Sero-epidemiology of peste des petits ruminants in Oromia and Afar regional states of Ethiopia.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a severe non-zoonotic viral disease of small ruminants caused by a morbillivirus closely related to rinderpest virus (RPV). The disease is widespread in Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia. It is one of the priority animal diseases whose control is considered important for poverty alleviation in those regions because of the associated high economic losses. A sero-epidemiological study of PPR was conducted in Oromia and Afar regional states of Ethiopia. A total of 800 serum samples from sheep and goats were collected between October 2015 and March 2016 in Afar and Oromia, where no vaccination history has been recorded. These two regions are known to have a large population of small ruminants. The levels of PPR antibodies obtained in the two regions using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) ID Screen® PPR Competition from IDvet (Montpellier, France) were similar, at 12.7% and 13.0% for Afar and Oromia, respectively. A seroprevalence of 12.9% for the two regions was obtained. The study also linked seropositivity to risk factors such as sex, age and species with a p-value of less than 0.05 (p = 0.0001, p = 0.0001 and p = 0.004, respectively).

La peste des petits ruminants (PPR) est une maladie virale non zoonotique des petits ruminants due à un morbillivirus apparenté au virus de la peste bovine. Cette maladie est très présente en Afrique, au Moyen-Orient et en Asie du Sud. Elle fait partie des maladies animales prioritaires qu'il est important de contrôler à des fins d'allègement de la pauvreté dans les régions affectées, en raison de l'ampleur des pertes économiques qui lui sont associées. Une étude séroépidémiologique sur la PPR a été conduite en éthiopie, couvrant les régions d'Oromia et d'Afar. Au total, 800 échantillons sériques issus d'ovins et de caprins ont été prélevés entre octobre 2015 et mars 2016 à Afar et Oromia, régions sans historique documenté de vaccination. Les populations de petits ruminants y sont nombreuses. La détection d'anticorps dirigés contre le virus de la PPR au moyen de l'épreuve immuno-enzymatique de compétition (cELISA) ID Screen® PPR Competition du laboratoire IDvet (Montpellier, France) a fait apparaître un niveau d'anticorps comparable dans les deux régions (12,7 % à Afar et 13,0 % à Oromia). Le taux de prévalence sérologique pour les deux régions était de 12,9 %. L'étude a également permis de relier la présence d'anticorps à certains facteurs de risque tels que le sexe, l'âge et l'espèce, avec un degré de signification (p) inférieur à 0,05 (respectivement, p = 0,0001, p = 0,0001 et p = 0,004).

La peste de pequeños rumiantes (PPR) es una grave enfermedad viral no zoonótica que afecta a los pequeños rumiantes, causada por un morbilivirus estrechamente emparentado con el virus de la peste bovina. Esta patología, muy extendida en África, Oriente Medio y el sur de Asia, es una de las enfermedades animales prioritarias cuyo control se considera importante para paliar la pobreza en esas regiones, dado que engendra cuantiosas pérdidas económicas. Los autores describen un estudio seroepidemiológico de la PPR efectuado en los estados regionales de Oromia y Afar (Etiopía). Entre octubre de 2015 y marzo de 2016 se reunieron en total 800 muestras séricas de ovejas y cabras de Afar u Oromia, regiones donde no se tiene registrado antecedente alguno de vacunación y donde se sabe que hay una numerosa cabaña de pequeños rumiantes. En ambas regiones, con aplicación del ensayo inmunoenzimático de competición (ELISAc) ID Screen® PPR Competition de IDvet (Montpellier, Francia), se obtuvieron niveles similares de anticuerpos contra el virus de la PPR: del 12,7% en Afar y del 13,0% en Oromia. El cálculo arroja una seroprevalencia del 12,9% en ambas regiones. El estudio puso también de relieve la existencia de un vínculo entre seropositividad y tres factores de riesgo, el sexo, la edad y la especie, con valores de p inferiores a 0,05 (respectivamente, p = 0,0001, p = 0,0001 y p = 0,004).

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk samples of dairy cows in small holder farms of North-Western Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a contagious, opportunistic pathogen that causes clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The genetic background and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from Ethiopian dairy farms has not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize S. aureus from Ethiopian hand milked dairy cows, by spa, MLST and virulence factor typing, and by assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of 79 S. aureus isolates from intramammary infections was studied. A PCR was used to detect lukM-lukF' and pvl genes encoding the bovine and human associated bi-component leukocidins, and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene-1 (tst). Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using the broth microdilution method. RESULTS: Twenty different spa types were identified, most isolates were t042 (58%), and the closely related t15786 (11%). The proportion of isolates positive for lukM-lukF', tst and pvl was low at 0.04, 0.10 and 0.09 respectively, with lukM-lukF' often co-occurring with tst, but not with pvl. Methicillin-resistance was not found, but resistance to penicillin/ampicillin (86%) and tetracycline (54%) was very common. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high degree of relatedness among bovine S. aureus isolates in North-Western Ethiopia, suggesting contagious within and between farm transmission of strains that are often resistant to commonly used antimicrobials. This highlights the need for effective preventive measures that aim at limiting transmission of bacteria rather than using antimicrobials to control S. aureus mastitis in Ethiopia.

Detection of Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) -1, -2, -4 and -5 in Ethiopian Equids with and without Respiratory Problems and Genetic Characterization of EHV-2 and EHV-5 Strains.

Infections with equine herpesviruses (EHVs) are widespread in equine populations worldwide. Whereas both EHV-1 and EHV-4 produce well-documented respiratory syndromes in equids, the contribution of EHV-2 and EHV-5 to disease of the respiratory tract is still enigmatic. This study describes the detection and genetic characterization of EHVs from equids with and without clinical respiratory disease. Virus-specific PCRs were used to detect EHV-1, -2, -4 and -5. From the total of 160 equids with respiratory disease, EHV-5 was detected at the highest prevalence (23.1%), followed by EHV-2 (20.0%), EHV-4 (8.1%) and EHV-1 (7.5%). Concurrent infections with EHV-2 and EHV-5 were recorded from nine (5.2%) diseased horses. Of the total of 111 clinically healthy equids, EHV-1 and EHV-4 were never detected whereas EHV-2 and EHV-5 were found in 8 (7.2%) and 18 (16.2%) horses, respectively. A significantly higher proportion of EHV-2-infected equids was observed in the respiratory disease group (32/160, 20.0%; P = 0.005) compared to those without disease (8/111; 7.2%). EHV-2-positive equids were three times more likely to display clinical signs of respiratory disease than EHV-2-negative equids (OR 3.22, 95% CI: 1.42-7.28). For EHV-5, the observed difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.166). The phylogenetic analysis of the gB gene revealed that the Ethiopian EHV-2 and EHV-5 strains had a remarkable genetic diversity, with a nucleotide sequence identity among each other that ranged from 94.0 to 99.4% and 95.1 to 100%, respectively. Moreover, the nucleotide sequence identity of EHV-2 and EHV-5 with isolates from other countries acquired from GenBank ranged from 92.9 to 99.1% and 95.1 to 99.5%, respectively. Our results suggest that besides EHV-1 and EHV-4, EHV-2 is likely to be an important contributor either to induce or predispose equids to respiratory disease. However, more work is needed to better understand the contribution of EHV-2 in the establishment of respiratory disease.

Equine Herpesvirus-1 Myeloencephalopathy, an Emerging Threat of Working Equids in Ethiopia.

Although equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is a sporadic and relatively uncommon manifestation of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), it has the potential for causing devastating outbreaks in horses. Up till now, there were no reported EHM outbreaks in donkeys and mules. This study describes the isolation and molecular characterization of EHV-1 from clinically EHM-affected horses (n = 6), mules (n = 3) and donkeys (n = 82) in Ethiopia during outbreaks from May 2011 to December 2013. The incidence of EHM cases was higher from April to mid-June. EHM in donkeys was more severe and death without clinical signs of paralysis, and recumbency was frequently observed. The main age of affected equines ranged from 7 to 10 years (n = 51; 56.0%), and females (n = 58; 63.7%) were more affected than males. The incidence of neuropathogenic (D752 ) and non-neuropathogenic (N752 ) variants of EHV-1 from EHM-affected equines in Ethiopia was assessed by sequencing the DNA polymerase gene (ORF30) of the EHV-1 isolates. The results indicated that from the total of 91 clinically affected equines, 90 (98.9%) of them had an ORF30 D752 genotype. An ORF30 N752 variant was only found in one donkey. Analysis of ORF68 as grouping marker for geographical differences showed that the Ethiopian EHV-1 isolates belong to geographical group 4. Due to the fatal nature of EHV-1 in donkeys, it would be interesting to examine the pathogenesis of EHM in this species. At present, there is no vaccine available in Ethiopia, and therefore, outbreaks of EHV-1 should be controlled by proper management adaptations. In addition, it is important to test the efficacy of the commercial vaccines not only in horses, but also in donkeys and mules.

Indigenous knowledge of pastoralists on respiratory diseases of camels in northern Kenya.

The camel disease terminology of pastoralists in northern Kenya differentiates between two respiratory disease complexes of camels. Participatory epidemiology data were collected in 2011 in three camel keeping communities (Gabra, Garri, and Somali) and analysed to assess the validity of this differentiation. Further queries assessed recurrence of the disease in the same animal, most affected age group, relative frequency of occurrence, morbidity rates, mortality rates and response to antibiotic treatment. Based on matrix scoring the cardinal symptom nasal discharge was significantly correlated with Respiratory Disease Complex 1 (RDC1; Somali Hergeb, Gabra & Garri Furri) while cough was correlated with Respiratory Disease Complex 2 (RDC2; Somali Dhuguta, Gabra Qufa, Garri Dhugud). RDC1 appears to occur regularly every year and does not respond to antibiotic treatments while outbreaks of RDC2 are only observed at intervals of several years and treated cases do generally respond to antibiotics. While RDC1 is more severe in calves, RDC 2 is mostly associated with respiratory disease in adults. Elements of this differentiation appear to be in agreement with other authors who differentiate between camel influenza (PI3 virus) and bacterial camel pneumonia, respectively.