Abstract

Abstract
Background: Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) is a vector-borne viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants. EHD caused by EHD virus (EHDV), is transmitted by Culicoides spp. The EHDV is a member of the Orbivirus genus, within the Reoviridae family. It shares many morphological and structural characteristics with other members of the genus such as Bluetongue virus (BTV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and Equine encephalosis virus (EEV).
Aims: The purpose of our study was to investigate the epidemiological situation of EHDV in Libya in order to gain some knowledge about the presence of this virus in the country.
Methods: In this study, we investigated the seroprevalence of EHDV in Libya testing a total of 855 blood samples collected during 2015. The samples were collected from domestic ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats) originating from eleven provinces of Libya. Sera were tested by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (c-ELISA) and positive samples confirmed by serum neutralization test (SNT).
Results: The overall seroprevalence of EHDV was estimated to be 4% (95% CI=2.8%-5.4%). Small ruminant seroprevalence was significantly (p=0.016) higher than that found in cattle. Neutralizing antibodies against EHDV-6 were detected in a sheep from West Region.
Conclusion: This study suggests that EHDV has circulated or is circulating in Libya and sheep could play an important role in the epidemiology of EHDV and the virus may still be circulating in North Africa.

Key words: EHD, Seroprevalence, EHDV-6 and risk factors, Libya.