Seroprevalence of caseous lymphadenitis in Kangal Akkaraman sheep

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In this study, the seroprevalence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, the causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) infection, in Kangal Akkaraman sheep flocks was examined. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from 25 different sheep flocks (n = 379). According to the ELISA results, the numbers of CLA-positive and CLA-negative samples were 138 (36.4%) and 241 (63.6%), respectively. CLA positivity was observed in 35.7% of the females (n = 241), 37.7% of the males (n = 138), 40.2% of the sheep with clinical symptoms (n = 184), and 32.8% of the sheep with no clinical symptoms (n = 195) (P > 0.05). We concluded that C. pseudotuberculosis is a disease observed widely in the Kangal Akkaraman sheep breed in Turkey. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the seroprevalence of CLA in Kangal Akkaraman sheep, a breed whose first official herdbook was only recently established.