Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 20

Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 2015, 34 (3), ... - ...
No. 07102015-00064-EN 1/26
Foot and mouth disease in selected
districts of western Ethiopia:
seroprevalence and associated risk factors
This paper (No. 07102015-00064-EN) has been peer-reviewed, accepted, edited, and
corrected by authors. It has not yet been formatted for printing. It will be published in
December 2015 in issue 34 (3) of the Scientific and Technical Review
B. Beyene (1, 2), T. Tolosa (1)*, T. Rufael (3), B. Hailu (1, 4) &
T. Teklue (1, 5)
(1) Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health,
College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University,
P.O. Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia
(2) Wollega University College of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, P.O. Box 38, Shambu, Ethiopia
(3) National Animal Heath Diagnostic and Investigation Center, P.O.
Box 04, Sebeta, Ethiopia
(4) Semera University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box
132, Semera, Ethiopia
(5) Alamata Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 56, Alamata,
Ethiopia
*Corresponding author: [e-mail];
[e-mail]
Summary
A study was conducted in western Ethiopia – in two districts of
Oromia state and four districts of Beneshangul Gumuz state – to
determine the seroprevalence of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and
the associated risk factors, using multistage random sampling. A
3ABC blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was
used to measure antibody against the non-structural protein (NSP) of
Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 34 (3) 2
No. 07102015-00064-EN 2/26
foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) to differentiate between
vaccinated and infected animals. A total of 1,144 sera from 181 herds
were collected and examined. The overall seroprevalence at animal
level and herd level was 9% (95% CI 7.2–10.6) and 38.1% (95% CI
29.1–47.1), respectively. Statistically significant differences (p

Results (Indonesian) 1:

Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 2015, 34 (3), ... - ...No. 07102015-00064-EN 1/26Foot and mouth disease in selecteddistricts of western Ethiopia:seroprevalence and associated risk factorsThis paper (No. 07102015-00064-EN) has been peer-reviewed, accepted, edited, andcorrected by authors. It has not yet been formatted for printing. It will be published inDecember 2015 in issue 34 (3) of the Scientific and Technical ReviewB. Beyene (1, 2), T. Tolosa (1)*, T. Rufael (3), B. Hailu (1, 4) &T. Teklue (1, 5)(1) Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health,College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University,P.O. Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia(2) Wollega University College of Agriculture and NaturalResources, P.O. Box 38, Shambu, Ethiopia(3) National Animal Heath Diagnostic and Investigation Center, P.O.Box 04, Sebeta, Ethiopia(4) Semera University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box132, Semera, Ethiopia(5) Alamata Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 56, Alamata,Ethiopia*Corresponding author: [e-mail];[e-mail] study was conducted in western Ethiopia – in two districts ofOromia state and four districts of Beneshangul Gumuz state – todetermine the seroprevalence of foot and mouth disease (FMD) andthe associated risk factors, using multistage random sampling. A3ABC blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) wasused to measure antibody against the non-structural protein (NSP) ofRev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 34 (3) 2No. 07102015-00064-EN 2/26foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) to differentiate betweenvaccinated and infected animals. A total of 1,144 sera from 181 herdswere collected and examined. The overall seroprevalence at animallevel and herd level was 9% (95% CI 7.2–10.6) and 38.1% (95% CI29.1–47.1), respectively. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05)were recorded among different species, with 13%, 5% and 3%seropositivity in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. Statisticallysignificant differences (p<0.05) in herd seroprevalence were observedamong districts, with 52%, 50%, 50%, 44%, 21%, 11% in Gidami,Begi, Tongo, Bambasi, Mange and Asosa districts, respectively. Inunivariable and multivariable logistic regression, the variables thathad a positive relationship with seroprevalence at herd level (p<0.05)were herd size, contact of livestock with ungulate wildlife, and contactof animals with animal/herds of a different peasant association.Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis indicatedthat at the animal level, age and species had a statistically significantassociation (p<0.05) with seropositivity. In conclusion, herd size,contact of livestock with ungulate wildlife, contact between herdsfrom different peasant associations, and the age and species of theanimals were the main risk factors for virus circulation in the studyarea.KeywordsBeneshangul Gumuz – Cattle – Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay– Ethiopia – Foot and mouth disease – Goat – Oromia –Seroprevalence – Sheep – Western Wollega.IntroductionEthiopia has a huge livestock population (1). Livestock contributes30–40% to the agricultural component of the gross domestic product(GDP), 16–20% to the national GDP and 14–16% to foreign trade (2).Of the total livestock population, 4.09 million cattle die every year, ofwhich 3.45 million die from diseases. Thus, diseases of livestockcause significant economic losses in Ethiopia (1). More than seventransboundary animal diseases that restrict Ethiopia’s ability toparticipate in international trade are prevalent in the country (3).Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 34 (3) 3No. 07102015-00064-EN 3/26Foot and mouth disease (FMD), which affects domestic and wildcloven-hoofed animals and causes significant economic losses, is oneof the most contagious transboundary diseases in the world (4, 5). It iscaused by foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), which belongs to thegenus Aphthovirus of the family Picornaviridae. There are sevenserotypes of FMDV (A, O, C, Asia1, SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3) (SAT =South African Territories) (6, 7, 8). All but one of these serotypes(Asia1) are present in sub-Saharan Africa, and the epidemiology ofthe disease is further complicated by the presence of carrier animals(in particular African buffalo) and susceptible wildlife (9). Immunityproduced against one serotype does not protect the host againstanother serotype. In some species of wildlife, mortality can be high, aswas observed in South Africa in impala, Aepyceros melampus, and inIsrael in mountain gazelles, Gazella gazelle (10).The presence of FMD in Ethiopia and the risk factors for spread of theviruses have been described before (7, 11, 12). The commonlyoccurring FMD serotypes are serotype O, A, SAT1 and SAT2 (11,12). According to a 2007 report from the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (5), the last outbreak of FMDcaused by serotype C in East Africa was the 2005 outbreak in Kenya.Data obtained from the world reference laboratory for FMD in 2013indicate that, from 2010 to 2013, FMD outbreaks in East Africa werecaused by serotypes O, A, SAT1 and SAT2, with type O being thedominant serotype in Ethiopia (13). The prevalence of FMD in thecountry ranges from 5.6% to 26% in cattle (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18),11% in small ruminants (18) and 30% in ungulate wildlife (18).Production system, geographic location, age of animals, contact withwildlife and season of the year were the risk factors identified forspread of the disease in Ethiopia (11). In the South Omo zone ofEthiopia (a zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’Region [SNNPR]), a higher seroprevalence was reported for herds thathad frequent contact with wildlife compared to herds that rarely hadcontact with wildlife (17). A previous study conducted in theBenchimaji zone of SNNPR reported that herds with a history oftransboundary movement had a prevalence of 20%, while herds withno history of cross-boundary movement had a prevalence of 6%,Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 34 (3) 4No. 07102015-00064-EN 4/26which confirms that there is transboundary disease transmission fromneighbouring countries (7).Beneshangul Gumuz state and the Western Wollega zone of Oromiastate lie on the border between Ethiopia and Sudan and it is possiblefor animals to cross in both directions. There is a wide distribution ofwildlife in the area, so contact with livestock is common and frequentoutbreaks are reported. These border regions of the country have thepotential to become livestock production areas but, with the exceptionof a few reports on the disease (18), there is no information on theepidemiology of FMD or on its risk factors. Therefore, the objectiveof this study was to determine risk factors for the disease and itsseroprevalence at animal and herd level in cattle, sheep and goats inselected districts of the Western Wollega and Kelem Wollega zones ofOromia (one from each zone) and four districts of BeneshangulGumuz.Materials and methodsDescription of study areaThe study was conducted in two regional states of Ethiopia: Oromiaand Beneshangul Gumuz, which are located in the west of the country.In Oromia, the study area included two administrative zones, namelyWestern Wollega and Kelem Wollega zones, which are located in thewest of Oromia. The study area is located between latitude 8º12′–10º03′ N and longitude 34º08′–36º10′ E. The altitude ranges from500 m to 2,576 m above sea level (asl). Annual temperature in thearea varies from 15ºC to 25ºC. Broadleaf forest, grasslands andwetland (marshes and swamps) are the most common type ofvegetation in Western Wollega and Kelem Wollega. The mean annualrainfall of the area ranges from 1,200 mm to 2,000 mm. Maize,sorghum, teff, finger millet (dagusa) and wheat are commonlyproduced crops, while coffee is the most highly cultivated cash crop inthe area. One district was included from each zone: Begi district inWestern Wollega and Gidami district in Kelem Wollega. The districtschosen were districts that were easily accessible by road, had a historyRev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 34 (3) 5No. 07102015-00064-EN 5/26of outbreaks of FMD, were close to Beneshangul Gumuz and hadmixed-species farming systems (cattle, sheep and goats). Thelivelihoods of a large percentage of the population in the study areadepend on livestock and the production of coffee and other crops. Thelivestock production system of the area is extensive and of a sedentarytype.
From Beneshangul Gumuz a total of four districts were selected:
Asosa, Bambasi, Mange (in Asosa zone) and Tongo special district
(‘special districts’ are overseen directly by regional governments
rather than being governed by the zone in which they are located). The
region has a single rainy season of variable length between May and
October. The annual rainfall ranges from 1,130 mm to 1,146 mm. The
non-cultivable land of the area is covered with grassland, shrubland
and woodland, with extensive areas of closed (dense coverage) and
open (scattered coverage) bamboo forests. Livestock are kept for
draught purposes, milk production and as a token of wealth. Finger
millet (dagusa), Niger seed (noug), sorghum and maize are the most
common crops produced in the area. All the study sites share a border
with Sudan (Fig. 1).
Study design
A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2011 to April
2012 to determine the seroprevalence of FMD and associated risk
factors. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to herd
owners for the assessments of animal- and herd-level risk factors.
Study herds and animal selection
The study population consisted of 160,555 cattle, 61,252 sheep and
82,104 goats in extensive production systems. These animals
comprised around 1,815 herds in Asosa, Bambasi, Mange, Gidami,
Begi and Tongo special district. For