AUTHOR=Tesfaye Adehanom Baraki , Assefa Guash Abay , Shishaye Leul Berhe , Abera Bisrat Mesfin , Gebreanenya Nechey Tsehaye , Gebregiorgis Gebru Legesse , Dürr Salome 

TITLE=Outbreak investigation of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1157395

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2023.1157395

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=An investigation of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak was conducted between late October and mid December 2019 in Tigray Region. The outbreak investigation team collected epidemiological data in the six villages of Kafta-Humera and Seharti-Samre districts, including morbidity proportions and mortality proportions, and clinical signs, cattle management and vaccination history was collected by participatory methods including interviews and group discussions with local experts and farmers in Kafta-Humera, and reporting from the district veterinarians in Seharti-Samre. Twenty-two tissue samples were collected for laboratory confirmation. Overall, 4,299/9,811 (43.8%) and 13,654/16,921 (80.6%) cattle showed clinical signs for FMD in Kafta-Humera and Seharti-Samre, respectively. In Kafta-Humera, highest morbidity proportion was found in adult cows and heifers (48.1%), followed by 27.8% in oxen, and 15.9% in calves. In Seharti-Samre, the morbidity proportion was similar in all age groups at around 81%. No death from FMD suspected cattle were reported throughout the outbreak. The serotype of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) identified by laboratory analysis differed between the two districts (serotype O in Kafta-Humera and serotype A in Seharti-Samre). We therefore suggest the outbreaks in the two districts occurred independently from each other. Experts and farmers interviewed believed that outbreak in Kafta-Humera was most likely caused by interaction between cattle and wildlife from the surrounding Kafta-Sheraro national park, which share common grazing land. This outbreak investigation showed FMD can cause devastating cattle morbidity. A regular vaccination program against the identified circulating FMDV serotypes with sufficient coverage is required to avoid future outbreaks.