Comparative Evaluation of c-ELISA and i-ELISA for Detection of Bluetongue Virus Antibodies in Sheep

Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious, noncontagious, arthropod-borne viral disease, principally of sheep but many domestic and wild animals are also affected by this disease (Akita et al., 1994). The severity of BT in sheep varies depending on the virus, the breed of sheep and environmental stress. Infection in cattle and goats is usually sub-clinical. Etiological agent of the disease belongs to the genus Orbivirus in the family Reoviridae. Twenty six serotypes of BTV have so far been recognized worldwide and many more may be prevalent in regions where no survey has been made so far (Parsad et al., 2000). BTV infection occurs in most of the tropical, semitropical and temperate region of the world in parallel with the distribution of its vectors. The regions which are considered endemic areas of bluetongue virus are inhabited by 2/3 of sheep and cattle population around the globe between 40 0