Molecular Diagnosis and Application of Combined Alternative Treatment in Lesions Developing in the Oral Region due to Orf Virus in Sheep and Goats

Abstract

Background: Orf virus (ORFV) is a zoonotic pathogen that infects sheep and goats, causing significant economic losses. The infection results in proliferative and self-limiting crustal lesions, commonly seen on the skin of the lips and around the nostrils of sheep and goats and occasionally on their feet and teats. ORFV infection is prevalent worldwide and endemic in regions where sheep and goats are raised. Vaccines are widely used to protect against ORFV-induced ecthyma in these animals. However, the disease has become increasingly prevalent throughout the year in small ruminants, necessitating the development of new approaches to treat it. Methods: Crust samples were taken from ORFV lesions in the mouth (lips, gingiva) of 29 sheep and 29 goats aged two years or older from various barns in Burdur-Center and its districts. Conventional polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the presence of the ORFV genome in the samples, using seven different types of primers (GIF/IL-2, PPP1-PPP4, Orf1-Orf2, VIR1-VIR2, vIL-10-3, vIL-10-4, B2L and Alpha tubulin). Additionally, samples from oral mucosa lesions were examined using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. As an alternative treatment approach, PAPILENDTM,®cream was applied and Ivermectin was administered subcutaneously twice every 15 days, along with 10 grams of AlquermoldTM premix powder daily for 10 days to all animals with a detected ORFV viral genome. Result: The presence of viral genomes was determined in 10 (34.48%) of 29 sheep and 14 (48.28%) of 29 goats using 7 different types of primers, which have been detected intensively in our region before. In sheep the GIF/IL-2, PPP1-PPP4 and B2L primers detected viral genome (10/29 positive) while in goats Orf1-Orf2 and B2L primers (14/29 positive). Histopathological examination showed epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis and crust formations at the epidermal layer. Both epithelial and dermal cells expressed orf virus antigen throughout the immunohistochemical investigation. The alternative treatment of PAPILENDTM,®cream + Ivermectin + AlquermoldTM premix powder triple combination applied to sheep and goats with ORFV genome determined was successful in treating oral lesions caused by ORFV. PCR tests provide rapid and reliable results in the diagnosis of ORFV. The use of triple combined alternative treatments, in addition to ORFV preventive vaccinations in sheep and goats, was found to be successful in treating ORFV infections. The animals showed recovery or regression within a range of 5 to 21 days.