Molecular investigation of most important viruses causing abortion in small ruminants: the importance of akabane virus

Objective. This study was aimed to investigate the presence of pestivirus, schmallenberg virus (SBV), akabane virus (AKAV), and determined the seasonal distribution in small ruminant abortion cases Materials and Methods. A total of 164 small ruminant aborted fetuses (39 goats and 125 sheep) were investigated in West Turkey between the years of 2015 and 2019. While the SBV and pestivirus were examined with real-time RT-PCR, the AKAV was examined with nested-PCR. Results. In this study, while four sheep (2.3%) were found to be pestivirus positive, nine sheep and one goat (5.9%) were found to be AKAV positive. SBV was detected in none of the animals. According to the results of the studies carried out, AKAV, a vector-borne virus, was detected more than other viruses in sheep and goat abortions in West Turkey. A positive akabane virus sample detected in sheep fetuses was sequenced based on the partial S segment. This sample showed 99-100% similarity to the Adana-15, Aksu-1, and Aksu-2 isolates previously detected in Southern Turkey. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequenced isolate in this study was clustered within genogroup Ib. Another important piece of data revealed in this study was the determination of the seasonal distribution of sheep and goat abortions. Abortion cases which started to increase in November reached a peak in February and declined till August. Conclusions. This is the first study in the Aegean Region (including seven provinces) in which three important viral agents were simultaneously investigated in small ruminant aborted fetuses.