Abstract: Foot-and-mouth disease is an endemic and economically important, contagious viral infection of cloven-hoofed animals that poses a huge economic impact. This study was an outbreak investigation study to detect and isolate the circulating foot-and-mouth disease serotype in central Ethiopia between December 2020 and March 2021. For this 35-sample outbreak (26 epithelium and 9 swabs), samples were purposively collected. Virus isolation was performed on baby hamster kidney cells line (BHK-21), followed by nucleic acid detection of the agent in the samples using real-time and conventional polymerase chain reactions. Serotyping was done by antigen detection sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the present study, out of 35 samples, only 24 (68.75%) showed a cytopathic effect on a monolayer of the BHK-21 cell line. The nucleic acid of the virus was detected in 24 samples targeting a specific gene called 3D Pol. With regard to the serotype distribution, four serotypes were identified (O, A, SAT2, and SAT1). The dominant serotype circulating in the study area was serotype O (87.5%), followed by serotype A (25%), SAT2 (12.5%), and SAT1 (12.5%). Based on this finding, we recommend that regular outbreak investigation encompassing all the regions and districts be done in order to identify the circulating serotype and that further sequence based analysis of the topotypes be done. This will help with the prevention and control of the diseases through vaccination.Abstract: Foot-and-mouth disease is an endemic and economically important, contagious viral infection of cloven-hoofed animals that poses a huge economic impact. This study was an outbreak investigation study to detect and isolate the circulating foot-and-mouth disease serotype in central Ethiopia between December 2020 and March 2021. For this 35-sample outb...Show More
Abstract: Field experiment was conducted at Akwa Ibom State University teaching and research farm during the 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons to evaluate the growth and yield of cocoyam on varying rates of organic manure in a cocoyam based-intercropping system in Obio Akpa, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were four organic manure rates – PM 0 t/ha, PM 2.5 t/ha, PM 5.0 t/ha, PM 7.5 t/ha) and three crop mixtures - Sole Cocoyam, Cocoyam + Maize, Cocoyam + Melon. Result showed significant differences in both the crop mixtures and organic manure rates applied on the plant height, leaf area and stem girth of cocoyam at 2, 4, 6 months after planting respectively. Organic manure PM 2.5 t/ha gave higher plant height, leaf area and stem girth in sole cocoyam, cocoyam + maize, cocoyam + melon and cocoyam + maize + melon at 2, 4, 6 months after planting in both cropping seasons. PM 5.0 t/ha gave higher values of corm and cormels yield, corms and cormels weight, cormels number and cormels length in sole cocoyam, cocoyam + melon and cocoyam + maize + melon in both seasons. PM 2.5 t/ha gave higher values of cormels yield, weight of corm, weight of cormels and length of cormels with Cocoyam + maize. Weight of corms and weight of cormels showed significant differences (P<0.05) on crop mixtures and organic manure in both seasons respectively.Abstract: Field experiment was conducted at Akwa Ibom State University teaching and research farm during the 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons to evaluate the growth and yield of cocoyam on varying rates of organic manure in a cocoyam based-intercropping system in Obio Akpa, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block desi...Show More