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The genetic identification of camel contagious ecthyma virus as the causative agent of contagious ecthyma in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Qatar

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Abstract

Camel contagious ecthyma is a contagious viral disease of camels caused by either Orf virus (ORFV) or camel contagious ecthyma virus (CCEV). It has been previously reported and shown to cause economic losses in some camel-rearing countries in Asia and Africa, but has not been detected in Qatar. The purpose of this study was to identify and genetically characterize the contagious ecthyma causative agent in Qatari dromedary camels between 2017 and 2018. Accordingly, we made diagnoses of camel contagious ecthyma based on the clinical signs and genetic analysis of the entire major envelop protein (B2L) gene. The sequence analysis showed that CCEV was the infecting virus, and the B2L gene sequences were highly conserved between the locally infected camels with 100% similarity with isolates from Bahrain. This is the first study reporting the detection of CCEV in Qatar. We suggest that sequencing of the CCEV genome is necessary to determine the origin and relationship of this virus with other members of the parapoxvirus genus.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Gillian Murphy, Cambridge University for language editing.

Funding

This study was supported by Tharb Camel Hospital, Leawaina, Qatar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Camel Genetic Research Center, Tharb Camel Hospital, Leawaina, Qatar

    Amir A. Shehata & Hanaa A. Ahmed

  2. Genome Research Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt

    Amir A. Shehata & Hanaa A. Ahmed

  3. Virology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt

    Ehab M. El-Nahas & Saad S. A. Sharawi

  4. Virology Department, Animal Health Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt

    Eman M. Abo Hatab

Authors
  1. Amir A. Shehata
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  2. Ehab M. El-Nahas
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  3. Eman M. Abo Hatab
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  4. Saad S. A. Sharawi
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  5. Hanaa A. Ahmed
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Contributions

A.A.S. and H.A.A. conceived and designed the study; A.A.S. performed the experiments; A.A.S., E.M.E, E.M.A., and S.S.S. analyzed the data and A.A.S., E.M.E., E.M.A., S.S.S., and H.A.A. wrote and corrected the paper. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amir A. Shehata.

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Shehata, A.A., El-Nahas, E.M., Abo Hatab, E.M. et al. The genetic identification of camel contagious ecthyma virus as the causative agent of contagious ecthyma in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Qatar. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 332 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02771-7

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