Epidemiology of foot and mouth disease in Karnataka state, India: a retrospective study

Abstract

A retrospective study on the epidemiology of foot and-mouth disease (FMD) in Karnataka, India between the years 1977 and 2012-13 based on the data collected through passive and active surveillance was undertaken. A total of 11,159 outbreaks with 0.271 million cases of FMD were recorded from 30 different revenue districts of Karnataka. There was a significant difference between the years for the annual incidence of FMD (P = \0.001, F = 19.10) and also between the months (P = \0.001, F = 4.22). Cattle and buffaloes were the predominant species affected being involved in all of the outbreaks reported. A significant correlation was observed between livestock density and the number of outbreaks reported (r = 0.70, p \ 0.02), and number of cases (r = 0.76, p \ 0.01) for all the agro-climatic zones. The Central dry zone (n = 2257, 19.89 %) reported the highest number of outbreaks followed by the Northern dry zone (n = 1881, 16.58 %) and the Southern transition zone (n = 1761, 15.52 %), and attack rates were concentrated in the North/Northeastern/Central dry and transition zones. A large majority of the outbreaks were caused by serotype O (64.04 %), followed by Asia 1 (19.87 %) and A (12.27 %). Serotype C was not reported since 1993 in the state. In recent years, serotype O has dominated (82.59 %), with the rest of the outbreaks being almost equally caused by A (9.01 %) and Asia 1 (8.40 %). The study highlights the significance of the O serotype and cattle as the main indicator species in the epidemiology of FMD in Karnataka, India. The findings from this study can be used as baseline epidemiological data for further research to identify endemic and epidemic areas for the development of a sustainable programme for the progressive control of FMD in the state of Karnataka as well as other endemic settings.

Serosurveillance of foot and mouth disease in Karnataka state, India: a 3 years study

“…On an average, outbreaks were recorded in 21 districts every year, of which only 10.8 outbreaks were confirmed [16]. Not all the clinically reported outbreaks could be confirmed in the present study as well.…”

“…Hence, it is not surprising that few districts may have higher prevalence of anti-NSP antibodies compared to others. Large numbers of outbreaks were reported from the dry zones and transition zones where the majority of the susceptible livestock population is located [16]. Before the implementation of vaccination programme, seroprevalence in these zones was more than 50 % which subsequently reduced to less than 25 % at the end of IV th phase of vaccination.…”

“…We have earlier reported on a retrospective study on the epidemiology of FMD in Karnataka, India, for the period between 1977 and 2012-2013 based on data collected through passive and active clinical surveillance [16]. However, many outbreaks likely went unnoticed or unreported because of the endemic nature of the disease, low mortality and due to reasons such as remoteness of the villages and lack of incentives for disease reporting.…”

Outbreak investigations of foot and mouth disease virus in Nepal between 2010 and 2015 in the context of historical serotype occurrence

“…Previous studies in India have also shown FMD outbreaks throughout the year, with a higher prevalence of outbreaks in the winter months (Bhat & Taneja ; Hegde et al . ). In contrast to the current study, a study in Bangladesh reported the highest incidence of FMD outbreaks during the post‐monsoon season (September‐November), followed by the pre‐monsoon season (March‐May), and winter (December‐February) (Kamaruddin & Pandit ).…”

Outbreak investigation of foot and mouth disease in Nangarhar province of war-torn Afghanistan, 2014

“…For outbreak investigation, an animal was considered positive for FMD based on the clinical definition i.e. high body temperature, excessive salivation, vesicles formation on the tongue, nose, lips, oral mucosa, plus the inter-digital spaces and coronary bands on the feet, along with few or all signs of reduced appetite, depression, fever, hypersalivation, and lameness 36 , 58 – 60 .…”