Search

Background: Bluetongue virus causes febrile disease in sheep and a fatal hemorrhagic infection in North American White-tailed deer. However, in cattle the disease is typically asymptomatic and no clinical overt disease is associated with bluetongue infection. Bluetongue virus activity has been detected in Khartoum, Sennar and South Darfur states of the Sudan. Currently, no information is available in regard to previous exposure of livestock to Bluetongue virus in North Kordufan State, the largest livestock producing region in the country. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bluetongue antibodies and to identify the potential risk factors associated with the presence of bluetongue antibodies among cattle in North Kordufan State, Sudan. A total of 299 bovine blood samples were collected randomly from six localities in North Kordufan State and were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of BTV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies., Results: The serological evidence of Bluetongue virus infection was observed in 58 out of 299 cows, accounting for a 19.4% prevalence rate among cattle in North Kordufan State. Older cattle (>2 years of age) had four times the odds to be infected with BTV compared to young cattle (OR = 4.309, CI = 1.941-9.567, p-value = 0.01). Application of preventive measures, such as spraying or dipping with insecticide protects cattle against Bluetongue infection. Application of vector control measures decreased the odds for bluetongue seropositivity by 7 times (OR = 7.408, CI = 3.111-17.637, p-value = 0.01)., Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that age and application of routine insecticides are influential risk factors for seroprevalence of Bluetongue in cattle. Surveillance of Bluetongue virus should be extended to include other susceptible animals and to study the distribution of the insect vectors in the region to better predict and respond to BTV outbreak in the State of North Kordufan, Sudan.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study of Sudanese medical schools aimed to describe and analyse the proportion of their curricula currently allocated for teaching of communicable diseases and to assess the teaching methods and student assessment tools. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from heads of departments and students in 20 of the 27 medical faculties and from ministry of health staff at federal and state levels. Curriculum designs ranged from traditional to innovative, community-oriented programmes. Problems regarding student evaluations were identified. Major limitations included shortages of staff, reference materials and teaching aids. Poor knowledge of students about different aspects of diseases endemic in Sudan was found. Recommendations include curriculum development, staff recruitment and training, and improvement of teaching and training of students.

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) activity has recently been detected in the Kordufan region of Sudan. Since 2008, several sporadic cases and nosocomial outbreaks associated with high case-fatality have been reported in villages and rural hospitals in the region., Principal Findings: In the present study, we describe a cluster of cases occurring in June 2009 in Dunkop village, Abyei District, South Kordufan, Sudan. Seven CCHF cases were involved in the outbreak; however, clinical specimens could be collected from only two patients, both of whom were confirmed as acute CCHF cases using CCHF-specific reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Phylogenetic analysis of the complete S, M, and L segment sequences places the Abyei strain of CCHF virus in Group III, a virus group containing strains from various countries across Africa, including Sudan, South Africa, Mauritania, and Nigeria. The Abyei strain detected in 2009 is genetically distinct from the recently described 2008 Sudanese CCHF virus strains (Al-fulah 3 and 4), and the Abyei strain S and L segments closely match those of CCHF virus strain ArD39554 from Mauritania., Conclusions: The present investigation illustrates that multiple CCHF virus lineages are circulating in the Kordufan region of Sudan and are associated with recent outbreaks of the disease occurring during 2008-2009.

A single-tube nested reverse transcriptase (nRT) polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) was developed and evaluated for detection of palyam serogroup orbiviruses ribonucleic acid (RNA) in cell cultures and clinical samples. A pair of outer primers (pal1 and pal2), designed from genome segment three of Chuzan virus of the palyam viruses serogroup, resulted in amplification of a primary 660-base pair (bp) PCR product. Using a pair of internal (nested) primers (pal3 and pal4), the nRT-PCR produced a 350-bp PCR product. The primary and the nested PCR products were amplified from RNA extracted from Sudanese and South African isolates of palyam viruses, propagated in cell cultures. Application of this nRT-PCR to clinical samples resulted in direct detection of palyam virus RNA in blood and serum samples from infected cattle and goats. The nested amplification increased the sensitivity of the assay by 1000-fold, and specific PCR products were detected from as little as 0.1fg of viral RNA. Amplification products were not detected when the nRT-PCR was applied to RNA from closely related orbiviruses including, bluetongue virus (BTV) serotypes 1, 2, 4, 6; epizootic hemorrhagic disease of deer virus prototype serotype 1 (EHDV-1); Sudanese isolates of EHDV-318; total nucleic acid extracts from non-infected Vero cells; and blood and sera from goats and calves from which virus was not isolated. This nRT-PCR provides a reliable, sensitive and specific assay for rapid detection and differentiation of palyam viruses from other related orbiviruses. In addition, the assay is recommended for inclusion in epidemiological surveys and during investigation of an epizootic of the disease among susceptible ruminants.

The diagnostic potential of RT-PCR for detection of bluetongue virus (BTV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequence in cell culture and tissue samples from infected ruminants from United States, Sudan, South Africa and Senegal, was evaluated. The non structural protein 1 (NS1) gene of North American BTV serotype 11 was targeted for PCR amplification. The United States BTV serotypes 2, 10, 11, 13 and 17 and the Sudanese BTV serotypes 1, 2, 4 and 16 and BTV serotype 4 from South Africa and BTV serotype 2 from Senegal were studied. RNAs from all BTV field isolates used in this study, propagated in cell cultures, were detected by the described RT-PCR-based assay. The first specific 790bp BTV PCR products were amplified using a pair of outer primers (BTV1 and BTV2). Specificity of the PCR products was confirmed by a nested amplification of a 520bp PCR product using a pair of internal (nested) primers (BTV3 and BTV4). The BTV PCR products were visualized on ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels. Amplification products were not detected when the RT-PCR-based assay was applied to RNAs from closely related orbiviruses including, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) prototypes serotypes 1, 2, 4; RNA from Sudanese isolate of palyam orbiviruses serogroup and total nucleic acid extracts from uninfected Vero cells. Application of the nested BTV RT-PCR to clinical samples resulted in amplification of BTV RNA from blood and serum samples from goats experimentally infected with BTV4 and from naturally infected sheep, goats, cattle and deer. The results of this study indicated that this RT-PCR assay could be applied for rapid detection of BTV, in cell culture and clinical samples from susceptible ruminants during an outbreak of the disease, in the United States and African.

An investigation was conducted to assess the prevalence of Akabane virus antibodies in domestic ruminants from different ecological zones of Sudan. Neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sheep, goats and cattle sampled between 1979 and 1980 from El Obeid, Nyala, Kassala, Jonglei and Sennar. The highest prevalence was in Jonglei where 27% of six sheep, 36% of eleven goats and 47% of 90 cattle had antibodies to the virus. Although antibodies were demonstrated in 8% of 79 dams and 15% of 70 dams of two sentinel calf herds in Central Sudan at Shambat and Um Benein, respectively, none of their sentinel calves sampled between 1981 and 1983 had antibodies. Antibodies were subsequently detected in 8 (14%) out of 57 calves from Shambat and 5 (12%) out 40 from Um Benein of the random samples collected during 1985 from 1-3 year old calves. The implications of these results are discussed.