BHV-1 Antigen Detection in Paraffinized Lung Sections of Pneumonic Sheep Lung Using Immunohistochemistry

Background: Respiratory tract infections caused by some viruses with cattle origin have been demonstrated in sheep and goats. OBJECTIVES: The main goal of this study was to determine Bovine Herpes virus type 1 BHV1antigen in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung tissue of pneumonic sheep, using immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining method. METHODS: For this purpose, the lungs of 4079 sheep, which were raised in various farms in the Garmsar district and surrounding areas and were brought to the local abattoir for slaughtering between April and September 2016, were examined. RESULTS: Macroscopic pneumonia findings were detected in different lobes particularly in the apical and cardiac lobes of the lungs of259 sheep (6.35%). The rates of mild, moderate and severe consolidations observed in the pneumonic lungs were 59.8%, 26.3 % and 11.6 %, respectively. Pneumonias were microscopically classified in sheep as interstitial pneumonia (49.8%), suppurative bronchopneumonia (15.7%), bronchointerstitial pneumonia (11.1 %), and parasitic pneumonia (14.3%). A total of 220 pneumonic lungs, excluding parasitic pneumonia, examination with immunohistochemistry (IH) in terms of BHV1 antigen, were considered. BHV1 antigen was determined to be 8.63 % by the immunohistochemistry (IHC) method. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the presence of viral antigen in lung tissues of sheep may indicate that natural pneumonia may be induced by BHV1 or possibly other species-specific herpesviruses. Moreover, it is suggested that sheep might have a role in the transmission of this virus to cattle.