Published Date: 2019-04-03 20:00:46
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease - Palestinian Auth (02): (WE) sheep, goats, st pending, OIE
Archive Number: 20190403.6400967
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (02): (WEST BANK) SHEEP, GOATS, SEROTYPE PENDING, OIE
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Date: Tue 2 Apr 2019
Source: OIE, WAHID [edited] http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review?page_refer=MapFullEventReport&reportid=30019
Foot-and-mouth disease [FMD], Palestinian Auton. Territories
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Information received on [and dated] 2 Apr 2019 from Dr Iyad Adra, Director General of Veterinary Services & Animal Health, CVO, Ministry of Agriculture, Ramallah, Palestinian Auton. Territories
Report type: immediate notification
Date of start of the event: 26 Mar 2019
Date of confirmation of the event: 1 Apr 2019
Reason for notification: recurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: 4 Oct 2018
Manifestation of disease: clinical disease
Causal agent: Foot and mouth disease virus
Serotype: Pending
Nature of diagnosis: clinical, laboratory (basic and advanced)
This event pertains a defined zone within the country.
New outbreaks
Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 1
Outbreak location: Hebron, Bani Naeem, West Bank
Date of start of the outbreak: 26 Mar 2019
Outbreak status: continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: farm
Total animals affected:
Species / Susceptible / Cases / Deaths / Killed and disposed of / Slaughtered
[Sheep & goats] / 433 / 80 / 10 / 0 / 0
Affected population: Mixed farm with sheep and goats that showed clinical signs (lameness, mouth lesions and sudden death of kids).
Outbreak statistics [rates apparent, expressed as percentages]:
Species / Morbidity rate / Mortality rate / Case fatality rate / Proportion susceptible animals lost*
[Sheep & goats] / 18.48 / 2.31 / 12.50 / 2.31
* Removed from the susceptible population
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comment: The farm was vaccinated for the last time on [26 Dec 2017] as the Palestinian Autonomous Territories are experiencing a shortage of vaccine supplies.
Control measures
Measures applied: movement control inside the country; surveillance outside containment and/or protection zone; surveillance within containment and/or protection zone; screening; traceability; quarantine; control of wildlife reservoirs; zoning; no treatment of affected animals
Vaccination in response to the outbreak(s):
Administrative division / Species / Total vaccinated
West Bank / sheep/goats / 293 / Inactivated, polyvalent, O, A
Measures to be applied: no other measures
Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type: Central Veterinary laboratory Al-Arub (national laboratory)
Species / Test / Test date / Result
Goats / real-time reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) / 1 Apr 2019 / positive
Future reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
[The location of this outbreak can be seen on the interactive map included in the OIE report at the source URL above.]
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[A previous FMD event in Bani Na'im (Hebron district, PA) was recorded in November 2017, similarly affecting a mixed sheep and goat farm (20171214.5501889, outbreak No 2); no fatalities were recorded. The causative agent was later identified, by WRLFMD, as serotype O, topotype EA-3 (20190216.6320472). This strain was circulating, earlier in February 2017, also in cattle in the Gaza strip and subsequently in an adjacent, large dairy cattle farm in Israel, close to the Gaza strip. The FMDV O EA-3 had been, reportedly, introduced to Gaza from Egypt.
An additional sample from the Hebron district (location unnamed), collected from sheep on 29 Jul 2018, was similarly identified as FMD O EA-3 (http://www.wrlfmd.org/sites/world/files/quick_media/WRLFMD-2019-00006-PAT-GTR-O-O_001.pdf). It remains to be speculated whether the FMDV O EA-3 strain remained circulating since 2017 in the Hebron district or was re-introduced in 2018 from Egypt.
Sudden mortality in lambs and kids, aged 1-3 months, due to cardiac lesions ("tiger-heart") is at times the most or even only notable sign of FMD outbreaks in small ruminants. In the past, as high as 50 percent mortality in young lambs/kids were recorded in sheep and goat flocks in the region.
During the current event, a 12.5 percent case fatality rate was recorded; this, and the absence of mortality during the November 2017 event, may be explained by timing: sheep and goats have recently given birth to their progeny. In this part of the world, the lambing season is January-February; goats' kidding season, about one month later. It may be assumed that the recent mortality has involved mainly goats' offspring; firsthand confirmation or otherwise will be welcomed.
The territories between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, composed of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, share a common animal-health environment. Addressing the hazards requires coordination and, ideally, cooperation. Recognition of the need for regional veterinary cooperation led the 4 parties -- Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority -- to establish, in 1995, as soon as political conditions allowed, a regional veterinary committee ("ROC") composed of their respective CVO's, assisted by their respective experts. This institution who met periodically and maintained a common web-site, facilitated information exchange and coordinated disease prevention and control and common research projects (supported by EU and USA). FMD diagnosis and vaccination was one of the main topics. Unfortunately, ROC dissolved in 2003 due to the deteriorated political situation.
Serotyping and genotyping of the current strain are anticipated with interest. - Mod AS
HealthMap/ProMED map available at:
Palestinian Authority: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/92]
