Servoprevalence of Bluetounge virus (BTV) antibodies in Sheep and goats of semiarid Rajasthan

Abstract

The prevalence of BTV in field sheep and goats in semiarid districts of the Rajasthan state was studied. Sera samples (sheep, 1222; goats, 1158) were collected from selected 5 districts, of these 968 (sheep, 483, goats, 485) were randomly selected and tested by c-ELISA and analyzed. The overall prevalence of BTV in sheep was 36.02 % and in goats was 74.84 %. Combined overall prevalence in small ruminant population was 55.47 %. The present study revealed that prevalence of BTV is higher in local sheep and goats without clinical appearance of the disease in sheep, hence, there is possibility of circulation of same serotype of BTV in this area. The higher seroconversion in goats in contrast to sheep indicates the host preference of midges in day to day feeding.