Recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Ivory Coast]

An outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) due to SAT2 occurred among cattle, sheep and pigs in C?te-d'Ivoire. The morbidity and mortality were low so vaccination of only high value livestock in intensive production systems was suggested.     

疙瘩皮肤病概述

疙瘩皮肤病(LSD)又称结节性皮炎或块状皮肤病,是世界动物卫生组织(OIE)规定的A类疫病之一。LSD是由LSDV引起的,以发热,皮肤、粘膜、器官表面广泛性结节,消瘦,淋巴结肿大,皮肤水肿为特征,严重时会引起死亡。此病能大幅度降低产乳量,损坏皮张,常带来较大的经济损失。目前,此病在非洲、以色列等国家和地区发生流行,我国尚无此类疫病的发生。本文仅就疙瘩皮肤病的病原、流行病学、临床与病理、诊断、预防及控制等方面作一概述。     

Serological survey of Rift Valley fever in sheep on the Ivory Coast]

A serological survey of Rift Valley fever was carried out in sheep in C?te-d'Ivoire. Thousand and fifty one seras collected between 1988 and 1990 in the South of the country were tested for IgG and IgM by ELISA with two objectives: determining the incidence of the Rift Valley fever and analysing the role of this virus in reproductive failure and abortion. The incidence rate was 6.85%. No difference was found between the three different geographic areas nor between the three years of the survey. Antibody prevalence increased significantly with age. The Rift Valley fever must be considered as enzootic in C?te-d'Ivoire. A significant relationship was found between positivity and abortion in ewes. Thus, the economic impact of Rift Valley fever has to be studied. The presence of antibodies in young animals aged from 6 months to 1 year, showed a recent activity of the virus; a permanent epidemio-surveillance of the Rift Valley fever in C?te-d'Ivoire is needed, because of the potential risk for human population in contact with the animals.     

Alternative cell lines for the propagation of lumpy skin disease virus

In our Institute lumpy skin disease virus is grown on primary lamb testis cells for isolation, identification and vaccine production. However, the availability of lambs in Kenya has been seriously reduced over the past few years. This has led to an increase in the cost of using primary lamb testis cells. This study was undertaken to investigate other primary cell lines, which are easily available and provide an equivalent or better yield of lumpy skin disease virus. Foetal bovine muscle (FBM) cells were found to be an adequate alternative for lamb testis cells.     

Phylogenetic analysis of the lumpy skin disease viruses in northwest of Iran

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a devastating viral disease of cattle which has recently spread from Africa into the countries of the Middle East. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships among lumpy skin disease viruses (LSDV) isolated from different regions of Iran and the origin and spread of these viruses. In this study, a total of 234 blood samples from clinically affected animals from four provinces in the northwest of Iran were screened for LSDV using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). From 80 positive samples for LSDV detected by PCR, the partial P32 gene (759 bp) of 12 isolates were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. LSD viruses were grouped in three subclusters with an overall 97.1–100% nucleotide identity. LSDVs isolated from Gilan showed lowest nucleotide identity with the other LSDVs. Four isolates of LSDV including KO-1, EA-1, EA-3, and WA-3 showed 100% similarity with each other and also with the Neethling strain. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the identified LSDVs were closely related to each other and had high-sequence homology with other LSDV isolates from Africa. It was concluded that LSD outbreak probably occurred in the northwest of Iran by LSDVs entering the country from Iraq and P32 nucleotide sequence information obtained in the present study is a valuable resource in understanding the genetic nature and molecular epidemiology of local LSDV isolates which can be used for future vaccine development based on the circulating strains in the region.     

Epidemiological aspects and financial impact of lumpy skin disease in Ethiopia

The financial cost of clinical Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) and the financial benefit of its control through vaccination were studied based on questionnaire survey in Oromia region of Ethiopia from the perspective of livestock farmers. Production loss impacts for local zebu cattle were compared with those of Holstein Friesian (HF)/crossbred cattle in the study area. Annual cumulative incidence of LSD infection in HF/crossbred and local zebu cattle were 33.93% (95% CI: 30.92-36.94) and 13.41% (95% CI: 12.6-14.25) respectively and significantly different (p<0.05). Annual mortality was also significantly higher in HF/crossbred 7.43% (95% CI: 5.76-9.10) than in local zebu cattle 1.25% (95% CI: 0.98-1.52). The annual financial cost was calculated as the sum of the average production losses due to morbidity and mortality arising from milk loss, beef loss, traction power loss, and treatment and vaccination costs at the herd level. The financial cost in infected herds was estimated to be USD 6.43 (5.12-8) per head for local zebu and USD 58 (42-73) per head for HF/crossbred cattle. A partial budget analysis was used to estimate the financial benefit of an annual vaccination program in both the local zebu and HF/crossbred cattle farming systems. The marginal rate of return (MRR) gained from this control intervention was estimated to be 34 (3400%) and the net benefit per head was USD 1 for local zebu and USD 19 for HF/crossbred cattle. Vaccination thus enabled financial costs due to LSD to be reduced by 17% per head in local zebu herds and 31% per head in HF/crossbred herds. These results could provide guidance to producers and the government in their endeavors to control the disease.     

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of lumpy skin disease in Egypt

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an infectious viral disease affecting cattle, cause severe economic losses. In the last few years, the disease is widely distributed in many countries in the Middle East, including Egypt. This study aimed to determine the genetic character of LSDV circulating in some governorates in Egypt and its relation with other LSDVs and vaccine strains in GenBank. A total of 50 skin nodules and 50 blood samples were collected from clinically affected cattle to detect LSDV using PCR targeting the P32 gene. The positive samples were characterized using PCR targeting the GPCR gene. The amplified products of four samples detected in the skin nodule of cattle from Alexandria and Kafr ElSheikh governorates were sequenced, and the phylogenetic tree was constructed. Out of 100 analyzed samples, 70 samples were positive for LSDV by PCR assay. In addition, the sequence alignment of the obtained LSDV strains detected in the Alexandria governorate showed high similarity to the LSDV genome (MN995838). In contrast, LSDV strains from Kafr ElSheikh governorate revealed high similarity and the previous Egyptian strain (MG970343), which was isolated from cattle in Sharkia governorate in 2016. Also, the phylogenetic analysis confirmed that one of the LSDV strain (LC601598) from Alexandria is closely related to the LSDV of Menofia/Egypt/2019 (MN271722), while another one (LC601597) is closely related to vaccine strains of LSDV. Moreover, the LSDV strains from Kafr Elsheikh showed closely related to previous LSDV strains isolated from Menofia (MG970343) and Dakahlia (KP071936) governorates and clustered with other LSDV strains in a distinct cluster. This information is for understanding the epidemiology of LSDV and supporting the establishment of an efficient control program for the disease.     

Long-term changes in the spatial distribution of lumpy skin disease hotspots in Zimbabwe

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) are reported almost every year in Zimbabwe but not much is known regarding whether the pattern of the disease is...