Occurrence of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Antibodies amongst Goats in Rivers State Abattoirs

Despite mounting evidence that small ruminants have a role in disease transmission, the epidemiological status for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Nigeria is inadequate and under-reported. In this study, we looked at the seroprevalence of foot and mouth disease virus in goat species in Port Harcourt, River State. A total of 356 blood samples from goats were obtained during slaughter at seven different abattoirs in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Samples were processed and analysed for FMD using an in-house 3ABC competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), as well as serotypes A, O, SAT 1, and SAT 2 specific ELISA. An overall seroprevalence of 37.1% (32.21 - 42.1) for FMD was recorded. The seroprevalence based on location revealed a higher prevalence in Emenike 85.2% (Cl: 73.8 - 92.9), followed by Ruememe 60% (CI: 46.4 - 73.6), Mile3 54.0% (Cl: 41.6 - 66.0), Aluu 42% (Cl: 28.2 - 56.0), Rumokoro 38.7% (Cl: 26.0 - 52.9), Choba 29.3% (Cl: 16.9 - 44.5) respectively while, Rumosi had the least seroprevalence of 8.2% (Cl: 2.6-18.5). This study also detected the circulation of FMD virus serotype O. The study demonstrates high seroprevalence of FMD in goats. Thus, a comprehensive surveillance and vaccination campaign is required to check the silent amplification and transmission of the virus to other animals