Investigation of west nile virus infection in brown bears (ursus arctos) in turkey

Aim: This study is a serological and virological examination of the West Nile Virus (WNV) in free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Sarikamis district of Kars province of Turkey. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, blood samples from 11 brown bears were tested for antibodies against WNV usi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yakup Yıldırım, Fethiye Çöven, Erdoğan Uzlu, Volkan Yılmaz, Emrah Çoban, Ayşegül Çoban, Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Selçuk University
Subjects:
brown bears
elisa
rt-pcr
west nile virus
Veterinary medicine
SF600-1100
Ursus arctos
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/75b98dd7c9974b43b6430b3846470557
Description
Summary:Aim: This study is a serological and virological examination of the West Nile Virus (WNV) in free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Sarikamis district of Kars province of Turkey. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, blood samples from 11 brown bears were tested for antibodies against WNV using a commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was used to determine the presence of West Nile Virus nucleic acid. Results: Seropositivity rate was detected to be zero % and West Nile virus nucleic acid was not found in samples. Conclusions: The significance of WNV infection in brown bears and other free-ranging mammals in the Turkey is unknown at this time and will require further investigation. This is the first report of WNV infection in brown bears in Turkey.

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