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Despite continuous efforts of veterinary services to control rabies in dogs since 1982, rabies remains a cause of death in Tunisia, with more than five reported human cases in 2022. As little is known on the determinants of transmission of rabies in dogs, better understand which factors contribute to its spatial heterogeneity in Tunisia is critical for developing bespoke mitigation activities. In this context, we developed Bayesian Poisson mixed-effect spatio-temporal model upon all cases of rabid dogs reported in each delegation during the period from 2019 to 2021. The best fitting model highlighted the association between the risk of rabies and the mean average monthly temperature, the density of markets and the density of dogs in delegations. Interestingly, no relationship was found between intensity of vaccination in dogs and the risk of rabies. Our results provided insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of dog rabies transmission and highlighted specific geographic locations where the risk of infection was high despite correction for associated explanatory variables. Such an improved understanding represent key information to design bespoke, cost-efficient, rabies prevention and control strategies to support veterinary services activities and policymaking.

IntroductionSince 1999, Tunisia has experienced multiple occurrences of Bluetongue (BT) outbreaks, leading to numerous reported cases of infection and mortality in flocks. The re-emergence of the disease in 2020 caused substantial economic losses in cattle, attributed to the incursion of serotype BTV-4.MethodsTo evaluate the economic impact of the recent BT episode, we conducted a retrospective study on outbreaks that occurred in Tunisia between August and November 2020, focusing on the impact at the owner’s level and its effects on both small ruminants and cattle. A total of 234 ruminant farms (sheep, cattle, and mixed) were randomly selected across Tunisian governorates and included in the study to estimate both the direct and indirect costs of these outbreaks.ResultsTotal costs were calculated as the sum of losses and expenditures resulting from the BT outbreaks. At the animal level, total losses were estimated to range between 116.280 and 207.086 TND for one infected ewe (€33.721 and 60.055). For one lactating cow, costs varied between 2,590.724 and 3,171.107 TND (€751.310 and 919.621). In cattle, exposure to BTV led to a daily unit milk yield decrease of 12.50 to 14.66 L over an average period of 5 months. Diseased sheep experienced weight loss ranging between 4 and 10 kg during the BT outbreaks. The total mean cost of the 2020 BT outbreak in Tunisian investigated farms was estimated at 1,935 million TND (million €561.15) (range: 1,489 and 2,474 million TND; 431.81 and million €717.46). The most influential costs of the total BT outbreaks were the decrease in milk yield, mortality, and veterinary treatment.DiscussionThis study gives valuable insights on the economic impact of the incursion of a new serotype of BT in a naive population in Tunisia. Considering the substantial costs incurred, it is imperative that this disease receives increased attention from stakeholders, including animal owners, veterinary services, practitioners, and decision-makers.

Abstract Background Abortion is a serious problem for sheep flocks and it is responsible for considerable economic losses. The epidemiological situation of abortion causing agents in sheep is poorly documented in Tunisia. This study aims to investigate the status of three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii) among organized flocks in Tunisia. Results A total of 793 sample blood collected from twenty-six flocks in seven governorates in Tunisia, were tested by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA) for antibodies against three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii). Risk factors for individual-level seroprevalence were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results revealed that 19.7%, 17.2%, and 16.1% of the tested sera were positive for toxoplasmosis, Q fever, and brucellosis, respectively. Mixed infection was found in all the flocks with 3 to 5 responsible abortive agents simultaneously. Logistic regression showed that the management practices (control of new introduction, common grazing and watering point, workers exchange, presence of lambing box on the farm) and the history of infertility and the presence of abortion in neighboring flocks were likely to increase the probability of being infected by the three abortive agents. Conclusions Evidence of the positive relationship between seroprevalence of abortion causing agents and several risk factors, suggests further investigations to better understand the etiology of infectious abortions in flocks to develop an applicable preventive and control program.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) has been reported in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, Egypt and Arabian Peninsula - Yemen and Saudi Arabia, over the past 20 years and is a threat to both the animal and human populations in Tunisia. Tunisia is considered as a high-risk country for the introduction of RVF due to the informal movements of diseased animals already reported in the neighboring countries. The objective of this study was to assess the status of RVF in small ruminants and camels in Tunisia. A risk-based serological survey was conducted to evaluate the presence of RVF based on spatial qualitative risk analysis (SQRA). Samples were collected from small ruminants (sheep and goats) (n = 1,114), and camels (n = 173) samples, belonging to 18 breeders in 14 governorates between November 2017 and January 2018. Samples were tested using an RVF specific multispecies competitive ELISA. Out of the 1,287 samples tested for the presence of RVF IgG antibodies by ELISA, only one positive sample 0.07% (1/1 287) was detected but not confirmed with the virus neutralization test (VNT) used for confirmation. So far, no RVF outbreaks have been reported in Tunisia and our study confirmed the absence of RVF in livestock up to January 2018. Further investigations are needed to confirm the RVF-free status of Tunisia today.

Surra ( Trypanosoma evansi infection) is one of the main causes of dromedary ( Camelus dromedarius ) abortion, besides generating severe economic losses in herds. A sero-epidemiological survey was carried out between December 2018 and December 2019 in Southern Tunisia to estimate the seroprevalence of Trypanosoma evansi infection in camels and to determine its possible associated risk factors. Two-stage sampling was conducted to select breeders and camels targeted in our study. A total of 1205 blood samples were collected from 277 randomly selected farms belonging to six governorates of southern Tunisia. Sera were tested with the card agglutination test for Trypanosoma evansi (CATT/ T. evansi ) to detect the presence of anti- Trypanosoma. evansi antibodies. The overall individual and herd seroprevalence were 30.8% (95%CI 27.9-33.1%), 64.9% (95%CI 61.7-73), respectively. The seroprevalence of T. evansi infection both at the animal (26.2% (95%CI 21.4-30.9%) and herd level (84.4 (95%CI 76.3-92.5)) was higher in Kebili than in other governorates ( P  = 0.003). At the animal level, the infection rate with T. evansi was significantly associated to the age group among camels ( P  = 0.0008), production system ( P  = 0.006), bioclimatic stage ( P  = 0.02), and herd size ( P  = 0.04) in the univariable analysis. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that only age group and herd size were potential risk factors associated with Trypanosoma evansi infection. However, no significant variation of the seroprevalence of T. evansi with the sex of camels, farm type, and previous trypanocidal treatment were detected ( P  > 0.05). The findings of this study are crucial for this disease surveillance and control. Further investigations on the efficacy of the treatment against surra are needed to explain the persistence of the disease in the south of Tunisia., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of World Federation of Parasitologists.)