Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Akabane Virus Infection in Sheep and Goats in Fars Province, Iran

Akabane disease is an arthropod-borne viral disease that affects ruminants. This teratogenic pathogen causes severe economic losses in ruminants worldwide and in Iran; however, it has not received enough attention in Fars province, Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the influence of age, gender, climate, farming system, and history of abortions on the seroprevalence of the Akabane disease in sheep and goats in Fars province. In the present study, Fars province was divided into three climates, and three cities were randomly selected from each climatic region. In each city, two epidemiologic units were selected, and all sheep and goats in each unit were sampled. Overall, 540 serum samples (391 sheep and 149 goats) were collected and examined with the commercial ELISA kit. The results showed that 83 out of 540 (15.4%) samples were seropositive and had antibodies against the Akabane virus (AKAV). The effect of gender and age on the rate of the AKAV was not significant. Animals in warm climates were 4.218 times more likely to have antibodies against the AKAV than animals in cold climates. Females were 1.32 times more likely to exhibit seropositivity. The odds of AKAV infection were higher in animals with an abortion history than in healthy animals. The findings of the present study indicated that the prevalence of the AKAV was high in small ruminants in Fars province. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more studies to control the risk factors involved in the spread of this virus.