Serosurveillance of foot-and-mouth disease in ruminant population of Coastal Odisha, India

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in India and three serotypes viz, O, A, and Asia1 are prevalent in the country. In the current study a total of 551 serum samples were collected randomly from 51 cattle, 127 sheep and 373 goats from areas with or without the history of recent outbreaks in different districts of coastal Odisha, India. The samples were screened for antibodies against non-structural proteins (NSPs) and structural proteins (SP) of FMD virus to gather evidence with respect to the FMD virus circulation. The study revealed a higher level of NSP antibodies in goats (38.33%) and cattle (33.33%), and lower prevalence in sheep (3.93%). In case of SP antibodies, the prevalence was higher in cattle (68.62%) followed by goats (38.87%) and sheep (17.32%). The study reiterates the importance of strengthening of FMD surveillance in small ruminants as they could pose a potential risk of virus transmission to cattle.