Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Infection Seroprevalence Study in Dairy Cattle Reared by Smallholder Farmers in Welmera District, Central, Oromiya Ethiopia

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals and one of the endemic diseases in Ethiopia. A study was conducted to determine foot and mouth disease virus seroprevalence and potential risk factors in welmera district, central Oromiya, Ethiopia. Purposive sampling was performed in the respective district and kebeles where there was recent history of outbreaks. A total of 126 sera samples were collected from randomly selected cattle and tested using ELISA for antibodies against nonstructural proteins of foot and mouth disease virus. The seroprevalence of foot and mouth disease virus infection in Welmera district was 49.2%. The result indicated that seropositivity of FMD infection FMD was higher in females (54%) than in males (46.1%) and this variation was statistically significant (χ2= 12.93, p = 0.001). The associations of seropositivity of FMD in relation to body condition score and management system were statistically significant (χ2= 5.34, p = 0.023, χ2= 6.7, p = 0.003) respectively. Age related seropositivity was not statistically significant (P>5%). Cross bred cattle were 2.17 (OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 2.10 – 5.74) times more likely to be infected by FMD than local breeds. This showed that FMD infection is widely prevalent in the district. Therefore, foot and mouth disease control will depend on identifying virus serotypes circulating in the area and regular vaccination program.