Circulation of Schmallenberg virus in Turkey, 2013

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection emerged in European domestic and wild ruminants in 2011. There is very limited information about the characterization of SBV isolates and the epidemiology of its infections in the rest of world, except for in European countries. We investigated the circulation of SBV in cattle herds in Central Anatolia, Turkey, in 2013. A total of 180 whole-blood samples were analyzed using real-time RT-PCR. The presence of SBV RNA was detected in 6 (3.3%) samples. For phylogenetic analysis and confirmation of real-time RT-PCR results, the S gene segment was amplified, sequenced, and compared to other segments. In addition, SBV-specific antibodies were detected in 87 (24.1%) of 360 sera using a virus neutralization test. In the S gene sequence analysis of four randomly selected samples, 98%-99% nucleotide identity was observed between our strains and SBVs isolated in European countries between 2011 and 2013. The results of this study indicate that SBV was in Turkey in 2013. Furthermore, the sequencing results suggest that it could be the same virus that is in European countries.