Sero-prevalence of Contagious Ecthyma in Lambs and Humans in Kars, Turkey

Authors: HALİL İBRAHİM GÖKCE, OKTAY GENÇ, GÜRBÜZ GÖKÇE

Abstract: The sero-prevalence of contagious ecthyma (orf) in lambs and humans was studied in the Kars region of Turkey. For this purpose, serum samples were collected from 320 lambs from 5 different districts of the Kars region. Serum samples were also collected from 100 humans at risk of infection. The serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to orf virus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that 52.81% and 5% of the serum samples collected from lambs and humans, respectively, were seropositive for orf virus. These results indicate that contagious ecthyma is a prevalent infection in lambs and that humans who are in regular contact with sheep are at risk of infection.

Keywords: Human, lamb, orf virus, contagious ecthyma, ELISA

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