefore be a considerable underestimation of the prevalence of EHD virus in southern Turkey. It is known that there are at least eight serotypes of EHD virus, three of Ibaraki disease virus and a number of other closely related viruses within the EHD group which cross-react to a variable degree on the AGID test. It is probable that these EHD virus antibodies detected in Turkey indicate the presence of an additional serotype. This cannot be established until the virus causing these antibodies has been isolated. Ibaraki disease and EHD have not been reported in Turkey but bluetongue virus is widely distributed in southern Turkey and the Middle East (Taylor, Sellers, Gumm, Herniman and Owen, 1985). Like bluetongue, E HD virus is transmitted by Culicoides midges, and the demonstration in this paper of

Diagnosis and phylogenetic analysis of orf virus in Aleppo and Saanen goats from an outbreak in Turkey

Dear Editor,The Poxviridae family is divided into Chordopoxvirinae and Entomopoxvirinae genera.Parapoxvirus is one of 11genera in the Chordopoxvirinae genus,including orf virus(ORFV),bovine papular stomatitis virus(BPSV),pseudocowpox virus(PCPV)and parapoxvirus of red deer in New Zealand(PVNZ)(Skinner et al.,2012).This virus,also known as contagious ecthyma or contagious pustular dermatitis,is a viral skin disease causing edematous proliferative lesions,most often in hairless skin

Koyunlarda doğum öncesi ve sonrası dönemlerde bovine viral

Dokuz farkli kamu isletmesinde 3 yil sure ile yurutulen bu calismada, koyunlarda transplasental pestivirus enfeksiyonlarininsonuclari ve patogenezi arastirildi. Bu amacla koc katim tarihleri dikkate alinarak, 174 adedi gebeliginin 2-3. aylarinda ve dogumyaptiklari gun, 487 adedi yalnizca dogum yaptiklari gun olmak uzere toplam 661 koyundan ve 29 kocdan kan orneklendi. Ayrica109 adedi ikiz dogum yapan sozkonusu toplam 661 koyunun dogurdugu 770 kuzudan da prekolostral kan ornegi saglandi.Kan orneklerinin pestivirus antijeni yonunden kontrolu sonucunda, materyal saglanan koyunlarda persiste pestivirus enfeksiyonusaptanmadi. Buna karsin kuzularin prekolostral kan orneklerinde antikor tespitine dayanilarak, gebeligin gec doneminde olusantransplasental enfeksiyonlar belirlendi.