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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The Horn of Africa is a large area of arid and semi-arid land, holding about 10% of the global and 40% of the entire African livestock population. The region’s livestock production system is mainly extensive and pastoralist. It faces countless problems, such as a shortage of pastures and watering points, poor access to veterinary services, and multiple endemic diseases like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the most economically important livestock diseases worldwide and is endemic in most developing countries. Within Africa, five of the seven serotypes of the FMD virus (FMDV) are described, but serotype C is not circulating anymore, a burden unseen anywhere in the world. The enormous genetic diversity of FMDV is favored by an error-prone RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, intra-typic and inter-typic recombination, as well as the quasi-species nature of the virus. This paper describes the epidemiological dynamics of foot-and-mouth disease in the Horn of Africa with regard to the serotypes and topotypes distribution of FMDV, the livestock production systems practiced, animal movement, the role of wildlife, and the epidemiological complexity of FMD. Within this review, outbreak investigation data and serological studies confirm the endemicity of the disease in the Horn of Africa. Multiple topotypes of FMDV are described in the literature as circulating in the region, with further evolution of virus diversity predicted. A large susceptible livestock population and the presence of wild ungulates are described as complicating the epidemiology of the disease. Further, the husbandry practices and legal and illegal trading of livestock and their products, coupled with poor biosecurity practices, are also reported to impact the spread of FMDV within and between countries in the region. The porosity of borders for pastoralist herders fuels the unregulated transboundary livestock trade. There are no systematic control strategies in the region except for sporadic vaccination with locally produced vaccines, while literature indicates that effective control measures should also consider virus diversity, livestock movements/biosecurity, transboundary trade, and the reduction of contact with wild, susceptible ungulates.

Details

Title
Epidemiological Dynamics of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the Horn of Africa: The Role of Virus Diversity and Animal Movement
Author
Fanos, Tadesse Woldemariyam 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kariuki, Christopher Kinyanjui 2 ; Kamau, Joseph 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Annebel De Vleeschauwer 4 ; De Clercq, Kris 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lefebvre, David J 4 ; Paeshuyse, Jan 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Interaction in Livestock, Division of Animal and Human Health Engineering, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; [email protected]; College of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Bishoftu P.O. Box 34, Ethiopia 
 Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Interaction in Livestock, Division of Animal and Human Health Engineering, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; [email protected]; Institute of Primate Research, Karen, Nairobi P.O. Box 24481-00502, Kenya; [email protected] 
 Institute of Primate Research, Karen, Nairobi P.O. Box 24481-00502, Kenya; [email protected]; Department of Biochemistry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi P.O. Box 30197, Kenya 
 Sciensano, Service for Exotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, 1050 Brussels, Belgium 
 Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Interaction in Livestock, Division of Animal and Human Health Engineering, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; [email protected] 
First page
969
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
19994915
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2806628293
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.