SERO-PREVALENCE OF COMMON BOVINE RESPIRATORY VIRAL DISEASES IN SAUDI ARABIA

Respiratory viral diseases in cattle are an important cause of mortality especially in young calves. Of this group of viruses, present study chooses to focus on Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis virus (IBR), Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), Bovine Parainfluenza-3 (BPI-3), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Bovine Adenoviruses (BAdVs). Little is known about the prevalence of these viruses throughout the Gulf and so the primary goal of the study was to test the exposure history of different cattle herds in Saudi Arabia to the indicated viruses. To achieve this goal, 359 serum samples were collected from four regions in Saudi Arabia (Eastern, Central, Northern, and Western regions). Commercially available ELISA kits were used on these samples. The results showed the high seroprevalence of the indicated viruses in Saudi Arabia. The seroprevalence of IBR, BVD, RSV, PI-3 and BAdV-3 were 50 %, 35%, 30%, 39% and 49% respectively. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to report the high seroprevalence of BVAdV-3 in the Gulf region, or especially in Saudi Arabia. Since the animals used in the current study have not been vaccinated against the indicated viruses, it is assumed that those herds were exposed to these viruses previously, and thus seroconverted to against these viruses. Further molecular studies are needed to examine these viruses, and the application of science- based vaccination programs is highly recommended to protect these animals from the indicated pathogens.