Isolation and identification of peste des petits ruminants virus from goats in Egyptian governorates

Abstract

Background and Aim: The peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease of small ruminants which negatively affects animal production and the socioeconomic status of farmers. Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) encodes eight proteins, with the viral fusion protein (F) playing a role in virus virulence and stimulating an effective protective immune response. This study aimed to isolate and complete the identification of PPRV circulating in goats in different Egyptian governorates and perform molecular characterization of the PPRV F gene. Materials and Methods: Samples were collected from unvaccinated animals with clinical signs suggestive of PPR. A total of 256 sera were tested for the detection of PPRV antibodies using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) kit, while 214 samples of blood buffy coat preparation, animal swabs (nasal, ocular, and saliva), and fecal and tissue samples were tested for the detection of the PPRV antigen using an antigen-capture ELISA kit. Molecular diagnosis, gene cloning, blast analysis, and phylogenetic analysis were performed for the molecular characterization of PPRV. Results: The seroprevalence results of PPRV antibodies in the tested sera showed a total of 67.9% positive samples. The rates of PPR antigen recorded by the antigen-capture ELISA in the swabs (nasal and ocular) and tissue samples were 44.3%, 46.8%, and 43.5%, respectively, with saliva swabs having the highest rate of PPRV positivity (76.4%) and fecal samples having the lowest (33.3%). Molecular characterization of the PPRV Vero cell culture revealed that the circulating PPRV strain belongs to the IV lineage. Blast analysis of the PPRV F gene showed 96.7% identity with the PPRV strain Egypt-2014 fusion protein (F) gene, KT006589.1, differing by 43 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the emerging PPRV belongs to the IV lineage among small ruminant animals. The findings also indicate the need for an innovative strategy to control and eliminate this disease based on a regularly administered and effective vaccine, a test to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals, and the need for further study on the protein structure and PPRV F gene expression, which should help us to understand the molecular evolution of the virus and control and eliminate PPR disease.

Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus Infection of Small Ruminants in Al-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

“…In this study, PPRV strain was highly identical to isolates previously identified in Egypt (MG564286 PPR El-Kalubeya, JN202924 PPR Ismailia3/2010, JN202923 PPR Ismailia1/2010 and JX312807 PPR Ismailia2/2012) with a percentage of identity (100, 99.4, 99.1 and 95.5%), respectively. Consequent, this strain belonged to lineage IV as In the previous studies from different localities of Egypt (Sharawi and Abd-El-Rahim 2011;Soltan and Abd-Eldaim 2014;Ahmed et al 2021). This similarity between the Egyptian isolates may be associated with uncontrolled movement of sheep and goats within and between the governorates.…”

Peste Des Petits Ruminants in the Middle East: Epidemiological Situation and Status of Control and Eradication Activities after the First Phase of the PPR Global Eradication Program (2017–2021)

“…On the other hand, lineage IV has been found in a larger number of countries. Since its first detection in Israel in 1993 [ 35 ], its presence has been evidenced in Egypt 2012 [ 36 , 37 , 38 ], Iran [ 39 , 40 ], Iraq [ 41 ], Jordan [ 42 ], Kuwait [ 33 ], Palestine [ 43 ], the KSA [ 30 , 44 ] and the UAE [ 45 ]. No PPR sequences are available for Bahrain and Lebanon.…”

“…In 2012, PPR outbreaks were documented in sheep flocks in the Ismailia and Cairo Governorates [ 17 , 36 ], leading to the development and application of a national strategy to control the disease. Subsequently, PPR has been reported annually ( Figure 5 ) and multiple studies have found considerable seroprevalence rates in unvaccinated SRs sampled in different governorates [ 37 , 38 , 54 , 55 , 56 ].…”

“…All the strains ever characterized from Egypt belong to lineage IV [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. A high homology with Sudanese viruses was noted, which, along with the serological evidence of PPR infection in SRs [ 57 ] and cattle [ 58 ] imported or smuggled from Sudan, supports the key role of Egypt in the eastward spread of PPR from Africa to the Middle East as suggested by several studies [ 30 , 36 , 58 ].…”

Investigation of the effect of mutual vaccination with pest des petits ruminants and polyvalent foot and mouth disease vaccines on the immune response of sheep

“…PPR infection was recorded in sheep flocks in the Giza governorate (Moatamadia village, Zenien, Saft El-Labn, and Kafrberak El-Khiam) ( Safwat, 2015 ). PPR has reappeared in some Egyptian governorates ( Mahmoud et al , 2017 ; Ahmed et al , 2021 ). PPR virus (PPRV) antibodies were detected in 63.7% of sheep and goats, in which goats were more sensitive to infection of the PPR virus than sheep, and the viral antigen detection increased in winter more than in other seasons.…”