Studies on herpesvirus infections of goats in Turkey : prevalence of antibodies to bovine herpesvirus 1

Abstract

This study was planed to achieve serological evidence and prevalence of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) infection in goat flocks in Turkey. A total of 615 adult goats located in 5 different provinces were sampled for serological examinations. Out of 615, 34 (5.52%) were detected as to be positive for neutralising antibodies against BHV-1 using micro-neutralisation assay. Prevalence of the infection was monitored varying between 2% to 31.57% according to provinces. By discussing the results of this study together with the previous data on BHV-1 in cattle, it was concluded that infection of goats with BHV-1 should take into consideration for successful control of the disease in Turkey. It is concluded that latently infected goats can introduce the infection to the virus-free cattle populations.