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African swine fever (ASF) is an important emerging transboundary animal disease (TAD), which currently has an impact on many countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Russian Federation. The current situation in Europe shows the ability of the virus to rapidly spread, which stands to threaten the global swine industry. At present, there is no viable vaccine to minimize spread of the disease and stamping out is the main source of control. In February 2011, Ethiopia had reported its first suspected outbreaks of ASF. Genomic analyses of the collected ASF virus (ASFV) strains were undertaken using 23 tissue samples collected from domestic swine in Ethiopia from 2011 to 2014. The analysis of Ethiopian ASFVs partial p72 gene sequence showed the identification of a new genotype, genotype XXIII, that shares a common ancestor with genotypes IX and X, which comprise isolates circulating in Eastern African countries and the Republic of Congo. Analysis of the p54 gene also followed the p72 pattern and the deduced amino acid sequence of the central variable region (CVR) of the B602L gene showed novel tetramer repeats not previously characterized.

Interest in peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) has been stimulated by recent changes in its host and geographic distribution. For this study, biological specimens were collected from camels, sheep, and goats clinically suspected of having PPRV infection in Sudan during 2000–2009 and from sheep soon after the first reported outbreaks in Morocco in 2008. Reverse transcription PCR analysis confirmed the wide distribution of PPRV throughout Sudan and spread of the virus in Morocco. Molecular typing of 32 samples positive for PPRV provided strong evidence of the introduction and broad spread of Asian lineage IV. This lineage was defined further by 2 subclusters; one consisted of camel and goat isolates and some of the sheep isolates, while the other contained only sheep isolates, a finding with suggests a genetic bias according to the host. This study provides evidence of the recent spread of PPRV lineage IV in Africa.

The genus Capripoxvirus within the family Poxviridae comprises three closely related viruses, namely goat pox, sheep pox and lumpy skin disease viruses. This nomenclature is based on the animal species from which the virus was first isolated, respectively, goat, sheep and cattle. Since capripoxviruses are serologically identical, their specific identification relies exclusively on the use of molecular tools. We describe here the suitability of the G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor (GPCR) gene for use in host-range grouping of capripoxviruses. The analysis of 58 capripoxviruses showed three tight genetic clusters consisting of goat pox, sheep pox and lumpy skin disease viruses. However, a few discrepancies exist with the classical virus-host origin nomenclature: a virus isolated from sheep is grouped in the goat poxvirus clade and vice versa. Intra-group diversity was further observed for the goat pox and lumpy skin disease virus isolates. Despite the presence of nine vaccine strains, no genetic determinants of virulence were identified on the GPCR gene. For sheep poxviruses, the addition or deletion of 21 nucleic acids (7 aa) was consistently observed in the 59 terminal part of the gene. Specific signatures for each cluster were also identified. Prediction of the capripoxvirus GPCR topology, and its comparison with other known mammalian GPCRs and viral homologues, revealed not only a classical GPCR profile in the last three-quarters of the protein but also unique features such as a longer N-terminal end with a proximal hydrophobic a-helix and a shorter serine-rich C-tail.3These authors contributed equally to this work.Two supplementary tables are available with the online version of this paper.Journal of General Virology (2009), 90, 1967-1977 DOI 10.1099 Davies, 1981Davies, , 1982Diallo & Viljoen, 2007). CaPV infections lead to similar clinical signs in sheep and goats, mainly characterized by fever, excess salivation, conjunctivitis and rhinitis with ocular and nasal discharges. These symptoms are followed by eruption of pox lesions throughout the skin. LSD is a subacute to acute cattle disease with appearance of skin nodules. During epizootics of CaPVs in domestic animals, disease in wild ungulates has never been reported (Davies, 1991), although serology and isolated cases suggests that wildlife species have a possible role in virus maintenance.CaPVs are generally considered to be host-specific, leading to outbreaks in one preferred host. This is partially true since some SPPV and GTPV isolates are capable of causing severe diseases in both sheep and goats (Davies, 1976;Kitching et al., 1989). An in-depth epidemiological investigation to specifically identify the viruses involved in acute small ruminant pox diseases cannot be achieved by serological testing alone due to the very close antigenic relationship between CaPVs, with the existence of only one serotype (Kitching et al., , 1989. The common immunogenic properties of these viruses have been used for the preparation of live attenuated vaccines that ...

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