Bluetongue virus (BTV) is a vector-borne disease of ruminants disseminated in the tropic and sub-tropic zone of the world. It is also an important problem in the Middle East. Three serotypes (4-9-16) of the virus have been isolated so far in Turkey. Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa (Goitred Gazella) is native species of Anatolia. Due to risk of extinction, captured Gazelles have been taken under protection in a restricted area at Ceylanpinar state farm. In this study, the presence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) was investigated serologically in 82 Goitred Gazella, 684 sheep and 100 cattle. Seropositivity rates in Gazella, sheep and cattle were detected as 40.2%, 295% and 88%, respectively.

Rift valley fever (RVF), a vector-borne zoonotic disease, is caused by a phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae). The virus was initially characterized approximately 80 years ago in Kenya and disseminated to many countries in the continental Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The infection has not been reported in Turkey. In this study, blood serum samples collected from camel (Camelus dromedairus), goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa), and buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis linneaus) from 2000 to 2006 were investigated for RVF using C-ELISA. Camel samples (n = 72) were obtained from private small enterprises in Aydın province in theAegean region. Gazella samples (82) were taken from the biggest captive gazelle herd in Şanlıurfa province in the southeast Anatolia. Buffalo samples were collected mostly from small private family type farms in Afyon (168), Amasya (80), Samsun (69), Ankara (35), Sivas (21), Tokat (19), Konya (10), and Elazığ (8) provinces in the central, north, west, and east Anatolia. All of the gazella samples were negative; whereas, one of the 71 camel samples (1.3%) was positive for RVF-specific antibodies. Buffalos from Sivas, Tokat, Konya, and Elazığ provinces were negative. However, 35 of the 410 samples (8.5%) from rural areas in the following four provinces were positive: Amasya (12/80, 15%), Ankara (5/35, 14.2%), Samsun (8/69, 11.5%), and Afyon (10/168, 5.9%). To our knowledge, this is the first report of presence of RVF infection in Turkey.

Six new platinum(II) complexes with 1-H or methyl-2-chloromethyl or acetoxymethyl or 2'-hydroxyethylbenzimidazole carrier ligands were synthesized and evaluated for their reactivity against model nucleophile I(-), cellular uptake, and in vitro antiproliferative activities against the human MCF-7 breast and HeLa cervix cancer cell lines. The effect of the compounds on pBR322 plasmid DNA was studied by gel electrophoretic mobility measurements. Flow cytometric analysis was also carried out to study the effect of representative compounds 1 and 2, bearing 2-chloromethyl or -acetoxymethylbenzimidazole carrier ligands, on the cell cycle distribution of MCF-7 and HeLa cells, respectively. In general, it was found that Pt(II) complexes were less cytotoxic than cisplatin and were comparable to carboplatin. The results of the plasmid DNA interaction and the restriction studies suggest that changing the chemical structure of the benzimidazole ligands may modulate DNA binding mode and the sequence selectivity. Compounds 1 and 2 had no significant effect on the cell cycle profile of the cells used. However, compound 2 induced a significant increase in the SubG1 cell population at a concentration of 20 microM.

The bovine enterovirus type 1 (BEV-1) infection has a wide range of host spectrum including humans. In this study, seroprevalence of BEV-1 was investigated in eight mammalian species. Blood serum samples were collected from 244 humans, 1520 cattle, 272 horse, 126 dog, 281 sheep, 477 goat, 18 camel (Camelus dromedarius) and 82 gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa) in different regions of Turkey. Microneutralization tests showed that gazelle and camel did not have any seropositivities, but seropositivities were detected in humans (30.3%), cattle (64.8%), horse (12.8%), dog (3.2%), sheep (32.8%) and goat (27.6%).

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Experimental and field studies have proven that the bovine herpesvirus type-4 (BHV-4) infection leads to various reproductive system problems. In this study, the role of BHV-4 infection in repeat breeding was investigated serologically. Eighty-four samples were obtained from repeat-breeding diagnosed cows in two organized dairy herds; an equal number of healthy cows were sampled from the same farms. The rest of the samples (105) were obtained from reproductively normal cows that were breeding in 18 small enterprises as a control group. The seropositivity proportion in repeat-breeding diagnosed cows was found to be significantly higher (69% (58/84)) than other cows (44% (37/84)) on the same farms. The lowest antibody positivity value for BHV-4 was detected as 24.7% (26/105) in the samples from family-type small farms. The odds ratio (OR) value was calculated as 2.834 in repeat-breeding diagnosed and healthy cows on the same farms, while 6.778 was determined in cows with and without reproductive problems on organized farms compared to small farms. As a result, the BHV-4 infection can be considered one of the reasons for repeat breeding besides other reproductive disorders.

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