Molecular detection and analysis of Sheeppox and Orf viruses isolated from sheep from Qalubia, Egypt

In this study an outbreak with Sheeppox virus (SPPV) and Orf virus (ORFV) in one sheep herd in the Qalubia province, Egypt, was investigated. Both, SPPV and ORFV caused clinically manifest infections among sheep. The affected sheep showed skin lesions around the mouth or all over the body. Therefore, reliable diagnosis should confirm the aetiology of the infection and then reduce spread of the diseases in the affected areas. Clinical samples were investigated by virus isolation, PCR and real-time PCR assays. Furthermore, PCR-products of SPPV and ORFV isolates were sequenced and alignment to reference isolates was performed for phylogenetic analyses. The laboratory diagnosis showed that real-time PCR assay was more accurate and sensitive than conventional PCR and virus isolation. In phylogenetic analysis of the A29L gene genetic differences between SPPV field strains were not observed and the strains showed 100% homology with two SPPV isolates from Kazakhstan and one isolate from Turkey. The ORFV field strains are in the P55 gene genetically distinct from another and from other published isolates from Egypt 2006 and 2009.