High seroprevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies in goats in southeast Iran.

Objective: To describe the seroprevalence rate of bluetongue virus (BTV) in goat flocks in southeast of Iran.

Methods: The blood samples were collected randomly from herds of southeast of Iran. A total of 93 sera samples were collected between 2011 and 2012. Antibodies to BTV in sera were detected by using a commercial competitive ELISA 3 according to manufacturer's instructions.

Results: The seroprevalence rates were 67.7% for goats. Within a herd, prevalence of BTV seropositive animals ranged from 33.3% to 100.0%. All goat flocks were positive to BTV antibodies.

Conclusions: This study describes a high seroprevalence rate of BTV in goat flocks in southeast of Iran for the first time.