Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease was first confirmed in Tanzania in 2008 in sheep and goats in Ngorongoro District, northern Tanzania, and is now endemic in this area. This study aimed to characterise PPR disease in pastoralist small ruminant flocks in Ngorongoro District. During June 2015, 33 PPR-like disease reports were investigated in different parts of the district, using semi-structured interviews, clinical examinations, PPR virus rapid detection test (PPRV-RDT), and laboratory analysis. Ten flocks were confirmed as PPRV infected by PPRV-RDT and/or real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and two flocks were co-infected with bluetongue virus (BTV), confirmed by RT-qPCR. Phylogenetic analysis of six partial N gene sequences showed that the PPR viruses clustered with recent lineage III Tanzanian viruses, and grouped with Ugandan, Kenyan and Democratic Republic of Congo isolates. No PPR-like disease was reported in wildlife. There was considerable variation in clinical syndromes between flocks: some showed a full range of PPR signs, while others were predominantly respiratory, diarrhoea, or oro-nasal syndromes, which were associated with different local disease names (olodua—a term for rinderpest, olkipiei—lung disease, oloirobi—fever, enkorotik—diarrhoea). BTV co-infection was associated with severe oro-nasal lesions. This clinical variability makes the field diagnosis of PPR challenging, highlighting the importance of access to pen-side antigen tests and multiplex assays to support improved surveillance and targeting of control activities for PPR eradication.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an endemic disease in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in both wild and domestic animals. Despite this, no systematic FMD outbreak investigation accompanied by molecular characterisation of FMD viruses (FMDVs) in small ruminants or cattle has been performed, and only a single report that describes sequences for FMDVs in wildlife from the Emirate has been published. In this study, FMD outbreaks that occurred in 2021 in five animal farms and one animal market in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi were investigated. Cases involved sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx). Twelve samples were positive for FMDV via RT-qPCR, and four samples (Arabian oryx n = 1, goat n = 2, and sheep n = 1) were successfully genotyped using VP1 nucleotide sequencing. These sequences shared 88~98% identity and were classified within the serotype O, Middle East–South Asia topotype (O/ME-SA). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Arabian oryx isolate (UAE/2/2021) belonged to the PanAsia-2 lineage, the ANT-10 sublineage, and was closely related to the FMDVs recently detected in neighbouring countries. The FMDV isolates from goats (UAE/10/2021 and UAE/11/2021) and from sheep (UAE/14/2021) formed a monophyletic cluster within the SA-2018 lineage that contained viruses from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. This is the first study describing the circulation of the FMDV O/ME-SA/SA-2018 sublineage in the UAE. These data shed light on the epidemiology of FMD in the UAE and motivate further systematic epidemiological studies and genomic sequencing to enhance the ongoing national animal health FMD control plan.

In 2011, Bluetongue virus serotype 14 (BTV-14) was detected in Russia during routine surveillance, and was subsequently found in a number of European countries. The strain had high sequence similarity to a BTV-14 vaccine strain. We aimed to determine the risk of this BTV-14 strain causing disease in a UK sheep breed. Four Poll Dorset sheep were infected with a Polish isolate of BTV-14 and infection kinetics were monitored over 28 days. BTV RNA was detected in EDTA blood by 4 days post-infection (dpi) and remained detectable at 28 days post-infection (dpi). Peak viraemia occurred at 6 and 7 dpi with Ct values ranging between 24.6 and 27.3 in all infected animals. BTV antibodies were detected by 10 dpi using a commercial ELISA and neutralising antibodies were detected from 10 dpi. BTV was isolated between 6 and 12 dpi. All infected sheep developed mild clinical signs such as reddening of conjunctiva and mucosal membranes, with one sheep demonstrating more overt clinical signs. Two uninoculated control animals remained clinically healthy and did not have detectable BTV RNA or antibodies. The overall mild clinical symptoms caused by this BTV-14 in this highly susceptible sheep breed were in accordance with the asymptomatic infections observed in the affected countries.