Prevalence of ovine progressive pneumonia virus in sheep and its association with age and sex in two Iraqi provinces

This study was conducted to investigate the incidence of ovine progressive pneumonia (OPP) in sheep in Babylon and Karbala governorates, using an indirect ELISA test to detect antibodies to the virus causing the disease. A total of 174 sheep were examined, 118 in Babylon and 56 in Karbala. The infection rate in Babylon was 16.1% (19/118), while it was 8.92% (5/56) in Karbala, indicating a significantly higher infection rate in Babylon compared to Karbala. By gender, the infection rate was 15.38% (4/26) in males compared to 13.51% (20/148) in females, the percentage indicates difference among sex. In terms of age, no cases were recorded in sheep less than one year old (0/6), while the infection rate reached 11.11% in the one- to two-year-old category (4/36), and 15.15% in the older category (20/132). These results demonstrate that the disease is more prevalent in older sheep, consistent with the chronic nature of the disease and its slow progression. This study confirms the importance of using accurate techniques such as indirect ELISA for early detection of the disease and highlights the need for surveillance and prevention programs, especially in older flocks and in areas with higher infection rates.