Prevalence of peste des petits ruminants virus antigen in camel pneumonic lungs: a slaughterhouse-based study in Khartoum, Sudan

Aim: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly infectious, contagious and notifiable disease to WOAH with significant economic impact. PPR primarily infects small ruminants and camels with few reports of other susceptible animal species. Therefore, the current study intended to determine the presence and prevalence of PPR in camels slaughtered at Al-Sahafa slaughterhouse in Khartoum State, Sudan. Methods: In December 2019, a total of 78 pneumonic lung samples from camels were collected from Al-Sahafa slaughterhouse. The slaughtered camels were primarily of the Darfur and Butana breeds, ranging in age from one to three years, with a few nearing seven years. No obvious clinical signs were found in the ante-mortem examination before slaughter. However, a post-mortem examination revealed numerous pneumonic lesions and alterations in lung colour and shape; the abnormal appearance of the lung, dark red or purple lung colour, stiffness when touched, and shrinking to a smaller size. A haemagglutination (HA) test was performed to screen 20% camel lung suspension for detecting PPRV antigen. Results: Out of the 78 samples tested, 76 samples were PPRV-positive indicating an overall PPRV-antigen prevalence of 97.4%. The titers ranged from 2 to 32 haemagglutination units (HAU), with a mean of 10 HAU, whereas most samples reached HA titers of 8 or 16 HAU. Conclusion: The high incidence of PPR suggests that it is widely distributed among slaughtered camels and plays a role in developing camel pneumonia. Further research is needed to strengthen our understanding of the camels' role in PPR viral transmission and disease epidemiology. Containing the disease in Sudan, given that camels are not vaccinated against PPR, depends upon minimizing animal movement from endemic areas and raising camel owners' understanding of the economic consequences of PPR.