First report of bovine viral diarrhea virus and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection in Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) in Tibetan Plateau, China

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) are important pathogens, which cause serious disease in animals. However, information about BVDV and MAP infection in Tibetan sheep in China is limited. Two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven blood samples were collected from Tibetan sheep between April 2013 and March 2014 from the Tibetan Plateau and tested for BVDV and MAP antibodies using commercial ELISA kits. The overall seroprevalence of BVDV and MAP in Tibetan sheep was 36.7 and 11.29%, respectively. Furthermore, risk factor analysis indicated that the age of sheep was statistically significant associated with BVDV infection and the region was considered as the risk factor of MAP infection in sheep (P < 0.05), gender and season were not considered as risk factors. This is the first report of seroprevalence and risk factors associated with BVDV and MAP infection in Tibetan Sheep in China, which will provide baseline information for controlling BVDV and MAP infection in ruminants in the Tibetan Plateau, western China.