Serosurveillance and Risk Factors of Peste des Petits Ruminants in Sheep and Goats in Giza Governorate, Egypt

Safwat, Mahmoud S.; Etman, Rabie; Karam, Reham; Khodeir, Mohamed

doi:10.21608/ejvs.2025.418200.3083

Serosurveillance and Risk Factors of Peste des Petits Ruminants in Sheep and Goats in Giza Governorate, Egypt

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ infectious disease department, faculty of veterinary medicine , Cairo University

² Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt;

³ Mansoura University , faculty of veterinary medicine, Weqaa center, MEWA, KSA

⁴ veterinary serum and vaccine research institute, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

10.21608/ejvs.2025.418200.3083

Abstract

PESTE DES PETITS Ruminants (PPR) remains a major threat to small ruminants health and productivity in Egypt. A cross-sectional serological survey was conducted in Giza Governorate from May 2014 to July 2015 to estimate PPR prevalence and assess the associated risk factors. A total of 316 randomly selected animals (200 sheep, 116 goats) were sampled and tested using virus neutralization test (VNT) and competitive ELISA (c-ELISA). The overall seroprevalence was 67.4% (95% CI: 62.2–69.9) by VNT and 65.3% (95% CI: 62.6–68.0) by c-ELISA. Prevalence was higher in sheep than goats, though differences were not statistically significant. Risk factor analysis, based on structured questionnaires, was performed using Chi-square tests followed by multivariate logistic regression. Two factors were significantly associated with seropositivity: regular introduction of new animals without quarantine (p = 0.041) and animal migration (p = 0.004). These findings indicate high PPR exposure in small ruminant populations in Giza, likely due to ongoing or past circulation of the virus. Strengthened biosecurity measures, including a minimum two-week quarantine for newly introduced animals, are recommended to reduce transmission risk.

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