Serological evidence of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) antibodies in pigs from northeastern Nigeria

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Nigeria with studies conducted in cattle, sheep and goats. A cross-sectional study for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) antibodies in field sera collected for African swine fever (ASF) surveillance was conducted in order to determine the status of FMDV in swine within the study area. Four hundred and fifty field sera collected as part of National ASF Surveillance Programme from two states of Taraba and Adamawa in Northestern Nigeria were selected and screened for FMDV non-structural proteins using 3ABC ELISA. Positive sera were serotyped using a Solid Phase Competitive ELISA (SPCE) for antibodies specific to FMDV serotype A and O. The results revealed an overall seroprevalence of 1.11% (5/450) with evidence of FMDV serotype A circulating in the swine population within the study area. Key words: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), antibodies, pig, Nigeria.