Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TROPICAL ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION, cilt.58, sa.1, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
SARS-CoV-2, a type of coronavirus that infects humans, uses its spike protein to bind to the ACE-2 receptor during cell entry, which is highly conserved among vertebrates. Therefore, various animal species are thought to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in swab samples using real-time PCR and anti-S1 IgG antibodies in serum samples using an in-house ELISA using recombinant S1 protein. Swab and serum samples were collected from different sheep and goat breeds living in different locations of T & uuml;rkiye. In order to eliminate false seropositivity due to possible cross-reactions between bovine coronavirus (BCoV) and SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, seropositive samples were further investigated by another ELISA using a SARS-CoV-2 spike specific peptide. According to the results of ELISA detecting anti-S1 IgG antibodies, 23 sheep serum samples (6.74%; 23/341) and 17 goat serum samples (22.07%; 17/77) were seropositive. After the analysis of these seropositive samples by peptide-ELISA, seroprevalence rates decreased to 3.81% (13/341) in sheep and 3.89% (3/77) in goats. According to the real-time PCR results, no SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in swab samples of sheep and goats. In conclusion, although SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies were detected in sheep and goats, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected and this does not suggest an important role for sheep or goats in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to other hosts, including humans.