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Background: Respiratory viral diseases, including the bovine parainfluenza 3 virus, cause significant economic losses in ruminants. There is no available data regarding the epidemiological situation of this virus in Algeria. Objectives: The present study aims to determine the seroprevalence and the associated risk factors of bovine parainfluenza 3 virus (BPI3V) in sheep in two different climatic regions of Algeria. Methods: A total of 108 serum samples were collected from sheep at different ages and tested for antibodies against BPI3V using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was also performed on nasal swabs to detect the viral genome. Results: At the animal level, out of 108 sera tested, 82 (75.93%, 95% CI, 66.75%, 83.63%) showed antibodies against BPI3V. At the herd level, all 23 herds tested (100%) had at least one animal with BPI3V antibodies. Our results showed no association between the presence of BPI3V antibodies and the region (P=0.72). However, at the herd level, risk factors such as flock size and predisposing factors like climate change, feed deficit, postpartum stress, and dust were identified. At the animal level, a highly significant association was found between BPI3V seroprevalence and the age of the animals (P<0.0001). Notably, the sheep group over 3 years was more susceptible than other age groups. Furthermore, a significant difference in BPI3V seroprevalence based on sex was observed (P<0.003). All collected nasal swabs were negative for BPI3V genome detection using real-time PCR. Conclusion: This study is the first serological survey on BPI3V in Algeria, confirming its presence in sheep from two regions. The high serum prevalence of BPI3V observed in the study population highlights addressing this viral disease to mitigate economic losses in ruminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate first the bacterial contamination by Enterobacteriaceae, fecal coliforms and the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and second to identify the main associated risk factors in Algerian farms, slaughterhouses and butcheries during a two-years period. Thus, a cross-sectional study was performed using a simple random sampling method to target 20 farms, 10 slaughterhouses and 5 butcheries. A structured questionnaire was further used to assess hygienic status of the farms and slaughterhouses. A total of 265 samples were collected from wall, floor, litter, food, water and animals' samples composed mainly of meat, neck skin and liver. Samples from walls and floors, from different sites were analyzed to evaluate the overall contamination and the hygiene of sites for Total viable bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae counts and Fecal coliforms counts. Furthermore, E.coli and salmonella spp. were identified in all samples. The overall contamination by sampling sites expressed as log10 CFU/g (mean ± SD) for Total Aerobic Microbial Count, Enterobacteriaceae count and fecal coliforms counts were around 4.71 ± 1.1, 4.73 ± 1.3 and 4.68 ± 1.2 respectively. The findings evidenced that the prevalence of E.coli and Salmonella spp. were 63.40% and 18.49% respectively. The highest rate of E.coli contamination was for poultry farms (70%), beef farms (64%) and butcheries (74.54%) followed by poultry meat slaughterhouses (60%) and sheep farms (48%) while beef slaughterhouses have the lowest rate of contamination (33.84%). For salmonella spp. the contamination was found to be mainly in poultry meat slaughterhouses (31.11%), butcheries (25.45%), followed by poultry farms (22%), beef farms (20%) and sheep farms (12%) while beef slaughterhouses have the lowest rate of contamination (4.61%). This study evidenced multifactor effects of microbial contamination in farms such as animal density, litter hygiene and scraping, manure storage, water and pest control, contact with other animals and decontamination process. Overall, this trial indicated a high rate of microbial contamination for which further studies are needed to determine all the potential risk factors in order to evaluate the corrective effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]