The College of Veterinary Medicine, Al-Qasim Green University discussed a master dissertation on the detection and characterization of the foot-and-mouth disease virus by the postgraduate student, Mr. Mohammed Jabbar Omran.

The dissertation aimed at supporting vaccination programs by identifying the dominant serotypes and measuring the viral load, this will help in selecting appropriate vaccines and developing more effective control strategies.

The dissertation reviewed that the virus prevalence reached 62.5% in the tested samples, with clear geographical and age differences in the viral load distribution, as well as the SAT1 serotype also showed a significant prevalence, necessitating a review of vaccination programs to ensure the compatibility of the vaccines used with the circulating strains.

The dissertation indicated that young calves were more susceptible to infection, while vaccination did not show a clear significant effect, this may indicate a mismatch between the vaccine strain and the vaccine itself, or insufficient vaccination coverage.