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Background: Camelpox is the most infectious and economically important disease of camelids that causes significant morbidity and mortality rates. Several live attenuated vaccines against Camelpox virus (CMLV) are produced worldwide by passaging field isolates in cell culture. Sequence of a high passage Saudi isolate of CMLV was previously found closely resembled Vaccinia virus (VACV).Aim: To determine whether other high cell culture passage CMLV isolates are genetically resemble VACV and further to explore the possible mechanism of the resemblance.Methods: We performed polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analysis of A-type inclusion body protein (ATIP), L1R, and open reading frame (ORF) 185 genes on different cell culture passage levels of a field isolate, two high passage vaccines, wild-type, and reference strains of CMLV.Results: We demonstrate that additional two high passage attenuated vaccine candidate from Sudan and UAE likewise contain sequences resembling VACV more than CMLV. Furthermore, sequence analysis of the ATIP gene of selected virus passages in cell culture revealed that the shift to VACV-like occurred between passage 11 and 20 and up to the 10th passage the genome still resembles wild-type virus. This observation was further confirmed by recombination analysis which indicated recombination events at ATIP and ORF185 genes occurred at higher passages.Conclusion: We confirmed that the cell culture passage CMLV turns to resemble VACV after cell culture passage and concluded that the resemblance may not be a result of contamination or misidentification as previously thought but could be due to recombination events that occurred during the passage process. Keywords: Camelpox virus, cell culture passage, phylogenetic analysis.

Background: Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD, Gumboro disease) has become more severe than in early outbreaks in the 1980s. The present research aims to study the epidemiology of IBD in Khartoum state and compare some commonly used laboratory techniques for diagnosis.Method: We collected epidemiological data from 30 farms that showed signs suggestive of IBD, estimated the morbidity and mortality rates, and interviewed the owners about the type and the doses of the used vaccines. We collected bursas of Fabricius for virus assays and histopathology. Samples positive in the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test were inoculated onto chicken embryo fibroblast cell culture and embryonated chicken eggs. Twenty two-day-old chicks were infected experimentally with three selected isolates, and morbidity and mortality rates were compared.Results: The results showed that 70% of outbreaks occurred between 6 and 8 weeks of age, and the mean mortality rate was 51%. Epidemiologic, clinical, gross, and histopathological findings were characteristic of the severe disease caused by the very virulent IBDvirus (vvIBDV). The farms that used intermediate or the intermediate plus vaccines had lowered mortality compared with the farms that used intermediate vaccines. The AGID was found more sensitive than the counter-immuno-electrophoresis (CIEP) since it detected 83.4% of the IBDV antigen in the samples while the CIEP detected 66.7% of the samples. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was found to be rapid, specific, and was more sensitive detecting 100% of the tested samples. Virus isolation in embryonated eggs and cell culture was not successful.Conclusion: A vvIBDV is responsible for the recent outbreaks of the disease in Sudan, resulting in a mean high mortality rate of 51%, even in vaccinated flocks. The RT-PCR and AGID are the best methods for laboratory confirmation.

Background: Despite a steady increase in camel husbandry worldwide, pathology of camel diseases is still relatively under-investigated. Clinical hematuria is generally indicative of either acute or chronic urogenital inflammations, traumatic calculous injuries, cancers, corrosive poisonings. Infectious agents are not typically implicated in urinary tract infection of camels. Aim: This study aims to explore possible causes in camels clinically suffered from acute febrile disease with severe hematuria. Methods: To achieve aims of the study culturing of urine samples, microscopic examination for detection of blood parasites, phenotypic and genotypic characterization for the identification of isolated bacteria were followed. Results: Conventional bacteriology enabled identification of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar typhimurium which further genotyped by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microscopic examination of Giemsa stained blood smears from both infected dromedary camels revealed the presence of pleomorphic Theileria piroplasms. The results suggest that the clinical symptoms were as coinfection induced by salmonellosis and theileriosis. Conclusion: Given these remarkable findings, further research should aim to better characterize the opportunistic pathogens associated with camel theileriosis, as well as to determine other possible infectious agents of the camel urinary tract. Keywords: Dromedary camel, Hematuria, Salmonella enterica, Theileriosis.

Background : Despite a steady increase in camel husbandry worldwide, pathology of camel diseases is still relatively under-investigated. Clinical hematuria is generally indicative of either acute or chronic urogenital inflammations, traumatic calculous injuries, cancers, corrosive poisonings. Infectious agents are not typically implicated in urinary tract infection of camels. Aim : This study aims to explore possible causes in camels clinically suffered from acute febrile disease with severe hematuria. Methods : To achieve aims of the study culturing of urine samples, microscopic examination for detection of blood parasites, phenotypic and genotypic characterization for the identification of isolated bacteria were followed. Results : Conventional bacteriology enabled identification of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar typhimurium which further genotyped by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microscopic examination of Giemsa stained blood smears from both infected dromedary camels revealed the presence of pleomorphic Theileria piroplasms. The results suggest that the clinical symptoms were as coinfection induced by salmonellosis and theileriosis. Conclusion : Given these remarkable findings, further research should aim to better characterize the opportunistic pathogens associated with camel theileriosis, as well as to determine other possible infectious agents of the camel urinary tract. Keywords : Dromedary camel, Hematuria, Salmonella enterica, Theileriosis.

A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify 1412 bp of the fusion protein gene (F gene) of four Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates; two velogenic (TY-1/90 and DIK-90) and two lentogenic isolates (Dongla 88/1 and GD.S.1). Following sequencing, nucleotide sequences were annotated and 894 bp were compared phylogenetically with those from strains previously reported in the Sudan and the virus strains published on the GenBank. It could be demonstrated that TY-1/90 and DIK-90 strains belong to the genotype VI of NDV and are in close genetic relationship to sub- genotype VIb. TY-1/90 and DIK-90 strains were observed to be genetically unrelated to the earlier Sudanese isolates of 1970/80s and the late of 2000s suggesting a different origin. The close genetic relationship to the European and African pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 (PPMV-1) suggests a common ancestor. Dongola, GD.S.1 strains were classified into genotype II that comprises non-pathogenic lentogenic NDV strains. The present genetic classification of NDV isolates of the Sudan provides valuable information on genotypes of NDV. Further molecular epidemiological investigations of the recent outbreaks of Newcastle disease in the Sudan are needed in order to improve the efficiency of control strategies and vaccine development.Keywords: Newcastle disease virus, Phylogenetic analysis, Sudan isolates