The Investigation of Pestivirus and Rift Valley Fever Virus Infections in Aborted Ruminant Foetuses in the Blacksea Region in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, aborted foetuses (cattle, sheep and goat) in either coastal or inland Blacksea region of Turkey were surveyed for the presence of nucleic acids from pestiviruses (bovine viral diarrhoea virus-BVDV, border disease virus-BDV) and rift valley fever virus (RVFV) by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-PCR). Pestivirus nucleic acids were found in 39 of 53 aborted calves (73.6%), in 34 of 37 aborted lambs (91.9%) and in 2 of 2 aborted kids (100%) by RT-PCR. In addition RVFV has been investigated in the same foetuses, however RVFV nucleic acid has not been confirmed in any samples.