Competitive Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (c-ELISA) Based Sero-Prevalence of Bluetongue Virus (BTV) on Small Ruminants in SelectedAreas of Wolyita, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to assess the sero-prevalence and associated risk factors for small ruminants’ bluetongue infection in selected agro-ecology of woliyta zone, southern Ethiopia. Serum samples were collected randomly from the accessed small ruminates and screened for detection of BTV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). A total of 476 serum samples were tested and 196 (41.17%) were positive for bluetongue virus antibodies. A prevalence rate ranging from 26.53% for the midland altitude to 73.47% for the lowland was recorded. To disease associated risk factor age, and location was recorded using multivariate analysis of logistic regression model. Within species goat 114 (58.2%) and sheep 82 (41.8%) sero positive reactors was recorded. This is the first report indicating the presence of bluetongue virus infection in the area.