Serological study and risk factor analysis on Peste des Petits Ruminants in sheep in Bangladesh

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of the Peste des Petits Ruminant (PPR) virus (PPRV) in sheep populations and to determine the potential epidemiological risk factors asso-ciated with this infection. Between October 2014 and March 2017, 2420 sheep serum samples were col-lected from ten selected PPR outbreak-prone districts in Bangladesh. The collected sera were analysed by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) test to detect antibodies against PPR. A pre-viously designed disease report form was used to gather data on important epidemiological risk factors, and a risk analysis was performed to ascertain their association with PPRV infection. By cELISA, 44.3 % (95 % confidence interval:42.4-46.4 %) of sheep sera were positive for PPRV antibodies against PPR. In univariate analysis, the Bagerhat district had significantly higher seropositivity (54.1 %, 156/288) than other districts. Moreover, significantly higher (p < 0.05) seropositivity was found in the Jamuna River Basin (49.1 %, 217/442) compared to other ecological zones, in crossbreeds (60 %; 600/1000) related to native sheep, in males (69.8 %, 289/414) associated with females, in imported sheep (74.3 %, 223/300) compared to other sources, and in winter (57.2 %, 527/920) than in other seasons. In the multivariate logistic regression model, six possible risk factors were identified: study location, ecological zone, breed, sex, source, and season. The high seroprevalence of PPRV is significantly associated with several risk fac-tors, suggesting that PPR is epizootic throughout the country. (c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh investigated the seroprevalence and risk factors of the Peste des Petits Ruminant (PPR) virus in sheep populations. The study found a 44.3% seroprevalence of PPRV antibodies, with significantly higher rates in the Bagerhat district, Jamuna River Basin, crossbreeds, males, imported sheep, and winter. Multivariate logistic regression identified six potential risk factors: study location, ecological zone, breed, sex, source, and season. The findings suggest that PPR is widespread in the country.