Competitive Elisa Rinderpest Virus Antibody in Slaughtered Camels ( Camelus Dromedarius ): Implication for Rinderpest Virus Elimination from Nigeria

Nigeria was declared provisionally free from Rinderpest (RP) disease in 1998 and vaccination against the disease was discontinued in the country since then. The Office of International des Epizooties (OIE) Scientific Commission approved the dossier on freedom from disease from Nigeria and issued the certificate to that effect on 25th May, 2005. However, the presence and activities of RP virus in Nigeria are yet to be sufficiently ascertained. In this study, we have used slaughtered camels ( Camelus Dromedarius ) that were never vaccinated against RP as sentinels to monitor the presence of the virus in Nigeria. Two hundred and twenty camel sera were tested for presence of RP and Pestes des petits ruminants (PPR) antibodies in a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). Of the sera tested, 20 (9.3%) were found to be positive for RP antibody. None of the sera tested positive for PPR antibody. Camels could serve as putative foci for the maintenance and spread of RP virus in this environment