Abstract
BackgroundLumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary cattle disease caused by a Capripoxvirus of the family Poxviridae. In Uganda, documented information on the epidemiology of the disease is rare and there is no nationwide control plan, yet LSD is endemic. This study set out to investigate the seroprevalence of lumpy skin disease and determine the risk factors for LSD seropositivity, by carrying out a cross-sectional study in 21 districts of Uganda.ResultsA total of 2,263 sera samples were collected from 65 cattle herds and an indirect ELISA was used to screen for lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) antibodies. We used univariable and multivariable mixed effect logistic regression models to identify risk factors for LSD seropositivity. The overall animal and herd-level seroprevalences were 8.7% (95% CI: 7.0–9.3) and 72.3% (95% CI: 70.0–80.3), respectively. Animal-level seroprevalence in Central region (OR = 2.13, p = 0.05, 95% CI: 1.10–4.64) was significantly different from the Northern region (Reference) and Western region (OR = 0.84, p = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.39–1.81). Management type, sex, age, mean annual precipitation > 1000 mm, and drinking from communal water sources were statistically significant risk factors for occurrence of anti-LSDV antibodies in cattle. Breed, region, herd size, contact with buffalo and other wildlife and introduction of new cattle did not have a statistically significant association with being positive for LSDV.ConclusionWe report a high herd-level LSDV seroprevalence in Uganda with a moderate animal-level seroprevalence. Cattle with the highest risk of LSD infection in Uganda are those in fenced farms, females > 25 months old, in an area with a mean annual rainfall > 1000 mm, and drinking from a communal water source.
Highlights
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary cattle disease caused by a Capripoxvirus of the family Poxviridae
Demographic characteristics of the study population Blood samples collected from 2,263 cattle in 21 districts of Uganda between July 2016 and August 2017 were screened for presence of antibodies against lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV)
Seroprevalence of LSD antibodies at animal level in Uganda The overall animal-level seroprevalence of lumpy skin disease in Uganda was found to be 8.7%
Summary
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary cattle disease caused by a Capripoxvirus of the family Poxviridae. The etiological agent of LSD is a double stranded DNA Capripoxvirus which belongs to the family Poxviridae [1, 2] This disease is defined by mild to severe symptoms which include fever and development of large nodular skin and internal organ lesions [3,4,5,6]. Mortality due to LSD varies between 1 and 3%, but up to 40% have been reported in severe outbreak situations [7] These broad ranges for morbidity and mortality are likely to be due to variation in cattle breed, health status, viral isolates and insect vectors involved in the transmission [4, 13]. For instance in Africa, imported breeds from Europe or Australia have shown high susceptibility to LSD [13,14,15]
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