Serological survey in camels of the Sudan for prevalence of antibodies to camelpox virus using ELISA technique

Serological survey of 505 camel sera collected in 4 camel raising areas of the Sudan for the prevalence of camelpox virus antibodies showed that 72.5% of them were antibody positive in ELISA. Titres of positive sera varied between 1\128 and 1/23768. A higher antibody prevalence was found in sera from Drafur (94%) and Kordofan (78%) followed by Blue Nile (77%) compared to a relatively lower prevalence in Butana area (55%). The prevalence of seropositive animals was apparently higher in adult than in young animals. Camels recently affected with camelpox had antibody titres of 1/1024 and more. The study showed that camelpox virus infection is widespread in all parts of the Sudan where camels are raised.