Prevalence rate and risk factor of bluetongue disease in dairy cattle farms of fars province

Bluetongue is a ruminant viral disease which transmits by Culicoides flies and is important in economical and hygienic aspects. There is no published document on bluetongue in Fars province and this study was done to determine seroprevalence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) and related risk factors in dairy cattle farms in Fars province, Iran. Blood samples were collected from 521 apparently healthy cows in selected farms which was in two hot and moderate climates of province. Serum was detected from samples and evaluated for antibodies against BTV. The results showed 19.77% of samples had BTV antibodies. Associations between each independent variables including age, environmental temperature, sex, breed and farming system and BTV infection were statistically significant (P