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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1565624
This article is part of the Research Topic Sentinels of Health: Advancements in Monitoring and Surveillance of Vector-Borne Diseases in Domestic and Wild Animals and Vectors View all 11 articles
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Bluetongue Virus Infection in Sheep and Goats in West Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia
Provisionally accepted
Adem Beyan 1 Wassie Molla 1 Adugna Berju Molla 1 Mastewal Birhan 2 Saddam Mohammed Ibrahim 2 Bereket Dessalegn 2 Ambaye Kenubih 2 Abebe Tesfaye Gessese 3 Mebrie Zemene Kinde 3 Gashaw Getaneh Dagnaw 3 Melkie Dagnaw Fenta 4 Hana Tesefaye 5 Takele Tesgera 6 Liyuwork Tesfaw 6
Habtamu Abesha 7 Zewdu Seyoum Tarekegn 2
Haileyesus Dejene 1* Molalegne Bitew 8- 1 Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
- 2 Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
- 3 Department of Biomedical Science, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
- 4 2Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
- 5 Department of Veterinary Pharmacy, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
- 6 National Veterinary Institute, Bishoftu, Ethiopia
- 7 Metekel Zone Agriculture and Rural Development Office, Metekel, Ethiopia
- 8 Bio and Emerging Technology Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bluetongue is a non-contagious arthropod-borne viral disease that affects ruminants. No investigations have yet been conducted to ascertain the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of bluetongue in Northwest Ethiopia. It is essential to determine the seroprevalence and correlated risk elements to formulate an effective strategy for preventing and surveillance of the disease. A cross-sectional study was carried out between February 2023 and May 2023 to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Bluetongue virus (BTV) in sheep and goats in the selected districts of West Gondar zone. A multistage cluster sampling technique was employed, with zones and districts purposively selected, and kebeles within these districts chosen through simple random sampling. Villages were treated as clusters. A total of 444 blood specimens were collected from the sheep and goats and subsequently tested for BTV antibodies using a commercially available competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. A mixed-effects logistic regression was employed to evaluate the relationship between Bluetongue virus seropositivity and potential risk factors. The overall seroprevalence rate at the individual animal level was 84.5% (95% CI: 81.09 -87.82). The seroprevalence in sheep and goats was 83.8% (257/308) and 86.8% (118/136), respectively. Species and age were significant risk factors for BTV seropositivity in the study area (p < 0.05). Adult and older sheep and goats exhibited 3.49 (95% CI: 1.90-6.41) and 25.95 (95% CI: 9.45 -71.28) times higher seroprevalence with the bluetongue virus in comparison to their younger counterparts, respectively. In conclusion, the current findings showed that BTV is highly prevalent. The specific circulating BTV serotypes and the temporal pattern of Bluetongue in the study area remain unknown, necessitating further investigation.
Keywords: Bluetongue virus, Goat, Risk factors, seroprevalence, Sheep, West Gondar
Received: 23 Jan 2025; Accepted: 18 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Beyan, Molla, Molla, Birhan, Ibrahim, Dessalegn, Kenubih, Gessese, Kinde, Dagnaw, Fenta, Tesefaye, Tesgera, Tesfaw, Abesha, Tarekegn, Dejene and Bitew. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Haileyesus Dejene, Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
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