Original Research

Camel pestivirus infection in northern Saudi Arabia

Intisar K. Saeed, Yahia H. Ali, Muaz M. Abdellatif, Medhat A. Abu-tahon, Anwar A. Alsharari, Ahmad M. Abdel-Mageed, Husham M. Ataalfadeel, Salma Y. Alsheikh
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 93, No 1 | a2262 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v93i1.2262 | © 2026 Intisar K. Saeed, Yahia H. Ali, Muaz M. Abdellatif, Medhat A. Abu-tahon, Anwar A. Alsharari, Ahmad M. Abdel-Mageed, Husham M. Ataalfadeel, Salma Y. Alsheikh | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 11 November 2025 | Published: 18 June 2026

About the author(s)

Intisar K. Saeed, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Yahia H. Ali, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Muaz M. Abdellatif, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Medhat A. Abu-tahon, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Anwar A. Alsharari, National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plants Pests and Animal Diseases, Ministry of Agriculture, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad M. Abdel-Mageed, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Husham M. Ataalfadeel, Department of Mathematics, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Salma Y. Alsheikh, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Pestivirus infection in camels has been insufficiently studied, particularly in Saudi Arabia. In the current work, the seroprevalence of pestivirus infection in camels’ sera (n = 180) in Rafha in northern Saudi Arabia was screened using Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA). Data on age, sex and breed were analysed statistically. Pestivirus seroprevalence was 11.1. It was higher in adults (22.2%) than in young animals (10.5%), higher in females (33.3%) than in males (10.7%) and higher in the Mjahim breed (23.8%) compared to the Magater breed (9.4%). Chi-square analysis revealed a significant correlation between pestivirus infection and breed (p = 0.015), whereas no significant associations were noted with age (p = 0.123) or sex (p = 0.432). Wald statistics indicated that breed (p = 0.005) and sex (p = 0.048) were significant predictors of pestivirus infection.
Contribution: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the risk factors associated with pestivirus infection in camels in northern Saudi Arabia. The results can help explore epidemiological parameters and aid in control, while future research should include larger samples and molecular techniques to verify active infection.


Keywords

pestivirus; camels; risk factors; serology; epidemiology; Saudi Arabia.

Sustainable Development Goal

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

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