Abd El-Rahim I H A, Asghar A H, Mohamed A M, Fat'hi S M
Rev Sci Tech. 2016 Dec;35(3):769-778. doi: 10.20506/rst.35.3.2567.
Approximately five million live ruminants are imported annually into Saudi Arabia. The majority of these animals are imported shortly before the pilgrimage season from Sudan and the Horn of Africa, where foot and mouth disease (FMD) is known to be enzootic. This study was designed to investigate the impact of the importation of these live ruminants on the epizootiology of FMD in Saudi Arabia. The authors carried out antibody testing on a total of 480 sheep and 233 cattle from the sacrificial livestock yards of the Saudi Project for Utilization of Hajj Meat, which performs ritual slaughter on behalf of pilgrims in the Holy City of Makkah. The results revealed that 136 (28.3%) of the 480 sheep tested were serologically positive for FMD, using an indirect enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (3ABC FMD ELISA). This included 17.7% of Sawakani sheep (imported from Sudan) and 40.9% of Barbari sheep (imported from the Horn of Africa). Among the cattle, 120 (51.5%) of 233 animals tested positive for FMD virus (FMDV) antibodies. The 120 seropositive cattle included all clinically suspected cattle and 62 (35.4%) symptom-free, in-contact cattle. The findings highlight the risks associated with the annual importation of live ruminants from FMD-enzootic areas. The risks include the possible introduction of new exotic FMDV serotypes, particularly when potential carriers or subclinically infected animals are considered. An understanding of the epidemiology of different strains and the ability to track their movement between geographical regions is essential for the development of efficient control strategies for the disease. Therefore, genotyping of FMDV strains isolated from imported and local animals is recommended.
沙特阿拉伯每年大约进口500万头活体反刍动物。这些动物大多在朝圣季节前不久从苏丹和非洲之角进口，而口蹄疫（FMD）在这些地区呈地方流行。本研究旨在调查这些活体反刍动物的进口对沙特阿拉伯口蹄疫流行学的影响。作者对沙特朝觐肉类利用项目的屠宰牲畜场的480只绵羊和233头牛进行了抗体检测，该项目在圣城麦加代表朝圣者进行宗教屠宰。结果显示，使用间接酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）（3ABC FMD ELISA）检测的480只绵羊中，有136只（28.3%）口蹄疫血清学呈阳性。这包括17.7%的萨瓦卡尼羊（从苏丹进口）和40.9%的巴巴里羊（从非洲之角进口）。在牛群中，233只动物中有120只（51.5%）口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）抗体检测呈阳性。120只血清阳性牛包括所有临床疑似牛以及62只（35.4%）无症状的接触牛。这些发现凸显了每年从口蹄疫地方流行地区进口活体反刍动物的风险。风险包括可能引入新的外来口蹄疫病毒血清型，尤其是当考虑潜在携带者或亚临床感染动物时。了解不同毒株的流行病学以及追踪它们在不同地理区域之间移动的能力对于制定有效的疾病控制策略至关重要。因此，建议对从进口动物和本地动物中分离出的口蹄疫病毒毒株进行基因分型。
