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Rapports, Archives: 63th Session - Appendix 2

 

Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the Mediterranean Maghreb Report on the 1999 epidemic

Yves Leforban, Secretary EuFMD; Karim Ben Jebara, Animal Health Officer AGAH; Youssef Lhor, Veterinary Services Morocco; John Ryan APO EuFMD; Ali Benkirane Animal Health Officer AGAH.

 

An outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), type O, occurred in the Mediterranean Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) between the 20th February and mid-April 1999. The disease was first reported in Algeria where it spread quickly from the east to the west of the country. Isolated outbreaks of the disease were also reported in Tunisia and Morocco. The disease has mainly affected cattle (more particularly beef cattle) and vaccination campaigns organised within the three countries has prevented its further spread. Genetic characterisation carried out by the FAO/OIE World Reference Laboratory (WRL) for Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Pirbright, UK, has shown a close relationship between the strain isolated during this outbreak and strains previously isolated in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, indicating that the virus is most likely of West African origin. A meeting of the CVOs of the three countries concerned was held in Tunis on 9 March 1999 with the participation of FAO, OIE, EC and the WRL to co-ordinate the measures in the countries involved. The destruction and slaughter of infected animals and large vaccination campaigns with monovalent vaccines allowed the disease to be brought under control in a very short period of approximately 2 months.

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Table 1: Livestock populations in the Maghreb countries

Species	Cattle	Sheep	Goats
Libya*	155,000	5,700,000	1,300,000
Tunisia **	443,000	5,518,000	1,103,000
Algeria***	1,468,316	18,000,000	4,000,000
Morocco***	2,613,000	17,580,000	4,926,000
Total	4,679,316	46,679,000	11,326,000

* FAO stat 1998, ** Source Vet Service Tunisia,*** OIE 1999

 

Before 1999, the last reported outbreaks in North Africa were chronologically as follows: Egypt, in March 1997, Libya in January 1994 and August 1994 in Tunisia. In Algeria, the last reported outbreaks were in December 1992 and in Morocco, in September 1992 (Figure 1).

 

 

Algeria

Vaccination of cattle was continued in 1993 and 1994. Vaccination was then discontinued except along the eastern border.

Morocco

Annual vaccination of cattle was continued up to December 1997. 1 265 000 cattle (51% of the total population) were vaccinated in 1997 with a monovalent type O vaccine. Small ruminants remained unvaccinated.

Tunisia

Since the 1989 epidemic, vaccination of susceptible animals is carried out annually. Small ruminants are vaccinated with a monovalent type O vaccine and large ruminants with trivalent (O, A, C types) vaccine.

Libya

Libya belongs to the Mediterranean Maghreb. Rare information about animal heath situation are released. The last report of FMD was in 1994 with 2 type O outbreaks. FMD affected small ruminants with high mortalities in new born lambs in the Eastern part of the country. Only dairy cattle are currently vaccinated.

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Overall Situation

Propagation of the epidemic in time

 

Table 2: Chronology of spreading of the disease in the Maghreb in 1999

	Algeria	Morocco	Tunisia
Date of first outbreak	20/02/1999	25/02/1999	01/03/1999
Date of last outbreak	April 1999 (?)	03/04/1999	12/03/1999
Number of outbreaks	165	11	2

Click here to see figure 2.

 

Table 3. Chronology of the disease in the Maghreb in 1999

	February March April May June
Algeria	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Morocco	xxxxxxxxx
Tunisia	xx

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Table 4: FMD reported outbreaks in the three countries during the 1999 Epidemic

Click here to see Table 4.

 

Butchers' cattle accounted for 90% of the cases. Only cattle were clinically affected. No clinical signs were detected in sheep until the last outbreaks where clinical signs were noticed in a few sheep.

 

Click here to see Figure 3

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• Two markets (Algiers and Boufarik) which took place on the 17th Feb. played an important role in the dissemination of the virus.

• In parallel, there exists numerous animal movements - both legal and illegal - between the countries of the region. Many millions of Algerian sheep, the most prized in the region, leave the country each year, mostly west to Morocco.

• Information from the WRL indicates that the Algerian strain is very close to a strain isolated in the Côte d'Ivoire in 1999 (O/CIV/8/99) However the exact route of introduction of the virus from West Africa to the Maghreb is unknown.

• Zebu cattle were found in the Saharan Districts in the south of the country and these animals were immediately slaughtered. Their presence demonstrates that animal movements take place on the southern frontier with Niger and Mali. The disease seems to be endemic in Niger and in Mali. Reports of FMD in Mauritania have also been sent to Pirbright.

• The precise origin of the virus has not been identified

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• Slaughter and destruction of affected animals

• Slaughter of in -contact animals (bovine and small ruminants)

• Ring vaccination

• Vaccination campaign generalised to all of the national herd, including small ruminants along the frontier on the east of the country

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Eight outbreaks occurred in Oujda - located at the Algerian border - in cattle sheds around the municipal slaughter-house end of February.

Appearance of the disease in the provinces of Khouribga and Beni Mellal on March 31 and April 3, 1999 respectively. The origin of these appearances, approximately 600 km from the primary outbreak in Oujda , was probably due to animal movements. The last case dates from the 03/04/1999.

 

The Origin

Introduction of Foot-and-Mouth Disease virus from Algerian territory by butchers bullocks probably in an illegal manner.

 

Vaccination

Given that cattle were subject to annual vaccination against Foot-and-Mouth Disease type O from 1992 to December 1997, a blanket of protective immunity already existed in cattle. A revaccination has then be undertaken immediately. 930 000 small ruminants in North provinces were vaccinated as a conservative measure in summer.

 

Serological Survey

An initial serosurvey was carried out at the time of the first outbreak on a randomly selected sample of cattle, to estimate the overall level of immunity of the cattle population towards type O virus. The survey showed that a mean of 60 % of cattle had protective titres ( SNT > 1.9 Log ND50)..

A second serosurvey was carried out on small ruminants (10 045 sera collected) after the outbreak. The results shows a low global prevalence of 1.2 % and a clear clustering of positive sera within villages, and of positive villages within certain provinces. Almost all seropositive flocks were detected in provinces in which clinical disease had occurred (70% of positive sera were found in the Oujda province).

 

Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Tunisia in 1999

The First outbreak of FMD in Tunisia was confirmed on March 2 in Grombalia in Nabeul Governorate. The second outbreak occurred in the West on the border with Algeria on 11 March.

The booster vaccination of all bovines and small ruminants whose last vaccination was more than three months previously was initiated at the time of the report of FMD in Algeria and was extended to all the territory.

 

Perspectives for FMD control in the Mediterranean Maghreb

The following proposals come from FAO and are based on the experience of RADISCON ( Regional Animal Disease Surveillance and Control Network ) in the region and in particular the experience acquired through the regional program for eradication of sheep pox :

• Vaccination of the entire cattle population for three years with a booster after 6 months in primovaccinated animals and revaccination every year.
• Vaccination of the small ruminant population should be limited to certain risk areas yet to be defined in each country, for example certain border zones.
• Special surveillance should be organised in Southern Provinces, particularly in Algeria, and in high-risk areas.
• Clinical surveillance should be complemented by serology to verify that virus is not circulating silently in small ruminants.

 

Conclusion

• The absence of residual vaccination immunity in the cattle population in Algeria may explain the larger extent of the disease in this country by comparison with its neighbours.
• The strong reaction of the Maghreb countries while combating the disease during the present and the previous epizootics show their strong willingness to avoid the disease becoming endemic in the region.
• Because of the importance of human movements between the Maghreb and Europe (more than 2.5 million emigrants from the Maghreb are established in Europe and visit their home countries frequently and more than 10 million people visit the Maghreb countries annually, mainly from Europe) and because of the geographical proximity of these two regions, it is in the interest of the EU that the disease does not become endemic in the Maghreb.
• A co-operation has been established between the Maghreb countries and the EuFMD Commission at the time of the epidemic. It is highly beneficial for the Mediterranean countries and for other European countries that this co-operation be continued and reinforced.
• Awareness campaigns on the risk of FMD should concern countries on both sides of Mediterranean Sea. EuFMD Secretariat has prepared appropriate leaflet in Arabic for the campaigns in members countries.

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