Detection of Bovine Ephemeral Fever Virus and its Effects on Blood Parameters and Serum Calcium Levels in Cattle Population of District Swabi, Pakistan

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a fatal viral disease predominantly affecting cattle and buffaloes. Infection results in a huge economic loss, especially due to the reduction in milk production. In Pakistan. There is a dearth of information on bovine ephemeral fever. The study was designed to detect and examine the effect of bovine ephemeral fever virus on hematological parameters among cattle in Swabi district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of fifty blood samples were collected from suspected cattle and scrutinized for bovine ephemeral fever virus, using nested Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Hematological parameters were analyzed using hematology and chemistry analyzer. Of the 50 blood samples, 33 representing 66% were positive for bovine ephemeral fever virus through RT-PCR. A product size of 809 bp was observed in the reaction-I, while 505bp was obtained in reaction-II. Neutrophils of infected cattle were significantly increased (10.44 ± 1.87 × 10⁹/L) (p < 0.05), with a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in lymphocytes levels (2.90 ± 0.97 × 10⁹/L). Changes in other blood parameters were non-significant. Furthermore, there was also a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in serum calcium level (7.84 ± 0.16 mg/dL). We confirmed the detection of bovine ephemeral fever virus by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.