First Detection of Listeria ivanovii in Aborted Sheep Fetuses in The Iraqi Nineveh Governorate

ABORTION causes significant financial losses for the sheep trade. It's essential to determine the etiology in order to successfully deal with abortions. The current analysis identifies the role of Listeria ivanovii in ovine abortion in Iraq. During the months of November and December 2022, a total of 500 clinical samples (100 fetuses) were investigated for the isolation and identification of L. ivanovii. The API-Listeria system , L. mono confirmatory agar (chromogenic medium), and conventional polymerase chain reaction were used to confirm the isolates' diagnoses. On analysis, four isolates were identified as Listeria ivanovii. Two of the four isolates (LIVANOVII31 strain) were isolated from the brain tissue, while one was isolated from the placenta and the other (LIVANOVII53 strain) from the stomach contents of the aborted fetus. The two isolates were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers OQ983887.1 and OQ983888.1, respectively. An overall isolation rate of 0.8% was observed for L. ivanovii. All the bacterial isolates were positive for Act A, In1A and In1J virulence factors.In conclusion , L. ivanovii is one of the important causal agents of abortion in sheep flocks in Nineveh province , Iraq.