Jornal de Ciência Veterinária e Diagnóstico Médico

Evaluation of Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis IBR, In Cattle and Buffalo in Albania

Arta Lugaj* and Kristaq Berxholi

Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) is a highly contagious infectious disease, caused by Bovine Herpes virus 1(BHV-1). Like other herpes viruses, BHV-1 can establish latent infection in animals which become reservoirs of the virus in the herd. ELISA is considered the most rapid, reliable, inexpensive, and simple test and is particularly well suited to the analysis of a large number of samples. The objective of the present study is to estimate the seroprevalence of Bovine Herpes Virus-1 (BoHV-1) in Albania. This study was carried out in 2016 in 12 districts of Albania. Regarding the results of our current study, we can emphasize the presence of IBR infection in almost all regions that were taken into consideration to analyze the sera, collected from cattle and buffalo. These preliminary results indicate that the prevalence of IBR infection varies from 10% in Drenove-Korce to 96% in Terpan-Berat and the total prevalence is 51.3% with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI 95%) and established for the first time that BHV-1 is a subclinical prevalent virus in cattle and buffalo in Albania. The obtained results would contribute to the development and practical application of effective control and prevention measures in Albania. A quick and reliable test for the diagnosis of BHV-1 ELISA is required to be undertaken from the responsible authorities to solve this problem, which must be cheap, highly sensitive, and could be used on a large scale for screening and eradication programs.