A review of foot-and-mouth disease in Ethiopia: epidemiological aspects, economic implications, and control strategies

Abstract

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a contagious viral disease that affects the livelihoods and productivity of livestock farmers in endemic regions. It can infect various domestic and wild animals with cloven hooves and is caused by a virus belonging to the genus Aphthovirus and family Picornaviridae, which has seven different serotypes: A, O, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and Asia-1. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the molecular epidemiology, economic impact, diagnosis, and control measures of FMD in Ethiopia in comparison with the global situation. The genetic and antigenic diversity of FMD viruses requires a thorough understanding for developing and applying effective control strategies in endemic areas. FMD has direct and indirect economic consequences on animal production. In Ethiopia, FMD outbreaks have led to millions of USD losses due to the restriction or rejection of livestock products in the international market. Therefore, in endemic areas, disease control depends on vaccinations to prevent animals from developing clinical disease. However, in Ethiopia, due to the presence of diverse antigenic serotypes of FMD viruses, regular and extensive molecular investigation of new field isolates is necessary to perform vaccine-matching studies to evaluate the protective potential of the vaccine strain in the country.

Keywords: Control; Diagnosis; Economic importance; Epidemiology; Ethiopia; FMD; FMDV; Virus.

Fig. 1

FMDV structure (icosahedral capsid structure), adapted from https://viralzone.expasy.org/98. (Accessed on 17 July 2022)

Fig. 2

The RNA strand of FMDV and its protein-coding parts. The RNA strand has a 5′UTR, an ORF with L, VP4, VP2, VP3, VP1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B (3B1, 3B2, and 3B3), 3C, and 3D parts, and a 3′UTR.; source: [25]

Fig. 3

Map of FMD official status; adapted from https://www.woah.org/app/uploads/2023/03/fmd-world-eng-2023.jpg (accessed on 17 July 2022)

Fig. 4

Endemic serotypes of FMDV in different pools; adapted from https://www.woah.org/app/uploads/2021/05/fmd-world-eng.png (accessed on 17 August 2023). Source [68]

Fig. 5

FMDV isolates acquired in Ethiopia from 2008 to 2019 were distributed across the country. The map was adapted from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tbed.13675

Fig. 6

Ruptured blister on a cow's tongue (A); foot lesions on the coronet and interdigital area of the hoofs (B); affected animal develops vesicles in the muzzle (C) and on the teats (in lactating animals) (D); source: https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/diseaseinfo/disease-images/?disease=foot-and-mouth-disease (accessed on 17 July 2023)

Fig. 7

Laboratory tests for FMD diagnosis based on viral materials and antibodies in different scenarios; adapted from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop_pmc/tileshop_pmc_inline.html?title=Click on image to zoom&p = PMC3&id = 7473413_fvets-07–00477-g0001.jpg (Accessed on 18 July 2023). Source: [145]

Fig. 8

Desirable features of a perfect FMD vaccine; Adapted from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00705-019-04216-x/figures/2 (Accessed on 17 August 2023). Source: source [139]