Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Abadiyyat Damanhur, El-Beheira, Egypt.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 11;18(10):e0291970. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291970. eCollection 2023.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease caused by FMD virus (FMDV) that threatens Egypt's livestock industry. FMDV causes severe economic losses in the livestock, with restriction of international trade from endemic regions. Surveillance for FMDV serotypes circulating in Egypt is urgently needed to assess the epidemiological situation in the country. FMD outbreaks reported in Egypt in between December 2016 and January-March 2017. A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the FMDV serotypes responsible for the outbreaks and to collect information on the virus's morphopathological effects. Postmortem tissue and clinical samples (oral swabs, vesicular fluids from ruptured vesicles, and blood) were collected from recently deceased and infected animals. Pathological examination revealed classical FMD lesions as vesicular and erosive lesions on epithelial tissues with non-suppurative lymphoplasmacytic myocarditis. Phylogenetic and sequencing analyses demonstrated that FMDV serotype O, EA-3 topotype, VP1 is the prevalent serotype responsible for the pathological alterations and the high mortality in young calves, adult cattle, and water buffalo. The outcomes indicate continuous mutations in the circulating FMDV, which result in the occasional failure of vaccination. Based on these findings, extensive continuous monitoring and serotyping of the existing circulating FMDV isolates and regular vaccination with reevaluation of the currently used vaccine in Egypt are recommended to prevent the recurrence of such outbreaks.
口蹄疫（FMD）是一种由口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）引起的高传染性病毒性疾病，对埃及的畜牧业构成威胁。FMDV 会给牲畜带来严重的经济损失，并限制来自疫区的国际贸易。因此，迫切需要监测埃及流行的 FMDV 血清型，以评估该国的流行情况。2016 年 12 月至 2017 年 1 月至 3 月期间，埃及报告了口蹄疫疫情。进行了一项横断面研究，以确定导致疫情爆发的 FMDV 血清型，并收集有关病毒形态病理学影响的信息。从最近死亡和感染的动物中采集了死后组织和临床样本（口腔拭子、破裂水疱中的水疱液和血液）。病理检查显示出经典的 FMD 病变，上皮组织上出现水疱和侵蚀性病变，伴有非化脓性淋巴浆细胞性心肌炎。系统进化和测序分析表明，口蹄疫病毒血清型 O、EA-3 拓扑型、VP1 是导致病变和小牛、成年牛和水牛高死亡率的主要流行血清型。结果表明，循环中的 FMDV 不断发生突变，导致疫苗偶尔失效。基于这些发现，建议对现有的循环 FMDV 分离株进行广泛的持续监测和血清分型，并定期接种疫苗，同时重新评估埃及目前使用的疫苗，以防止此类疫情再次发生。
