"Molecular detection and seroprevalence of Foot-And-Mouth disease virus in cattle herds of Thi-Qar province, Iraq"

Foot-And-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) is one of the most highly contagious viral pathogens affecting cloven-hoofed animals.This study aimed to diagnose the virus using PCR and to explore its genetic variation with implications for viral phylogenesis and classification.Based on polyprotein gene variants, the present study assessed the biological diversity of FMDV in 111 isolates obtained from a total of 150 infected calves.Blood and swab samples were collected from cattle of different ages, sexes, and regions in Thi-Qar province, southern Iraq, between December 2024 and March 2025.Sequencing of PCR-amplified fragment A revealed the presence of four serotypes (Asia 1, SAT 2, O, and A).Analysis of fragment A (866 bp) identified fourteen Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), some of which produced non-synonymous substitutions predicted to alter the structure and function of the viral polyprotein.These mutations accounted for approximately 12% of the full 2329 amino-acid polyprotein, highlighting both silent and missense effects