Investigation of the viruses (pestivirus, bluetongue and akabane virus) in abortion and postnatal samples from sheep in marmara region

In this thesis, the detection of presence of pestiviruses, bluetongue (BTV) and Akabane virus (AKAV), which are accepted to be the most important viral abort agents in Turkey, from the aborted and postnatal specimens is aimed. The samples were collected from 12 provinces at Marmara area. Of 1200 sheep serum samples, 800 (67%), 465 (38,7%) and 1 (0,08) were detected to be seropositive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for pestivirus, BTV and AKAV, respectively. The presence of pestivirus RNA was detected by reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction of (RT-PCR) into 23 of 103 (23,3%) postnatal specimens and 34 (19,1%) of 178 aborted fetus samples. Therefore, pestivirus was detected in 57 (20,28%) of total 281 clinical specimen. BTV and AKAV specific RNA's were not detected in any of clinical specimens. In conclusion, there's a high prevalence of pestivirus prevalence among abortions and postnatal deaths in Marmara region. According to the results, we suggest immediately application of vaccination and other prevention and control methods against pestiviruses in Marmara region. Key Words: Pestivirus, bluetongue virus, Akabane virus, sheep, serology, RT-PCR.