Abstract
The present study was aimed to asses clinical, histopathology, PCR and phylogenetic analysis of sheep pox virus ( SPPV) in indigenous sheep. A sheep farm at Al Hassa District was struck by the sheep pox virus. The clinical signs were a sudden onset of fever, which peaks at 40-42 degrees C, with discharges from the nose and eyes, and excessive salivation. The animal loses its appetite and is reluctant to move. Mortality was mostly seen in lambs. At necropsy, the skin lesions were erythematous macules and papules, measured 2 to 4 mm in diameter which may become larger and nodular. These lesions were frequently seen in face, back and tail. Multiple firm white nodules disseminated throughout the lobes of the lungs, particularly in lambs. Specific histopathologic features like epidermal hyperplasia with ballooning degeneration and the presence of intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies associated with hyperplasia of pneumocyte type II were seen in the affected animals. The collected samples were screened for the presence of SPPV DNAs using KS1.5/ KS-1.6 and InS-1.1/Ins-1.1/based multiplex PCR. The p32 gene of selected two positive samples was sequenced and aligned with different SPPV, GTPV and LSDV available in GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that sheep pox virus strain; SPPV/Al-Hassa/2014/Saudi Arabia (accession number, KP342531) clustered on SPPV clad with SPPVs from India and China.