Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Based Detection of Antibodies to Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus in Camels Presented for Slaughter at Sokoto Municipal Abattoir, Northwestern Nigeria.

Recent evidences suggest that camel may be a susceptible natural host to peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus. In this study, the prevalence of antibodies to peste des petits ruminants virus was investigated in camels presented for slaughter at Sokoto Municipal abattoir, using monoclonal antibody based-competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). Out of the 137 camels sera examined, 25 were positive to PPRV antibodies, making the seroprevalence of PPR virus antibodies in the camels to be 18.25%. On the basis of sex prevalence, females (18/71=25.35%) had a significantly greater seroprevalence rate than the males (7/66= 10.31%) (p= 0.0443). The results further indicates that adult camels brought for slaughter at the abattoir were more likely to have antibodies to PPR virus than the young ones (OR= 3.41). Since camels are neither routinely vaccinated against PPR nor against a closely related disease, Rinderpest, it is concluded that the antibodies detected in this study must have been due to field exposure to PPR virus. This signifies that camels may contribute to the epidemiology of the disease in the study area. It is therefore recommended that, in planning for strategic control of PPR in endemic areas, camels should be considered.