Serologic evidence of bluetongue infection in onehumped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Kerman province, Iran

Herein, we presented the first report on bluetongue (BT) disease in 10 pregnant camels in a herd fromKerman province, Iran. All sera samples were tested serologically (AGID, C-ELISA). We also used the Razi-BK cell line, performed primary culture of ovine kidney and inoculated intravenously the embryonatedchicken eggs (ECE) to culture and isolate the BT virus. Efforts to culture and isolation of BT virus have metwith very limited success. Following precipitation test (AGID) and C-ELISA, 5 of 10 sera in AGID test, andall in C-ELISA became positive. Further studies are needed on the ecology of camels and vector midges toclarify the reason for infection of the camels in Iran.