Seroepidemiology of foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus non-structural protein (NSP) antibodies in the livestock of Oman.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious acute viral disease that causes severe economic losses to the affected countries. To estimate the serological prevalence of the local livestock to the natural infection with FMD virus, a cross-sectional study was conducted from 2015 to 2017 in Oman. Sera from 5807 randomly selected animals (1792 cattle, 2119 goats and 1896 sheep) belonging to 884 herds were tested for the presence of antibodies against 3ABC non-structural protein (NSP) of the FMD virus by a Competition ELISA. Prevalence along with confidence intervals (CI) and odds ratio (OR) was calculated, and the data were further analysed through univariable and multivariable techniques. The herd-level seroprevalence of NSP (41.4%) varied significantly among 11 governorates of Oman. At herd-level seroprevalence varied significantly among cattle (55.2%), goats (38.2%) and sheep (37.7%). At animal-level, the significantly higher prevalence was recorded in cattle (26.8%) followed by sheep (17.9%) and goats (17.3%). Binary logistic regression analysis at the individual level indicated that cattle (OR: 1.88), livestock above one year of age (OR: 3.47), imported breeds (OR: 1.82) and females (OR: 1.27) were the risk factors associated with higher prevalence. Whereas, sedentary (OR: 2.63) farming system, vaccination against FMD (OR: 5.98) and previous history of FMD (OR: 5.55) were the variables found associated with higher seroprevalence at the herd-level. We conclude that natural infection of FMDV is widespread in Oman and in future molecular typing of FMD virus outbreaks strains and vaccine matching studies should be employed to develop an effective control program in Oman.

Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and evaluation of risk factors in camels of the Sultanate of Oman.

Johne's disease (JD) is a World Animal Health Organization (OIE)-listed disease of ruminants including camels with serious economic impacts worldwide. A cross-sectional serological survey involving multistage simple random sampling was conducted to investigate the prevalence of JD in camels of Oman. In total, 2255 camels (254 males and 2001 females) and different ages from 553 geographically marked holdings were bled for serum. The samples were analyzed by a commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with protein 'G' as conjugate (LSI VET Ruminant Serum Paratuberculosis Advanced, France). Results indicated a widespread herd and individual level seroprevalence, respectively of 9.2 % (95 % CI = 0.7-50) and 2.6 % (95 % CI = 2.0-3.4) in Oman. Differences (p < 0.01) were observed regarding the prevalence of JD in sampled governorates, and the highest prevalence was recorded in Dhofar (13.5 %). Higher (p > 0.05) seroprevalence was observed in females (2.8 %), and their odds for testing positive were 3.69 (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.90-15.23) times higher as compared to males (0.8 %). Seropositivity increased with the age of camels, and the highest prevalence (4.4 %) was observed in camels of more than 10 years of age (p = 0.03). Large and medium size herds (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95 % CI = 0.96-3.24) where camels were kept as single species (OR = 1.54, 95 % CI = 0.84-2.84) and confined (OR = 1.93, 95 % CI = 1.05-3.54) were found more likely to test positive. This is the first record of seroprevalence of JD among the camels in the country which highlights their potential as an important host of the disease. The results advocate that a comprehensive control program based upon further risk analysis and molecular study should be devised in Oman.