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Seroprevalence of rinderpest in non-vaccinated cattle in
Unity State, Southern Sudan
A. S. Ali1*, S. A. Mamdouh1 and A.
M. Elhussein2
1Department
of Preventive Medicine and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum
North, P.O. Box 32, Sudan.
2General Administration for Veterinary Research
and Laboratories, National Veterinary Laboratory, Soba,
Khartoum, P.O. Box 8067, Sudan.
*Corresponding
author. E-mail:
abumalaz2002@gmail.com. Phone: +249-912924916. Fax:
+249-185-312638.
Accepted 12
May, 2008
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In the
frame work of the Pan African Control of Epizootics (PACE)
Program, a cross-sectional serological survey for rinderpest
(RP) was conducted among
non-vaccinated cattle
in
Unity State, Sudan.
A total of 280 serum samples were collected from cattle of
different ages and both sexes in eight sites between June
and December 2004. These sera were tested for antibodies
against rinderpest virus (RPV) using a competitive
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). Only
15.4%
of the sera were positive to the RPV antibodies in the
different locations of the state. An obvious and significant
(p<0.05) variation in the prevalence of antibodies to the
virus among various locations was noted. A significantly (p
<0.01)
higher levels of prevalence rates were observed in the age
group of 5 to 10 years of cattle compared to other age
groups. The results also indicated the prevalence of
antibodies to the virus in females is always higher than in
the male animals (p<0.05). Our data demonstrated the
situation of RP in the unity state, the only locus known to
harbor the disease in the country at large. This helped by
designing a strategic eradication plan leading to declare
Sudan as a RP free country in 2005.
Key
words: Rinderpest, c-ELISA, eradication, Unity state,
Sudan. |
