The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) infections associated with abortion in sheep and goat samples from the Marmara region of Turkey during 2018. The study was carried out from 116 sheep and 26 goat abortion cases. PPR virus (PPRV) detection in these samples was performed using real-time RT-PCR (Q-RT-PCR). Then, sequence analysis was performed from PPRV positive samples. Q-RT-PCR results demonstrated that 12 (10.34%) out of 116 sheep abortion samples and 3 (11.53%) out of 26 goat abortion samples were positive for PPRV genome. The sequence results of RT-PCR positive products revealed that the viruses causing the cases belong to lineage IV. Furthermore, molecular analysis showed that present cases were not related to PPRV vaccine strains or its mutants. Marmara region, where this study was conducted, is a neighbour of European countries such as Bulgaria and Greece. The first PPR cases in Europe were reported from Bulgaria at the beginning of 2018 and subsequently, other cases also reported before are mentioned in the present study. This study provides valuable information to understand the epidemiology of recently emerged PPRV cases in Europe and Turkey. Furthermore, because of the prevalence of PPRV in abortion samples in this study, these results suggest that PPRV may be one of the possible etiologic agents of abortions in sheep and goat. However, for clarification of the relationship between abortion and PPRV, there is need more robust epidemiological data and experimental infection studies.

To Cite This Article: Pestil Z, Sait A, Sayı O, Ozbaser FT and Bulut H, 2020. Molecular epidemiology of peste des petits ruminants cases associated with abortion in sheep and goat in marmara Region of Turkey, 2018. Pak Vet J, 40(4): 494-498. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2020.042