The prevalence, virulence, and serogroups of Dichelobacter nodosus and prevalence of Fusobacterium necrophorum in footrot lesions of sheep and cattle in Morocco.

Background and Aim: Footrot is a contagious disease of ruminants leading to severe economic losses. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, virulence, and serogroups of Dichelobacter nodosus and the prevalence of Fusobacterium necrophorum in footrot lesions of sheep and cattle. Materials and Methods: A total of 106 pathogenic lesion samples were taken from 74 sheep and 32 cattle exhibiting typical footrot lesions and were analyzed for the presence of D. nodosus and F. necrophorum by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Both virulence and serogroup were estimated for D. nodosus positive samples. Results: Among the 106 samples, 89 were positive by PCR for F. necrophorum, D. nodosus, or both. Dichelobacter nodosus was detected at a rate of 78.3% versus 28.3% for F. necrophorum. Virulent D. nodosus strains were detected in 67.5% of positive samples, with a higher rate in sheep (73.4%) than in cattle (47.4%). Benign D. nodosus strains were detected in 57.8% of samples, with a lower prevalence rate in sheep (50%) than in cattle (84.2%). The positive samples of D. nodosus revealed the presence of three dominant serogroups (D, H, I) and three minor serogroups (G, C, A) by serogroup-specific multiplex PCR. Conclusion: The findings provided information on the prevalence of D. nodosus and F. necrophorum strains in footrot lesions of sheep and cattle in some regions of Morocco, which will be useful for developing an effective autovaccine for the prevention of this disease in cattle and sheep in these regions.

[Adenocarcinoma of the paranasal sinuses in sheep: First case description in Morocco]. / Adenokarzinom der Sinus paranasales bei Schafen: Erstbeschreibung in Marokko.

INTRODUCTION: Small ruminant sinus adenocarcinoma (ENA) is a contagious disease caused by a beta retrovirus called Enzootic Nasal Tumor Virus or ENTV. The first cases were sporadically diagnosed in Morocco in 2018. However, in the last two years, ENTV has appeared enzootic in three herds of the Sardi breed. The annual incidence varied between 5 and 20 %. Most cases involved female animals aged 15 to 42 months. The disease developed within 2 to a maximum of 6 months. Diseased animals presented with progressive weight loss and increased mortality or needed to be slaughtered. The condition associated mainly with unilateral skull deformation, serous or seromucous nasal discharge with dyspnea, and in some individuals an exophthalmos. During pathology tumor-like masses were found in the paranasal sinuses, which showed the growth of an expansive and organized epithelial neoplasm on histopathology. After an overview of the differential diagnoses that can lead to confusion with ANE, the authors investigate why the disease occurs more frequently in Morocco and particularly in the Sardi breed.

INTRODUCTION: L'adénocarcinome des sinus nasaux des petits ruminants (ANE) est une maladie contagieuse, provoquée par un betaretrovirus appelé l'Enzootic Nasal Tumor Virus ou ENTV. Les premiers cas ont sporadiquement été diagnostiqués au Maroc en 2018. Cependant, durant les deux dernières années, l'ANE a sévi de manière enzootique dans trois troupeaux, tous naisseurs, qui exploitent la race Sardi. L'incidence annuelle varie de 5 à 20 %. La majorité des cas étaient des femelles, âgées entre 15 et 42 mois. La maladie évolue en 2 à 6 mois au maximum. Les malades maigrissent progressivement et la quasi-totalité meurt si elle n'est pas abattue avant. L'affection associe principalement des lésions de la face, avec déformation du crâne souvent unilatérale, des écoulements nasaux séreux ou séro-muqueux avec difficulté respiratoire et l'exophtalmie chez certains individus. L'autopsie a permis de mettre en évidence des masses tumorales dans les sinus. A l'examen histopathologique, les masses tumorales correspondent à un néoplasme épithélial expansif et organisé. Les auteurs, après avoir passé en revue les diagnostics différentiels pouvant prêter à confusion avec l'ANE, s'interrogent sur les raisons de sa recrudescence au Maroc, particulièrement chez la race Sardi.

High Prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in Small Ruminants in Morocco.

The prevalence of infection by Anaplasma spp. (including Anaplasma phagocytophilum) was determined using blood smear microscopy and PCR through screening of small ruminant blood samples collected from seven regions of Morocco. Co-infections of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp, Theileria spp. and Mycoplasma spp. were investigated and risk factors for Anaplasma spp. infection assessed. A total of 422 small ruminant blood samples were randomly collected from 70 flocks. Individual animal (breed, age, tick burden and previous treatment) and flock data (GPS coordinate of farm, size of flock and livestock production system) were collected. Upon examination of blood smears, 375 blood samples (88.9%) were found to contain Anaplasma-like erythrocytic inclusion bodies. Upon screening with a large spectrum PCR targeting the Anaplasma 16S rRNA region, 303 (71%) samples were found to be positive. All 303 samples screened with the A. phagocytophilum-specific PCR, which targets the msp2 region, were found to be negative. Differences in prevalence were found to be statistically significant with regard to region, altitude, flock size, livestock production system, grazing system, presence of clinical cases and application of tick and tick-borne diseases prophylactic measures. Kappa analysis revealed a poor concordance between microscopy and PCR (k = 0.14). Agreement with PCR is improved by considering microscopy and packed cell volume (PCV) in parallel. The prevalence of double infections was found to be 1.7, 2.5 and 24% for Anaplasma-Babesia, Anaplasma-Mycoplasma and Anaplasma-Theileria, respectively. Co-infection with three or more haemoparasites was found in 1.6% of animals examined. In conclusion, we demonstrate the high burden of anaplasmosis in small ruminants in Morocco and the high prevalence of co-infections of tick-borne diseases. There is an urgent need to improve the control of this neglected group of diseases.

Preparation and use of an autogenous bacterin against infectious coryza in chickens.

An experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of an autogenous bacterin against infectious coryza from a local strain of Haemophilus paragallinarum in Morocco compared with a commercial vaccine. Hens were vaccinated with a single dose or two doses of the bacterin at 15 and 18 weeks of age. Both the autogenous and the commercial vaccine conferred significant protection against experimental challenge (94% and 88%, respectively). A single dose was less protective with both vaccines.