A serological survey for antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in domestic pigs during outbreaks in Kenya
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tropical animal health and production
Abstract
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Kenya and has been well studied in cattle, but not in pigs, yet the
role of pigs is recognised in FMD-free areas. This study investigated the presence of antibodies against FMD virus
(FMDV) in pigs sampled during a countrywide random survey for FMD in cattle coinciding with SAT 1 FMDV outbreaks
in cattle. A total of 191 serum samples were collected from clinically healthy pigs in 17 districts. Forty-two of the
191 sera were from pigs vaccinated against serotypes O/A/ SAT 2 FMDV. Antibodies against FMDV non-structural proteins
were found in sera from 30 vaccinated and 71 nonvaccinated pigs, altogether 101/191 sera (53 %), and 91 %
of these (92/101) also had antibodies measurable by serotypespecific ELISAs, predominantly directed against SAT 1 with
titres of 10–320. However, only five high titres against SAT 1 in vaccinated pigs were confirmed by virus neutralisation test
(VNT). Due to high degree of agreement between the two ELISAs, it was concluded that positive pigs had been infected
with FMDV. Implications of these results for the role of pigs in the epidemiology of FMD in Kenya are discussed, and indepth
studies are recommended.
Description
Keywords
Domestic pigs, Eastern Africa, Endemic areas, Foot-and-mouth disease
Citation
Wekesa, S. N., Namatovu, A., Sangula, A. K., Dhikusooka, M. T., Muwanika, V. B., & Tjørnehøj, K. (2014). A serological survey for antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in domestic pigs during outbreaks in Kenya. Tropical animal health and production, 46(3), 575-581.DOI 10.1007/s11250-013-0530-0