Epidemiological Assessment of Bovine Ephemeral Fever in Injil District of Herat Province
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Abstract
Bovine Ephemeral Fever (BEF) is the most important arthropod-borne viral disease of cattle, caused by Ephemerovirus of the Rhabdoviridae that is transmitted by blood-feeding insects. The disease causes serious economic impacts through reduced milk yields, poor cattle condition at sale, death of infected animals, and costs associated with prevention and control programs. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the BEF epidemiology in the Injil District of Herat Province. A total of 5184 BEF cases were recorded by 100 veterinary professionals, with 17 deaths (0.33% case fatality rate). Most cases (93%) were recorded during the summer season. The main risk factors identified were existence of insects (97%), and stagnant water (94%). The most common clinical signs and symptoms in infected cattle were fever, lethargy, lameness, salivation, cardiorespiratory dysregulation, decreased milk production and muscle tremors, respectively. Approximately, 90% of the cases were managed with supportive care and antibiotics for secondary infections. Limited access to the vaccines was reported as a primary challenge, with only 7% of the respondents indicating they had access to BEF vaccines. The findings of this study demonstrated that BEF has a high reported prevalence in the Injil district, and that environmental factors have a significant impact on its transmission, which requires the design and implementation of effective prevention and control programs.
Keywords
Bovine, Ephemeral, Fever, Epidemiology, Herat, Province, Injil, District##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##
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