First serological and molecular evidence of PPRV occurrence in Ghardaïa district, center of Algeria

Abstract

In February 2012, an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) was suspected in Ghardaïa district at the center of Algeria. Clinical, serological, and molecular investigations were performed to confirm the occurrence of PPRV. The overall morbidity, mortality, and case fatality rates of the ten flocks investigated were 12.2, 2.5, and 20.3 %, respectively. At the flock level, positivity to PPR was 100, 90, and 100 % by competitive ELISA (c-ELISA), RT-PCR of blood samples, and oculo-nasal swabs, respectively. At the individual levels, the present study showed that out of 186 samples collected from the same animals 17/62 (27.41 %), 14/62 (22.85 %), and 36/62 (58.06 %) were positive by c-ELISA, RT-PCR of blood samples, and RT PCR of oculo-nasal swabs, respectively. The positivity of PPR was significantly higher using RT-PCR of oculo-nasal swabs than c-ELISA and RT-PCR of blood samples. The N gene partial sequence of five PPRV-positive amplicons revealed 100 % homology among them and phylogenetically belonged to lineage IV. The sequences also showed similarity range of 97-99 % with the strains implicated in the Moroccan and Tunisian outbreaks, however, suggesting that a similar strain is circulating across this area of the Maghreb and highlighting the need for a regional control approach.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR): A neglected tropical disease in Maghreb region of North Africa and its threat to Europe

“…These challenges are typified by the reoccurring outbreaks in the Maghreb region of North Africa (Libya, Tunisia [22, 23], Algeria [24, 25], Morocco [26–28], Mauritania, and the Western Sahara). Mass vaccination following the initial identification of PPRV in Morocco in 2008 resulted in the apparent elimination of PPRV from this country.…”

An epidemiological overview of small ruminant diseases in Algeria

“…A year later, Kardjadj et al described the first serological and molecular typing of the PPRV strain implicated in an outbreak in the Ghardaïa district, in the centre of Algeria. The strain clustered under lineage IV of PPRV and shared 97-99% similarity with the strain implicated in neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia (8).…”

“…Regular PPRV epizootic activity across the tropical and subtropical areas of North Africa has resulted in the spread of the disease to uninfected areas within the continent (8). The recent results obtained by Kardjadj et al (9) described an overall PPR flock seroprevalence of 42.66% (64/150).…”

Molecular epidemiology of foot and mouth disease, bluetongue and pest de petites ruminants in Algeria: Historical perspective, diagnosis and control

“…In 2011, PPR was reported in Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf district, at the south western border of Algeria with Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Morocco and the sequence analysis clustered the circulating virus under lineage IV of PPRV (De Nardi et al, 2012). A year later, Kardjadj et al (2015a) described the first serological and molecular typing of the PPRV strain implicated in an outbreak in Ghardaïa district, in the center of Algeria. The strain was clustered with lineage IV of PPRV and shared between 97 to 99% similarity with the strain implicated in neighboring Morocco and Tunisia.…”

“…On the other hand, retrospective surveys on a Moroccan serological bank could not detect PPRV antibodies in small ruminant sera collected before 2008 (Ettair, 2012). The results of the molecular studies in each country show that the lineage IV of PPRV is circulating throughout the sub-region (Abd et al, 2010;De Nardi et al, 2012;Sghaier et al, 2014;Kardjadj et al, 2015a) except Mauritania, where El Arbi et al (2014) reported the presence of the lineage II, therefore, highlighting the existence of a second lineage circulating in North Africa.…”