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The first serological evidence for Rift Valley fever infection in the camel, goitered gazelle and Anatolian water buffaloes in Turkey

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Abstract

Rift valley fever (RVF), a vector-borne zoonotic disease, is caused by a phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae). The virus was initially characterized approximately 80 years ago in Kenya and disseminated to many countries in the continental Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The infection has not been reported in Turkey. In this study, blood serum samples collected from camel (Camelus dromedairus), goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa), and buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis linneaus) from 2000 to 2006 were investigated for RVF using C-ELISA. Camel samples (n = 72) were obtained from private small enterprises in Aydın province in theAegean region. Gazella samples (82) were taken from the biggest captive gazelle herd in Şanlıurfa province in the southeast Anatolia. Buffalo samples were collected mostly from small private family type farms in Afyon (168), Amasya (80), Samsun (69), Ankara (35), Sivas (21), Tokat (19), Konya (10), and Elazığ (8) provinces in the central, north, west, and east Anatolia. All of the gazella samples were negative; whereas, one of the 71 camel samples (1.3%) was positive for RVF-specific antibodies. Buffalos from Sivas, Tokat, Konya, and Elazığ provinces were negative. However, 35 of the 410 samples (8.5%) from rural areas in the following four provinces were positive: Amasya (12/80, 15%), Ankara (5/35, 14.2%), Samsun (8/69, 11.5%), and Afyon (10/168, 5.9%). To our knowledge, this is the first report of presence of RVF infection in Turkey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, AfyonKocatepe University, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Sibel Gür

  2. Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mehmet AkifErsoy University, 15030, Burdur, Turkey

    Mehmet Kale

  3. Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, 09016, Aydın, Turkey

    Nural Erol

  4. Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, 42003, Konya, Turkey

    Orhan Yapici & Sibel Yavru

  5. Department of Internal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mehmet AkifErsoy University, 15030, Burdur, Turkey

    Nuri Mamak

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  1. Sibel Gür
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  2. Mehmet Kale
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  4. Orhan Yapici
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Correspondence to Sibel Gür.

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Gür, S., Kale, M., Erol, N. et al. The first serological evidence for Rift Valley fever infection in the camel, goitered gazelle and Anatolian water buffaloes in Turkey. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1531–1535 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1359-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1359-8

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