Fakour Shahin, Naserabadi Salahedin, Ahmadi Elham
Department of Clinical Sciences, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.
Departments of Microbiology, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.
J Vector Borne Dis. 2017 Oct-Dec;54(4):348-352. doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.225840.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic vector-borne disease that primarily affects domestic animals but can also infect humans. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of antibodies against RVF virus (RVFV) in ruminants, viz. cattle, sheep, and goats in Kurdistan Province of western Iran.
Blood samples were collected from 288 ruminants (118 cattle, 142 sheep and 28 goats) of both sexes, under age groups ≤1, 1-3, 3-5 and ≥5 yr, from January 2016 to December 2016. Clinical symptoms and history of abortion were recorded. The presence of RVFV-specific antibodies was investigated by using ELISA (competitive) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) after separation of serum.
The results of two tests were positive for five (1.74%) of total 288 animals which included two cattle of 118 (1.7%), and three sheep of 142 (2.11%). The results of IIFA were correlated with the ELISA results. All animals were clinically normal. No significant relationship between the RVFV infection rate and the variable considered, i.e. season, animal's age or sex, and the species of the animal (p ≥ 0.05), although there were four seropositive animals in the age group 1-3 and five seropositive animals in the spring season.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The results of the study revealed the presence of low-level RVFV circulation among the ruminants of Kurdistan Province in Iran indicating that they are at risk of exposure to the virus during their lifetime. Since the present study was the first serological study on RVF in Iran with positive results, further studies are suggested including other areas of Iran.
裂谷热（RVF）是一种人畜共患的媒介传播疾病，主要影响家畜，但也可感染人类。本研究的目的是调查伊朗西部库尔德斯坦省反刍动物（即牛、绵羊和山羊）中抗裂谷热病毒（RVFV）抗体的存在情况。
于2016年1月至2016年12月，从288头反刍动物（118头牛、142只绵羊和28只山羊）中采集血液样本，这些动物涵盖不同性别，年龄组分为≤1岁、1 - 3岁、3 - 5岁和≥5岁。记录临床症状和流产病史。血清分离后，采用ELISA（竞争法）和间接免疫荧光试验（IIFA）检测RVFV特异性抗体的存在情况。
在288只动物中，有5只（1.74%）的两种检测结果呈阳性，其中包括118头牛中的2头（1.7%）和142只绵羊中的3只（2.11%）。IIFA结果与ELISA结果相关。所有动物临床均正常。RVFV感染率与所考虑的变量（即季节、动物年龄或性别以及动物种类）之间无显著关系（p≥0.05），尽管在1 - 3岁年龄组中有4只血清阳性动物，春季有5只血清阳性动物。
研究结果表明伊朗库尔德斯坦省的反刍动物中存在低水平的RVFV传播，这表明它们在其生命周期中有接触该病毒的风险。由于本研究是伊朗首次关于裂谷热的血清学研究且结果呈阳性，建议在伊朗其他地区开展进一步研究。
