3 research outputs found
The prevalence of different African horsesickness virus serotypes in the Onderstepoort area near Pretoria, during an outbreak of African horsesickness in South Africa in 1995/1996
During 1995/1996 parts of South Africa experienced exceptionally
high rainfall. Large numbers of Culicoides midges were seen and an
outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) followed. In the Onderstepoort
area, near Pretoria in Gauteng, a number of horses died of suspected
AHS. Virus isolation and typing was done from blood and/or organ samples
of 21 suspected cases as well as from 5 zebra which were kept in the
area. Virus was isolated from 14 of the 21 suspected cases but not from
the zebra. The neutralizing antibody response of the zebra to the nine African
horsesickness virus (AHSV) serotypes was determined. Results indicated the highest prevalence of
serotypes 2 and 4 followed by serotypes 1, 6 and 9. Reverse
transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on total
RNA extracted from blood samples of the zebra. AHSV RNA was detected in
three of five zebra by agarose gel electrophoresis analysis of amplicons and in
four of five zebra after Southern blot hybridization using a 32P-labelled
probe. RT-PCR can be used together with serological techniques in
studies of AHS to further clarify the epizootiology of the disease.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi.
Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format
Lumpy skin disease of cattle : an emerging problem in the Sultanate of Oman
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly infectious
disease of cattle caused by a virus belonging to the Capripoxvirus
genus of the family Poxviridae. The purpose of this study is to
place on record the first confirmation of LSD in the Sultanate.
The disease was diagnosed and confirmed using polymerase
chain reaction, histopathology, transmission electron microscopy
and serum neutralization testing. The epizootic occurred
in 2009 involving a large number of animals and covering a
wide area including Nezwa, Alqabel, Sohar, Saham and
Burimi. Morbidity and mortality rates of 29.7 and 26.3 %,
and 13.6 and 15.4 % were observed at Nezwa and Sohar,
respectively. The clinical signs were much more severe in
Holstein–Friesian cattle compared to indigenous breeds and
were characterized by multiple skin nodules covering the neck, back, perineum, tail, limbs and genital organs. Affected
animals also exhibited lameness, emaciation and cessation of
milk production. Oedema of limbs and brisket, and superficial
lymph node enlargement were highly prominent. It is not
known from where the virus originated, or how it spread to
the Sultanate. The disease has become endemic in the country
and is liable to extend to other Gulf Cooperation Council
Countries and cause a pandemic. It is of major concern to
the Omani dairy industry. Due to the widespread presence of
screw worm, serious economic losses can follow outbreaks.South African ARChttp://link.springer.com/journal/11250hb201