Status of the tick-borne diseases in sheep and goats in Turkey.

A serological survey using Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) for Babesia ovis infection of sheep has been carried out in different geographical regions of Turkey. The results indicated that 71.6% of 141 sheep in Black Sea region, 70.9% of 93 sheep in central Anatolia, 80.2% of 96 sheep in Aegean region and 55.7% of 122 sheep in eastern Anatolia were seropositive. This means that B. ovis infection is endemic throughout Turkey. In addition, occurrence of B. ovis, B. motasi, Theileria hirci, T. recondita and Anaplasma ovis infections in sheep and goats has been reported previously in Turkey as well. However further studies are needed to obtain more information about the agents to keep the infection under control.