Abstract
BackgroundOrf is a contagious disease of sheep, goats and wild ungulates caused by orf virus (ORFV) a member of the genus Parapoxvirus, Poxviridae family. Although orf is endemic in Ethiopia, little attention has been given so far as it is not a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health. In this work, we have investigated orf outbreaks representing five different geographical locations of Ethiopia, in Amba Giorgis, Gondar zuria, Adet, Debre zeit and Adami Tulu, between 2008 and 2013.ResultsThe viral isolation and the sequence analysis of the A32L and the B2L genes of eighteen representative isolates confirmed that sampled animals were infected by ORFVs.The phylogenetic study and the comparative analysis of the deduced amino acid profile suggests that there were two main clusters of ORFV isolates which were responsible for the investigated outbreaks. Additionally the analysis of these two genes showed limited variability to ORFVs encountered elsewhere. This is the first report on the genetic characterization of the ORFV isolates from sheep and goats in Ethiopia.ConclusionThe molecular characterization of Ethiopian ORFV isolates highlighted the circulation of two main clusters causing orf disease in sheep and goats. The use of laboratory based methods and a constant monitoring of Ethiopian ORFV isolates is needed to better understand the dynamic of ORFV circulating in the country and facilitate the implementation of control measures.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12985-016-0489-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Orf is a contagious disease of sheep, goats and wild ungulates caused by orf virus (ORFV) a member of the genus Parapoxvirus, Poxviridae family
This study describes for the first time, the molecular characterization of ORFV isolates collected from sheep and goats during six suspected orf disease outbreaks in Ethiopia
All isolates collected from both sheep and goats in Amba Giorgis, Gondar zuria, Adet and Debre zeit grouped in cluster I of the B2L tree, while those from agriculture research center (ATARC) were located separately in cluster II
Summary
Orf is a contagious disease of sheep, goats and wild ungulates caused by orf virus (ORFV) a member of the genus Parapoxvirus, Poxviridae family. Orf is endemic in Ethiopia, little attention has been given so far as it is not a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health. Contagious, debilitating and economically important zoonotic viral skin disease of sheep, goats and wild ruminants caused by orf virus (ORFV). ORFV infection in sheep and goats is generally known as orf, contagious ecthyma, infectious labial dermatitis, scabby mouth, contagious pustular dermatitis, or sore mouth. Lesions can be found occasionally on the teats of nursing animals but rarely on other organs [3,4,5,6]. Depending on the location of the lesions, animals may be unwilling to nurse, eat, or walk. The mortality rate related to orf is usually low, but it may be very high when bacterial or fungal secondary infections occur
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