Filoviral haemorrhagic fevers (FVHF) are caused by agents belonging to Filoviridae family, Ebola and Marburg viruses. They are amongst the most lethal pathogens known to infect humans. Incidence of FVHF outbreaks are increasing, with affected number of patients on the rise. Whilst there has been no report yet of FVHF in Zambia, its proximity to Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo, which have recorded major outbreaks, as well as the open borders, increased trade and annual migration of bats between these countries, puts Zambia at present and increased risk. Previous studies have indicated bats as potential reservoir hosts for filoviruses. An increasing population with an increasing demand for resources has forced incursion into previously uninhabited land, potentially bringing them into contact with unknown pathogens, reservoir hosts and/or amplifying hosts. The recent discovery of a novel arenavirus, Lujo, highlights the potential that every region, including Zambia, has for being the epicentre or primary focus for emerging and re-emerging infections. It is therefore imperative that surveillance for potential emerging infections, such as viral haemorrhagic fevers be instituted. In order to accomplish this surveillance, rapid detection, identification and monitoring of agents in patients and potential reservoirs is needed. International co-operation is the strategy of choice for the surveillance and fight against emerging infections. Due to the extensive area in which filoviral infections can occur, a regional approach to surveillance activities is required, with regional referral centres. There is a need to adopt shared policies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. There is also need for optimisation of currently available tests and development of new diagnostic tests, in order to have robust, highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tests that can be used even where there are inadequate laboratories and diagnostic services.

A serological survey was carried out to assess the frequency of leptospirosis, small ruminants lentivirus (SRLV), and brucellosis in small ruminant herds in the Recôncavo Baiano, State of Bahia, Brazil, from February to December 2017. In four goat herds, 125 animals were tested for SRLV and leptospirosis, while in five sheep herds, 378 animals were tested for leptospirosis, brucellosis, and SRLV. Regarding leptospirosis, MAT detected 80% of goats and 15.34% of sheep seroreactive. Reactivity was most frequent to serogroups Autumnalis and Grippotyphosa in goats and sheep, respectively. Regarding SRLV, 8.8% of goats and 0.79% of sheep were reactive. Search for anti-B. ovis antibodies revealed 0.52% reactivity. In sheep, three animals showed simultaneous seroreactivity for SRLV and leptospirosis, while one animal had a serological response for brucellosis and leptospirosis. In goats, simultaneous seroreactivity for SRLV and leptospirosis was observed in only one animal. Leptospirosis was the most frequent of the three infectious diseases in investigated herds.

Brucellosis is a widespread zoonosis of great economic importance for livestock farming in many areas of the world. It is a highly infectious disease which is diagnosed using conventional serological and microbiological methods. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of a specific real-time PCR in combination with broth cultivation in detecting Brucella spp. in organs of infected cattle, in order to compare the sensitivity of the two approaches and the time needed in them until a correct diagnosis is made.

Trypanosomosis is an important disease of dromedary camels caused by the pathogenic protozoan Trypanosoma evansi. This study aimed to compare three different tests for its diagnosis in this species: conventional microscopy, the card agglutination test for trypanosomosis/T. evansi (CATT/T. evansi) and real-time PCR.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infects humans and livestock, causing haemorrhaging andabortions in animals. Three major RVF epizootics have occurred in South Africa since the1950s and the outbreak in 2010 had a mortality rate of 10.7% in humans. Accurate and earlydetection is therefore essential for management of this zoonotic disease. Enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed for the detection of either IgM or IgGantibodies to RVFV in animal sera. In this study, data are presented on the validation of adouble-antigen ELISA for the simultaneous detection of both classes of antibodies to RVFV ina single test. ELISA plates were coated with a recombinant nucleoprotein. The nucleoprotein,conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, was used as the detecting reagent. A total of 534 serafrom sheep and cattle were used in the validation. The sheep sera were collected during a RVFpathogenesis study at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) – Onderstepoort VeterinaryInstitute and the cattle sera were collected during an outbreak of RVF in 2008 at the ARC –Animal Production Institute in Irene, Pretoria. The ELISA had a diagnostic sensitivity of 98.4%and a specificity of 100% when compared to a commercial cELISA. This convenient and fastassay is suitable for use in serological surveys or monitoring immune responses in vaccinatedanimals.

Chlamydophila abortus (C. abortus) is one of the most important causative agents of enzootic abortion which has been caused a serious economic problem in domesticated and wild ruminants world wide. This study was aimed to diagnose C. abortus infection in aborted goats in Ras Suder Research Station (South Sinai) - Desert Research Center from 2004-2006. Twenty aborted cases from 130 pregnant nannies were recorded and examined serologically using complement fixation test (CFT). Eighty percent (16/20) of the aborted cases were serologically positive and 20% (4/20) randomly collected from apparently healthy pregnant nannies were also had antibodies against C. abortus. Pathological lesions were detected. Ten aborted fetal samples from serologically positive aborted nannies were subjected to diagnosis using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) showed positive results at 119 bp. According to this result, PCR proved to be feasible, reliable, specific and sensitive diagnostic tool in diagnosis of C. abortus infection.

A total of 980 camels were employed in this study for evaluation of somediagnostic procedures used for diagnosis of camel trypanosomiasis. Clinicalexamination revealed that 180 (18.37%) camels showed sings of illness including, loss of body weight, anemia, abortion, decrease of animal production and edema in some parts of the body. Parasitological examination of camel’s blood smears revealed the presence of Trypanosoma evansi in 57 (5.82%) camels. ELISA detected 99 (63.06%) positive cases while suratex test identified 80 (50.96%) positive cases. Results of mice inoculation test for detection of Trypanosoma evansi among camels showed that 69 (43.95%) camels were positive. The present study clarified that suratex test was 100% sensitive for diagnosis of trypanosomiasis followed by ELISA (98.55%).

A total of 300 cross-bred dairy cattle in Beni-Suef and El-Fayoum Governorates were screened for bovine tuberculosis using single intradermal (SID) cervical tuberculin test. 18 out of 300 (6%) tested cattle were found tuberculin positive. Blood samples from the positive reactors were tested by ELISA. ELISA plates were coated by either bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) or short term culture filtrate (ST-CF) antigens. The test sensitivity was compared at different serum dilutions. At serum dilution of 1/40, all of the 18 tuberculin positive samples, (100%), were ELISA positive using both ST-CF and PPD antigens, but at 1/80 dilution, 13 (72.22%) and 12 (66.66%) samples; at 1/160, 11 (61.11%) and 11 (61.11%) and finally at 1/320, 10 (55.55%) and 9 (50%) were ELISA positive on using ST-CF and PPD as a coating antigens respectively

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the causative agent of enzootic pneumonia (EP), a disease that is highly prevalent and globally distributed, causing significant economic losses to the swine industry. Disease progression is characterized by reduced feed conversion and the development of lung lesions. Considering the limited information about the epidemiology of EP in Southern Brazil, the main objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of M. hyopneumoniae in swine lung samples and to evaluate the scores of lung lesions caused by local strains. A total of 120 samples was randomly collected and processed. DNA was extracted from lung tissue to perform nested-PCR and lungs were inspected to evaluate the presence of the pneumonia-like gross lesions of M. hyopneumoniae. The results showed 95.8% positive samples, while the lung lesion score analysis showed suggestive lesions in 60% of samples. The detection of positive samples in nested-PCR was associated with the presence of pneumonia-like gross lesions (P < 0.01). The results demonstrate a high occurrence of EP in slaughter pigs from southern Brazil.

Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is a chronic disease caused by a small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV), which causes significant losses in goat breeding. The actual state of animal infection with SRLV is difficult to determine due to a complex pathogenesis of the virus, including factors such as delayed or intermittent seroconversion in serological tests. Several serological techniques are available for disease diagnosis, such as screening or confirmation tests, which are different in sensitivity and specificity. Regarding the choice of the test to be applied, availability of commercial immunoreagents, team training, antigen used, and cost of techniques must be considered. This review presents the serological methods available for use in different stages of CAE control and eradication programs, and management measures to be adopted in conjunction with serological diagnosis of the disease.