Molecular and serological survey of some haemoprotozoan, rickettsial and viral diseases of small ruminants from Al-Madinah Al Munawarah, KSA.

The prevalence of some viral and haemoprotozoan infections in goats and sheep was investigated in the present study. The infections of Anaplasma spp. and Theileria spp. were encountered by PCR and cELISA for the detection of Anaplasma spp. Anaplasma spp. was more prevalent than Theileria spp. with a significant difference (Pvalue<0.05) in both goats and sheep, but, the infection in sheep was more prevalent than goats. Also four viral infections were detected: Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), Bluetongue Virus (BTV), Madina Visna Virus (MVV) and Schmallenberg, (SBV) with an overall prevalence of 56.6%, 40.4%, 36.0%, and 6.8% respectively. The factors related to the infections were also investigated. Detection of the antibodies against examined viruses and Anaplasma spp. indicated the widespread of these infections. So far to our knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the prevalence and distribution of MVV and SBV antibodies in Saudi Arabia. Both RVFV and BTV are widespread in KSA, causing Viremia in 7.2% and 25% respectively of total samples. These findings suggested that parasitic and viral infections are considered as important health risks for sheep and goats. For this reason, the current study introduces invaluable information for different governmental agencies for dealing with infection control meausers.