Published Date: 2017-12-21 12:43:07
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease - Palestinian Auth (06): (WE) ovine/caprine, st O, tt EA-3
Archive Number: 20171221.5516215

FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (06): (WEST BANK) OVINE/CAPRINE, SEROTYPE O, TOPOTYPE EA-3

A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org

In this posting:
(1) West Bank: laboratory diagnosis of FMD, preventive measures
(2) Serotyping and genotyping; previous events

Date: Sun 17 Dec 2017
Source: Circular "FMD in PA (Palestinian Authority), no 1", Israel's Field Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture [in Hebrew, trans. Mod.AS, summ, edited]

On (Thu 14 Dec 2017), samples derived from a dead lamb in Siai'r, near Hebron, were forwarded to the FMD laboratory at the Kimron Veterinary Institute (KVI). A report to the OIE had notified 3 outbreaks of FMD in the villages of el-Shuyukh, Bani Nai'm, and Kharas (forwarded by the Palestinian Veterinary Services on (Wed 13 Dec 2017); see comment).

On (Fri 15 Dec 2017), FMD virus was isolated from the samples. Serotyping not yet available.

A restriction zone of 10 km [about 6.2 mi] radius [from Siai'r] has been defined, in which the dairy cattle operation of Kibbutz Migdal Oz is located (map at https://goo.gl/maps/7tgN8h2M8gr). 2 other dairy operations, in Maon Carmel and Rosh Tzurim, are just outside the 10 km (about 6.2 mi) limits of the restriction zone. The Migdal Oz farm had been last vaccinated at the end of November 2017. This farm has been now put under strict biosecurity measures. Each movement of animals for breeding or slaughter will be liable to permits from the Regional Veterinary Office at Kanot, Gedera; their conditions specified in annexes 1 and 2, respectively. Export of milk or dairy products from the Migdal Oz operation is banned.

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Date: Mon 18 Dec 2017
Source: Circular "FMD in PA, no 2", Israel's Field Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture [in Hebrew, trans. Mod.AS, summ, edited

1. The isolate from the outbreak in the Hebron area has been serotyped O and genotyped as topotype O/EA-3.
2. The same topotype O/EA-3 caused earlier outbreaks in the Palestinian Authority, namely Gaza strip (February 2017, 2 outbreaks) and the West bank (May-June 2017, 3 outbreaks). It also caused 2 outbreaks in Israel: a dairy farm in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak (adjacent to the Gaza strip, February 2017) and a beef cattle herd in Ein Saala (central Israel, May 2017).
3. The proclaimed restrictions will be updated according to further developments and changes in the epidemiological situation.

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Both circulars above, have been distributed earlier this week to the owners and practitioners of cattle, sheep, goats, and pig farms in Israel and can be found at: http://www.moag.gov.il/vet/About/hozrim/hozrim/Documents/17-12-17_1_pe_tlafaim.pdf and http://www.moag.gov.il/vet/About/hozrim/hozrim/Documents/18-12-17_2_pe_tlafaim.pdf.

Since the start of 2017, FMDV O/EA-3, an East-African virus strain, has caused at least 8 outbreaks in the territories administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA), of which 2 in the Gaza strip (cattle, February 2017) and 6 in the West Bank (sheep and goats, May, June, December 2017). It also caused 2 outbreaks in Israel, the 1st one in the large dairy operation of Kibbutz Nir-Yitzhak, adjacent to the Gaza strip (map at https://goo.gl/maps/toXCLdq7gR32), in February 2017, and the 2nd in beef cattle herd in Ain al Sahila, central Israel, close to the northern part of the West Bank (map at https://goo.gl/maps/egMJriCon7C2).

FMDV O/EA-3 is known to be endemic in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, and Sudan. This virus has been circulating in Egypt at least since 2012. The most recent genotyped samples were collected there (in the governorate Beni Suef) in late March 2016 (see at http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/africa/egy.htm). According to media reports, the disease was introduced into the Gaza strip in early 2017, from Egypt, by illegally imported livestock through tunnels between Sinai and the Gaza strip (see 20170316.4903671).

For genotyping results of the isolates from the PA and Israel, tested earlier in 2017 by the WRL (World Reference Laboratory for Foot- and-Mouth Disease) at Pirbright, see (for Palestine) http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2017/WRLFMD-2017-00005-Palestinian-AT-O-approved.pdf, and for Israel http://www.wrlfmd.org/fmd_genotyping/2017/WRLFMD-2017-00004-Israel-O-approved.pdf. Both are rather identical. As can be seen in the included dendrograms, there is a close proximity of the Israeli/Palestinian cluster to strains SUD/4/2013 (99 percent), Giza 1/Egy/2016, and Ismailia 7/Egy/2016 (98 percent).

The Palestinian CVO notified, on Wed 13 Dec 2017, 3 new outbreaks of FMD, namely in el-Shuyukh (conjoined with Siai'r , Bani Nai'm, and Kharas. The current isolates from the Hebron area have already been genotyped, and found 99 percent identical to the Israeli and Palestinian isolates in previous months.

We are informed that the sample received at KVI "from Siai'r" included a lamb's heart, from which the FMD virus was isolated. The lambing season in this region commences late November/early December. The FMD virus is notoriously known as cause of high mortalities in offspring of susceptible species due to heart lesions. For pictures from Jordan (2016), presenting mass mortality in lambs and their typical cardiac gross pathology, see slides 8 & 9 at https://tinyurl.com/yccrzru9.

The FMD-infected, conjoined villages of Siai'r and el-Shuyukh (also called ash-Shuyukh) are situated about 12 km (about 7.5 mi) north-east of Hebron, and 6.5 km (about 4 mi) from the dairy farm of Kibbutz Migdal Oz.

The proximity of the outbreaks in the 3 sheep/goat flocks in the West Bank to dairy cattle farms in Jewish settlements in areas administered by Israel within the same geographical region will require coordinated activities of the Israeli and Palestinian Veterinary Services. The following map presents the complex political situation prevailing in the affected area, animal-health-wise administered by 2 independent Veterinary authorities: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Oslo_Areas_and_barrier_projection_2005.png.

The continued circulation of FMDV O/EA-3 in the West Bank is a cause for concern for neighboring countries, in particular Jordan. - Mod.AS

HealthMap/ProMED-mail map
West Bank, Palestinian Territory: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/331