Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: First described in Kenya, ASF is an infectious disease caused by a virus belonging to the Asfarviridae family and Asfivirus genus.Reported in eastern and southern Africa where the virus is known to be present in wildlife as well as incursions into central Africa.Chad first experienced ASF in October 2010.In less than four months, it was reported in four provinces.Failures in biosecurity, poor disease management, uncontrolled movement of animals, marketing and processing would have been the first factors for the introduction of the ASF virus in these different provinces of Chad.Purpose: The objective of this work is to determine the seroprevalence of ASF virus in apparently healthy pig farms in Chad. Material and method:The study was conducted from September 2021 to September 2022 in the provinces of Chari Baguirmi, Mayo Kebbi East and the city of Ndjamena.Started with is census of 492 farmers who had already registered ASF.Among them 198 consented to participate in this study.A total of 345 sera were collected and analyzed by the competition ELISA technical for the detection of antibodies directed against the ASF virus.The data from the interviews as well as the serological results were analyzed with the R Studio software.Results: The seroprevalences were 12.10% and 33.33% respectively in Mayo Kebbi East and Chari Baguirmi.In the cities, the seroprevalence varied from 10.10% to 33.33%.In the cantons and boroughs, it reached 61.53%.The seroprevalence was above 30% in eight districts, notably in Darda, Digo, Dogoré, Kabalaye, Malam-Sadi I, Malam-Sadi II, Tchinvogo and Toukra-Massa, respectively 44%, 61.53%, 50%, 33.33%, 45.45%, 50% and 100%.The variations in seroprevalence were related to the rainy season, the types of pig farms (16.78%) and the floor of the pigsty and the absence of litter in the pigsties.Seroprevalence was 19.23% in males; the age group between 0 and 4 months was the most affected with a rate of 78.52%.Conclusion: This study revealed that the ASF virus circulates in pig farms in Chad, despite the absence of visible clinical signs.The presence of this virus in farms would be maintained by the inadequacy of biosecurity measures and poor farming practices.The study provides proof that ASF actually circulates in pig farms in Chad.Absence of vaccine against disease is at the origin of the increase variations in seroprevalence in the different study sites, hence the need for an in-depth study of the factors influencing the circulation of the virus of the disease ASF.
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4390583036