Serosurvey of Bluetongue virus in small ruminants in Egypt and its associated risk factors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.3610.31142.3Keywords:
Bluetongue, cELISA, serosurvey, risk factors, sheep, goats, EgyptAbstract
Bluetongue is an emerging, non-contagious, vector-borne disease that affects both domestic and wild ruminants. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in four Egyptian governorates and to evaluate the associated risk factors. A total of 740 serum samples were collected from 380 sheep and 360 goats and tested using a commercial competitive ELISA (cELISA). The overall BTV seroprevalence was 16.2%, with 17.1% in sheep and 15.3% in goats. Although the seroprevalence did not differ significantly across the studied regions, the highest prevalence was recorded in Kafr El-Sheikh (20.7%). Univariable analysis revealed a significant association between BTV seropositivity and several factors, including sex, age, presence of vectors, history of abortion, and contact with cattle. According to the multivariable logistic regression model, females, animals older than 2 years, and those with a history of abortion were respectively 2.3, 2.6, and 1.6 times more likely to be seropositive. Furthermore, the presence of insect vectors and close contact with cattle increased the risk of BTV infection by 1.6 and 2.1 times, respectively. This study highlights the significant risk factors associated with BTV seropositivity, with a slightly higher prevalence observed in sheep compared to goats. These findings underscore the need for effective disease surveillance, management, and control strategies targeting both sheep and goat populations.References
Abera T, Bitew M, Gebre D, Mamo Y, Deneke Y, and Nandi S. 2018. Bluetongue disease in small ruminants in south western Ethiopia: Cross-sectional sero-epidemiological study. BMC Research Notes 11, 1-6.
Ahmad S, Shafee M, Razzaq A, Badshah F, Khan NU, Ibáñez-Arancibia E, De los RíosEscalante PR, Arif HM, and Hussain A. 2024. Prevalence of bluetongue virus disease in a small ruminant population in Kalat, Balochistan, Pakistan. Veterinary World 17, 1966.
Backx A, Heutink C, Van Rooij E, and Van Rijn P. 2007. Clinical signs of bluetongue virus serotype 8 infection in sheep and goats. The Veterinary Record 161, 591.
Breard E, Hamblin C, Hammoumi S, Sailleau C, Dauphin G, and Zientara S. 2004. The epidemiology and diagnosis of bluetongue with particular reference to Corsica. Research in Veterinary Science 77, 1-8.
Bumbarov V, Brenner J, Rotenberg D, Batten C, Sharir B, Gorohov A, Golender N, Shainin T, Kanigswald G, and Asis I. 2012. The presence and possible effects of bluetongue virus in goat herds in Israel. Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine 67, 237-234.
Caixeta EA, Pinheiro MA, Lucchesi VS, Oliveira AGG, Galinari GCF, Tinoco HP, Coelho CM, and Lobato ZIP. 2024. The Study of Bluetongue Virus (BTV) and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (EHDV) Circulation and Vectors at the Municipal Parks and Zoobotanical Foundation of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (FPMZB-BH). Viruses 16, 293.
Carpenter S, Wilson A, and Mellor PS. 2009. Culicoides and the emergence of bluetongue virus in northern Europe. Trends in microbiology 17, 172-178.
Elmahi MM, Karrar ARE, Elhassan AM, Hussien MO, Enan KA, Mansour MA, and El Hussein ARM. 2020. Serological investigations of Bluetongue Virus (BTV) among sheep and goats in Kassala State, Eastern Sudan. Veterinary Medicine International 2020.
Formenty P, Domenech J, Lauginie F, Ouattara M, Diawara S, Raath J, Grobler D, Leforban Y, and Angba A. 1994. Epidemiologic study of bluetongue in sheep, cattle and different species of wild animals in the Ivory Coast. Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics) 13, 737-751.
Gaire TN, Karki S, Dhakal IP, Khanal DR, Joshi NP, Sharma B, and Bowen RA. 2014. Cross-sectional serosurvey and associated factors of bluetongue virus antibodies presence in small ruminants of Nepal. BMC research notes 7, 1-6.
Gerdes G. 2004. A South African overview of the virus, vectors, surveillance and unique features of bluetongue. Vet Ital 40, 39-42.
Gethmann J, Probst C, and Conraths FJ. 2020. Economic impact of a bluetongue serotype 8 epidemic in Germany. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 65.
Hafez S, and Ozawa Y. 1973. Serological survey of bluetongue in Egypt. Bulletin of epizootic diseases of Africa 21, 297-304.
Ismail J, Martin J, and Nazmi A. 1987. Bluetongue neutralization test with different virus under variable conditions. Agric Res Rev Egypt 65, 867-872.
Kardjadj M, Luka PD, and Benmadhi MH. 2016. Sero-epidemiology of bluetongue in Algerian ruminants. African Journal of Biotechnology 15, 868-871.
Katsoulos P-D, Giadinis ND, Chaintoutis SC, Dovas CI, Kiossis E, Tsousis G, Psychas V, Vlemmas I, Papadopoulos T, and Papadopoulos O. 2016. Epidemiological characteristics and clinicopathological features of bluetongue in sheep and cattle, during the 2014 BTV serotype 4 incursion in Greece. Tropical Animal Health and Production 48, 469-477.
Khezri M, and Azimi SM. 2013a. Epidemiological investigation of bluetongue virus antibodies in sheep in Iran. Vet World 6, 122-125.
Khezri M, and Azimi SM. Seroprevalence of bluetongue disease in sheep in west and northwest provinces of Iran. Proc. Veterinary Research Forum, 2013b. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, 195.
Kramer W, Greiner E, and Gibbs E. 1985. Seasonal variations in population size, fecundity, and parity rates of Culicoides insignis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Florida, USA. Journal of medical entomology 22, 163-169.
Kyriakis C, Billinis C, Papadopoulos E, Vasileiou N, Athanasiou L, and Fthenakis G. 2015. Bluetongue in small ruminants: An opinionated review, with a brief appraisal of the 2014 outbreak of the disease in Greece and the south-east Europe. Veterinary microbiology 181, 66-74.
Maan S, Maan N, Samuel A, Rao S, Attoui H, and Mertens P. 2007. Analysis and phylogenetic comparisons of full-length VP2 genes of the 24 bluetongue virus serotypes. Journal of General Virology 88, 621-630.
Maan S, Maan NS, Nomikou K, Batten C, Antony F, Belaganahalli MN, Samy AM, Reda AA, Al-Rashid SA, and El Batel M. 2011. Novel bluetongue virus serotype from Kuwait. Emerging infectious diseases 17, 886.
Maclachlan NJ. 2010. Global implications of the recent emergence of bluetongue virus in Europe. Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice 26, 163-171.
Maclachlan NJ. 2011. Bluetongue: history, global epidemiology, and pathogenesis. Preventive veterinary medicine 102, 107-111.
Mahmoud M, and Khafagi MH. 2014. Seroprevalence of bluetongue in sheep and goats in Egypt. Veterinary World 7.
Mahmoud MA, Ghazy AA, and Shaapan RM. 2021. Review of diagnostic procedures and control of some viral diseases causing abortion and infertility in small ruminants in Egypt. Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences 35, 513-521.
Mahmoud MAE-F, Elbayoumy MK, Sedky D, and Ahmed S. 2017. Serological investigation of some important RNA viruses affecting sheep and goats in Giza and Beni-Suef governorates in Egypt. Veterinary World 10, 1161.
Malik AI, Ijaz M, Yaqub T, Avais M, Shabbir MZ, Aslam HB, Aqib AI, Farooqi SH, Sohail T, and Ghaffar A. 2018. Sero-epidemiology of bluetongue virus (BTV) infection in sheep and goats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Acta tropica 182, 207-211.
Meiswinkel R, Van Rijn P, Leijs P, and Goffredo M. 2007. Potential new Culicoides vector of bluetongue virus in northern Europe. Veterinary Record 161, 564.
Miranda MÁ. 2018. Case studies of vector-borne diseases in livestock: bluetongue virus. In: Pests and vector-borne diseases in the livestock industry, Wageningen Academic Publishers, 527-535.
Mohammadi A, Tanzifi P, and Nemati Y. 2012. Seroepidemiology of bluetongue disease and risk factors in small ruminants of Shiraz suburb, Fars province, Iran. Trop Biomed 29, 632-637.
Mullins P. 2024. Interactive Effects Between Bluetongue Virus Infection and Insecticide Exposures in Culicoides sonorensis. University of Arkansas.
Radwan IT, Baz MM, Khater H, and Selim AM. 2022. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for biologically active green tea and fennel natural oils delivery: Larvicidal and adulticidal activities against Culex pipiens. Molecules 27, 1939.
Ravishankar C, Nair GK, Mini M, and Jayaprakasan V. 2005. Seroprevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies in sheep and goats in Kerala State, India. Revue scientifique et technique-Office international des épizooties 24, 953.
Rojas JM, Rodríguez-Martín D, Martín V, and Sevilla N. 2019. Diagnosing bluetongue virus in domestic ruminants: current perspectives. Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports, 17-27.
Rushton J, and Lyons N. 2015. A review of the effects on production. Veterinary Italian 51, 401-406.
Saminathan M, Singh K, Vineetha S, Maity M, Biswas S, Manjunathareddy G, Chauhan H, Milton A, Ramakrishnan M, and Maan S. 2020. Virological, immunological and pathological findings of transplacentally transmitted bluetongue virus serotype 1 in IFNAR1-blocked mice during early and mid gestation. Scientific Reports 10, 2164.
Sbizera MCR, Barreto JVP, Pituco EM, Lorenzetti E, Lunardi M, Patelli THC, and Matias BF. 2019. Bluetongue disease in sheep: a review. Arquivos do Instituto Biológico 86, e1342018.
Selim A, Alsubki RA, Albohairy FM, Attia KA, and Kimiko I. 2022. A survey of bluetongue infection in one-humped camels (Camelus Dromedarius); seroprevalence and risk factors analysis. BMC Veterinary Research 18, 1-6.
Selim A, Marzok M, Alkashif K, Kandeel M, Salem M, and Sayed-Ahmed MZ. 2023. Bluetongue virus infection in cattle: serosurvey and its associated risk factors. Tropical Animal Health and Production 55, 285.
Sharma RN, Beckford S, Tiwari K, Vinet E, Thomas D, de Allie C, and Chikweto A. 2016. Seroprevalence of bluetongue virus antibody in ruminants from Grenada. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine 6, 99-103.
Singh K, Saminathan M, Dinesh M, Khorajiya J, Umeshappa C, Sahoo D, Sahoo D, Faslu Rahman A, Singh R, and Tripathi B. 2021. Epidemiology and pathology of bluetongue virus in India: A systematic review.
Sohail T, Yaqub T, Shafee M, Abbas T, Nazir J, Ullah N, Rabbani M, Chaudhary M, Mukhtar N, and Habib M. 2018. Seroprevalence of Bluetongue Virus in small ruminants in Balochistan province, Pakistan. Transboundary and emerging diseases 65, 1272-1281.
Sreenivasulu D, Subba Rao M, Reddy Y, and Gard G. 2004. Overview of bluetongue disease, viruses, vectors, surveillance and unique features: the Indian sub-continent and adjacent regions. Vet Ital 40, 73-77.
Tabachnick W. 2010. Challenges in predicting climate and environmental effects on vector-borne disease episystems in a changing world. Journal of Experimental Biology 213, 946-954.
Thrusfield M. 2018. Veterinary epidemiology: John Wiley & Sons.
Worwa G, Hilbe M, Chaignat V, Hofmann MA, Griot C, Ehrensperger F, Doherr MG, and Thür B. 2010. Virological and pathological findings in Bluetongue virus serotype 8 infected sheep. Veterinary microbiology 144, 264-273.
Yilma M, and Mekonnen M. 2015. Competitive enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (c-ELISA) based sero-prevalence of bluetongue virus (BTV) on small ruminants in selected areas of Wolyita, Southern Ethiopia. Virol mycol 4, 2161-0517.1000148.
Yousef MR, Al-Eesa AA, and Al-Blowi MH. 2012. High seroprevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies in sheep, goats, cattle and camel in different districts of Saudi Arabia. Veterinary World 5, 389.
