A systematic review on the spread of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in Iran and neighboring countries

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a single-stranded RNA virus classified in the Prebunyaviridae family and Orthobunyavirus genus. SBV is a teratogenic arbovirus, infecting pregnant ruminants, and results in offspring with congenital defects such as scoliosis, hydrocephalus, arthrogryposis, cerebellar hypoplasia and enlarged thymus. The purpose of this review was to conduct a systematic review to show the spread of SBV in Iran and neighboring countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq, Russia, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. In this study, 9 English and Persian databases including Magiran, Irandoc, SID, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar and PubMed were reviewed. Of the 55 studies found, 12 studies met the criteria defined in the purpose of this study. The results of the study indicated the presence of SBV in a number of domestic animals such as horses, cows, sheep, goats and camels. In Iran, only one study was found to be conducted on the prevalence of the disease which indicates that horses are infected (5%). Turkey and Pakistan showed the highest percentages of positive serum samples in cattle (39.82%) and camels (86%) respectively. Due to the proximity and livestock exchanges between Iran and Turkey in the northwest of the country, as well as between Iran and Pakistan in the southeast, precautionary measures are recommended by veterinary officials.