Peste des petits ruminant virus (PPRV) is a disease mostly affecting goats and sheep. Since its first discovery, it has caused massive economic loss to most small pastoralists in Africa and other developing countries. It is the integral role of all stakeholders to join hands so as to eradicate the disease.

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Peste Des Petits (PPR) For Livestock
Gudyne Wafubwa
23.2.2017

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Abstract
Peste des petits ruminant virus (PPRV) is a disease mostly affecting goats and sheep. Since its
first discovery, it has caused massive economic loss to most small pastoralists in Africa and other
developing countries. It is the integral role of all stakeholders to join hands so as to eradicate the
disease.
Introduction
PPRV is a render pest-like disease affecting mainly goats and sheep. It also affects antelopes,
camels, water buffalos and other wild species of sheep and goats. The condition is also known as
ovine render pest, goat plague, the disaster of small ruminants (Kinne et al., 2010, pp 1211-
1214).
Gargadennec and Lalanne first identified it in Ivory Coast in 1942 (Sawalhy, 2005). They
determined that the disease only affected the goats and sheep. After several types of research, it
was discovered that PPR could be classified as a Morbillivirus under the family of
Paramyxoviridae and the order of Mononegavirales (Lembo et al., 2013, pp 2037–2040). PPRV
was first removed from a sheep cell culture in 1962 and viewed under electron microscope in
1967.
Signs and symptoms
The presence of infection is characterized by fever, diarrhoea, leukopenia, dyspnoea, and ocular-
nasal discharge and sloughing of the nasal and epithelium of oral mucosa. Ocular and nasal
excretes more purulent giving a bad smell. The acute form of PPR can result in the rise of body
temperature and self-auscultation of the infected animal. Affected animals are restless and ill in
appearance and have congested mucous membranes, dry muzzle, depressed appetite and dull
coat. Other affected animals may experience coryza conjunctivitis with eyelids matting (CABI,
2015).
Necrotic stomatitis affects lower lip and gum line that holds incisor teeth, and in more severe
cases dental pad, palate cheeks, and tongue may be affected. Orff-like scabs sign on lips occurs
in a recovering case usually after eight days. Pregnant animals often abort, and deaths take place
usually four to six days at the beginning of fever. The infection also results in high mortality and
morbidity. It is a highly infectious disease and can be transferred even through close contact.
Goats are highly at risk of contracting the disease and heal faster than sheep. This results mainly
from active immunity in goats as they feed on herbs (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2016).
A cow may be infected with PPRV but cannot transfer it to the herd. They have antibodies that
fight the disease, and also challenges render pest virus (RPV). Infection occurs all year round.
Secondary infection may complicate the condition with another pathogen like those caused by
Mycoplasma sp., Escherichia coli, and Pasteurella spp. PPR signs and symptoms may be
confused to those of other diseases such as Capri pox, blue tongue, contagious pustular
dermatitis, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia foot and mouth diseases. Diagnosis is performed
to confirm the disease through laboratory tests.
The following are figures showing the mortality and survival of animals infected with the PPR.

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Table 1: Morbidity and mortality rates in flocks of goats
Source: Ullah et al. (2014). An outbreak of PPR in ICT area, Pakistan
Table 2: Morbidity and mortality rates in flock of sheep
Source: Ullah et al. (2014). An outbreak of PPR in ICT area, Pakistan
The following figures shows various parts of animals that are affected by the PPR
Figure 1: Ocular and nasal discharge
Source: Ullah et al. (2014). An outbreak of PPR in ICT area, Pakistan

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Figure 2: Haemorrhages on abomasal mucosa
Source: Ullah et al. (2014). An outbreak of PPR in ICT area, Pakistan
Figure 3: inflamed mesenteric lymph node
Source: Ullah et al. (2014). An outbreak of PPR in ICT area, Pakistan
The progression of the disease
The disease is mostly spread through the direct contact of the infected with health animal. The
virus shedding starts after ten days and excretions start flowing from the body of an infected
animal. These streams include lacrimal and nasal discharges, oral tissue and saliva, faeces, urine
and semen which contain a significant amount of the virus.
Transmission of the infection may also occur through coughing or sneezing of an infected
animal. Shedding of the virus has been reported before the appearance of signs and symptoms as
well as from convalescent animals for eleven weeks after recovery. The virus thrives well in hot
environments above 70*C, acidic > 5.6 or necessary < 9.6 environments. It can also survive for
approximately two minutes when exposed to normal conditions.
Immune response
During the early stages of PPRV infection, the host affected is first encountered by nonspecific
defence mechanisms. This occurs within few hours and comprises the production of interferon,
fever, phagocytosis, natural killer, and inflammation. The mechanisms have the capability of
aborting or preventing the virus, and in case they fail, there is the dissemination of local spread
of the viral infection (Klimpel, 1996).
Another way the body will respond to PPR virus is through specific immune response. It begins
immediately after viral exposure, resulting in releasing of cell-mediated immunity and antiviral
antibody in a span of three to ten days (Chowdhury, 2011). This event leads to the production of
Immunoglobulin. The cell-mediated immunity is vital in recovering from and controlling the
infection of the virus, mostly in the diseases that involve an oncogenic virus. In such an event,
antibodies are unable to reach the infection, but the virally induced antigens on the infected cell
surface can be seen by various effector cells such as cytotoxic T cells (Li et al., 2012).

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Diagnosis
According to OIE, (2011), the determination should be conducted on diseases such as
bluetongue, coccidiosis, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, foot and mouth disease, heart
water, pasteurellosis, mineral poisoning and render pest (FAO, 2014).
Nucleic acids or an antigen is detectable in the blood, swabs of nasal and ocular excretes, and
swabs of the buccal and rectal mucosa of infected animals. Samples of the fluids are collected at
the acute stage of the disease. This is preferred in animals with a high fever that has not
undergone diarrhoea. At chronic phase, samples may be collected from lymph nodes, tonsils
lungs spleen, and affected areas of the intestinal tract. The presence of the virus can be identified
by virus neutralization or other methods (Diop et al., 2005, pp711-717).
The antigens of the virus can also be noticed through Elisa tests, counter immune-electrophoresis
(CIEP), or agar gel immune-diffusion (AGID). Elisa and CIEP tests can differentiate PPR from
render pest virus while AGID cannot. AGID is also not useful since it does not identify small
quantities of viral antigens of the disease. Immunofluorescence and immune-chemistry can be
used on conjugal smears, and tissue samples got from different parts of the animal (Balamurugan
et al., 2014, 39–56)
Control, prevention, and treatment of the disease
Control measures include reporting the infection of the animal when any of the signs appears to a
veterinary that will follow the national or local guidelines for disease reporting. The disease is
highly contagious, and thus it can be spread through direct contact (FAO, 2015). It can be
controlled or minimized through husbandry procedures such as movement restrictions especially
when there is an outbreak of the infection. Animal products should be tested and analysed by
professional qualified public health specialists before they are imported at the border (World
Organization for Animal Health, 2015).
The slaughter policy should be implemented on the infected animals such as banning meat from
the market for a period since the incubation period is short. The use of stamping system can also
be implemented where the affected animal is slaughtered once identified to prevent the spread of
the disease (IGAD, 2015). Quarantine should be conducted on the infected animals to prevent
contact hence transfer of the disease to the healthy animals. These methods are useful in non-
endemic areas (Anon., 2013).
The disease can also be controlled through mercy killing of infected and exposed animals and
disinfection and cleaning of infected premises (SADC, 2016). These areas should be cleaned
with specified drug that has been prescribed by a specialist to kill all the pathogens in the place.
Vaccinations of animals of mostly young age or in highly populated areas may prevent the
disease from spreading. This helps in boosting immunity. Young animals are believed to have a
lower resistance as compared to mature ones (Paton & Taylor, 2011).
Thorough eradication of the virus is also possible through the burning of carcasses or deep
burying of the infected dead animals. The virus is believed to be short-lived hence cannot survive
for a longer time. Vaccination programs should be employed to immunize susceptible animals at
least once for every three years (Saravanan 2010). Young animals roughly at the age of four to
six months are highly recommended. The disease can be treated through intramuscular injection

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of penicillin, Chloramphenicol, and Streptomycin for five days. Fluid therapy may also be
helpful along with electrolyte replacement (Paton & Taylor, 2011, pp. 2774-2781).
Impact on economy, productivity, and conservation
Most of the time, economic setbacks that occur as a result of infection of a contagious disease are
mostly underestimated. People frequently focus on the high death rates of animals not
considering other minor factors such as the effect it causes on the food chain of animals. For
instance, from the death of antelopes as a result of PPR infection, other animals that depend on
antelopes as their source of food also start decreasing. Take the example of cheetah and lions;
they will drastically decrease when the environment they are living is deprived of antelopes and
buffalos. The impact that is caused to environment due to PPR infection may results from the
massive death of wild animals, thus when they start rotting they produce a bad odour that may
affect the environment as a whole (Jones et al., 2016).
The disease affects the economy both directly and indirectly. Some of the direct ways include
high mortality rate that reduces the amount of the flock hence reduction in economy. These
sheep produce mutton and fur used in cotton industries. Goat is known to be among the healthy
meat since it feeds on herbs. Milk production is reduced on goats reared for that purpose.
Reduction of these animals through deaths reduces their products hence affecting the economy
(Thombarea & Sinhab, 2009, pp. 319-322).
The sheep and goats are also known to be owned by small-scale farmers who mostly reside in the
rural areas. These animals are their source of income. Once the flock is attacked, they spend lots
of money on control measures and treating the affected animals. When the outbreak occurs, the
effective control method is restricting animal movements. This forces the farmers to practice
zero grazing which is quite expensive as compared to other methods such as tethering and
grazing. Infertility is also a major obstacle to the multiplication of animals hence slow flock
growth leading to economic losses. This leads to increase in poverty level among households of
farmers (Kihu et al., 2015).
The country is also affected economically as well; thus, the animal health organizations have to
chip in to help in the control of the disease affecting farmers. At times the government is forced
to administer free vaccinations to most of the animals that are likely to be hit by the disease. Free
training programs on how farmers should deal with their animals once infected and also
educating them on protective measures so as not to be infected by the virus.
The government is also affected since the number of animal products it would have exported is
reduced, and at times it is forced to import new animal products to make it affordable for farmers
especially when there is controlled movement. The government also incurs cost while investing
in advancing equipment in the animal health department so that researchers can identify more
infectious diseases and ways to control through effective vaccines or completely healing them by
eradicating the disease (Sinha & Thombare, 2009).

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The figure 4: the photograph was taken to show the impact of PPR infection on antelopes
Source: (Klein, 2017)
According to FAO, almost 900, which is approximately 10 % of the Saiga antelopes were
reported dead in the Mongolia's western province of Khovd. From the sample tested from the
carcasses, it was found that they died of PPR infection. The first incidence of PPR virus outbreak
in Mongolia was reported in 2016 when most sheep and goats died of the disease. The death of
antelopes from this region has a grave impact on the economy. For instance, antelopes serve as
tourist attraction species; their decline means that the number of tourist to the area also
decreases. In this regards, the FAO and OIE are working together to ensure that the disease is
entirely eradicated otherwise it will have a substantial impact on food and economy by 2030
(FAO, 2017).
The following statistics shows how much farmers are spending in the affected areas to treat and
conserve the animals. Also, it shows the loss incurred by farmers due to the death of their
animals.
According to the study carried in India on the amount of loss in goats and sheep arising from the
infection of the disease, it is clear that the infection has a disastrous impact on the small-scale
farmers. As from the figure below, a lot of money is spent and lost while treating the diseased
animal.

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Table 3: Morbidity and Mortality losses in sheep and goats for various levels yearly incidence of
PPR infection in India (INR million). The figures placed in parenthesis shows % to the total
sum.
Source: (Govindaraj et al., 2014)
Veterinary opinions and research for future implications
The veterinaries throughout the world have come up with ways of eradicating these infectious
diseases. It has insisted on quarantine and burning of the infected animals. Regional eradication
is an oxymoron that prevents importation of contaminated animal products at the border (Roeder
et al., 2013, pp. 1-12).They have insisted on the need of analysis of the meat in slaughterhouses
by qualified public health technicians so as to check on the standards of the meat before it is
consumed by the public.
The veterinaries also have come up with the technology of a loop-mediated isothermal
amplification (LAMP) assay used for rapid detection of PPVR genome for clinical samples. The
global eradication program has been established to try and eliminate these infectious diseases
through FAO of the UN and WOAH
Education programs have been created throughout the world so as to educate farmers on the
importance of vaccinating animals at a tender age. Free vaccination programs and consultations
have been offered at different places especially in the rural areas. Consultations have also been
increased. A method has also been improvised on how to immunize the wild animals at their
respective spheres.

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The concerned government or organizations should aim to the provision of livestock mapping
veterinary procedures regarding scope, size, location and services provided. The farming sector
should benefit more from knowing more about the size, activities, and nature of agricultural
activities of agricultural enterprises particularly those run at home. Such activities should help
farm animals' veterinary procedures as they try to improve their knowledge of the challenges
encountering the sector and enhancing their product or services to meet their expectations.
Scholars should also benefit from partnership being adopted with rural farm animal veterinary
practices. They will acquire insight and in turn enhance their areas of career through learning the
necessary experience. Gender equality should also be looked into so as to encourage women into
veterinary practices. The associated government or organization should also look into
responsibility and cost sharing agenda and take track of the impact of those changes.
Recommendations for PPR control
The following are strategies that can be used to monitor the spread of PPR;
1. People need to be educated on the epidemiology of the infection and its transmissibility
in various host species and population settings.
2. There is a necessity of people to be knowledgeable on the socio-economic impacts of the
disease so as to be informed of the strategy for progressive control.
3. FAO and OIE should have experts to develop more improved tools like pen-side
diagnostic and vaccines that are thermo-stable.
4. There should be a timely vaccination so as to have a large mass of flock improved
immunity; this will help in interrupting the transmission of the virus.
5. There should be a proper coordination between the public and private sectors and the
financial agencies in the campaigns of the vaccinations.

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