Epidemiological study of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in selected districts of Gambella Region, Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted in three selected Districts of Gambella Regional State (GRS) namely Lare, Itang and Gambella Zuria from March to October 2011 to determine seroprevalence of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subsp capripnemoniae (Mccp) and to identify potential risk factors and to assess community perceptions about CCPP in the study area. Multistage sampling method was used in both agropastoral and sedentary production systems. A total of 1152 goat sera were collected and processed using the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) at the National Veterinary Institute (NVI), Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. A questionnaire survey was also conducted in 80 randomly selected households, and 3 veterinary staff one from each district. The overall mean CCPP seroprevalence in the study area was 18.1% (219/1152), (95% CI: 15.89-20.31). The seroprevalence of the disease in Itang was higher (24.7%) followed by Gambella Zuria (14.7%) and Lare (12.6%) District. Despite the higher seroprevalence in the agropoastoral production system (19.2%) the difference with that of the sedentary production system (14.7%) was not statistically significant (pu003e0.05). Univariate analysis showed that District, PA, sex and age were significantly associated with the seroprevalence result (pu003c0.05). Itang District showed significant difference in the seroprevalence when compared with Lare District (p = 0.0001; Odds ratio: 2.21). Opagna, Anguata, Badyel, Mecode, Meding Zuria, Bonga and Achewa PA’s had significant difference in seroprevalences with odds ratio ranging from 2.94 to 6.46. Female goats had a significantly different seroprevalence (19.3%) compared to males (11.5%) (p=0.014; OR=1.84). Adults (age greater than two years) showed higher seropositivity as compared to young goats and kids (p= 0.001 and OR=1.92). Age and PA were the only factors that showed statistically significant (pu003c0.05) associations in multivariate analysis. The questionnaire survey also revealed that CCPP was the `number one´ disease in the study areas; and wet-season presents a major risk factor for CCPP. The findings of this study showed that CCPP is the major disease of goats in the study area and hence there needs to be implemented appropriate control measure to mitigate the problem.   Key words: Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, Mycoplasma capricolum subsp capripnemoniae (Mccp), goats, cross-sectional study, seroprevalence, risk factors, complement fixation test (CFT), Gambella region.