Seroepidemiological Study of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Small Ruminants in Thi-Qar Governorate, Southern Iraq, 2023
Seroepidemiological Study of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Small Ruminants in Thi-Qar Governorate, Southern Iraq, 2023
Wessam Monther Mohammed Saleh1*, Afrah Ali Dakhil2, Saad Shaheen Hamadi Al-Taher3, Mazin Mahdi Naji4, Layth Mohammed Salih AbdulRasool4, Khazaal Abbas Khazaal Alqaisi4
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to evaluate the sero-epidemiological status of CCHF infection in small ruminants after a recent human outbreak in Thi-Qar Governorates, southern-Iraq in 2023. The present study used 304 small ruminants (sheep and goats), focusing on tick infestation status, age, and sex of animals. Serum samples were obtained from sheep (n=242) and goats (n=62) located in rural and urban areas around recent focal human cases of CCHF infection in Thi-Qar, Iraq, and then screened using ELISA test (the “ID Screen® CCHF Double-Antigen Multi-species – CCHFDA” ELISA-Kit). The results showed that the incidence of CCHF in the examined sheep and goats was 49.3% (P≤0.01). In sheep, the overall seroprevalence rate was 52.9%, while in goats it was 35.5%. The current investigation showed a substantial difference in seroprevalence rate between animals that had a high level of tick infestation and those without ticks. However, 57% (P≤0.001) of sheep and 29.2 % (P≤0.05) of goats with severe tick infestation showed a strong IgG positive reaction in the CCHF ELISA-test. As an interesting finding, it has been found that older goats and sheep had a higher chance (P≤0.008) of being CCHF IgG positive than younger ones. Since older animals are more likely to be exposed to CCHFV-positive ticks and to a variety of diseases. It has been shown that the infection rate was high in grazing animals which were more likely to come into contact with animals from different regions. The seroprevalence of CCHF was higher (P≤0.1, and 0.03 for sheep and goats respectively) in females than in males. Since CCHF has a high prevalence among small ruminants and inadequate eradication efforts, the disease poses a public health and livestock threat in Iraq, especially in Thi-Qar.
Keywords | IgG, CCHF outbreak, Zoonosis, Tick born, Thi-Qar, Iraq
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