MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Devastating livestock viral disease threatens millions of sheep and goats

Experts from FAO and OIE recommended control measures including vaccination of 800,000 sheep and goats. Quarantine zones have been created

A devastating livestock disease is continuing to extend its global reach and is now present in 76 countries. Georgia recently reported its first-ever case of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a viral disease which is capable of severely impacting goat and sheep populations, while a new outbreak has occurred in the Maldives, showing that even island states are vulnerable to the plague.

 The outbreak in Georgia, near the borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan marked new territory for the disease, which is particularly lethal upon contact with unprotected animals.

Experts from FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommended control measures including vaccination of 800,000 sheep and goats. Quarantine zones have been created and surveillance of animals in adjacent regions intensified.

The outbreaks — coming on the heels of similar episodes in Western Turkey and mainland China — underscore the risks posed by a virus that can kill as many as 90% of the animals it infects within days.

In the past two decades, PPR has spread rapidly, mostly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, which are home to some 80% of the world’s 2.1 billion small ruminants. Sheep and goats are critical assets for poor rural households, providing protein, milk, fertilizer, wool and fiber, as well as often representing essential social capital and access to financial credit.

The disease causes more than US$2 billion in losses each year. Beyond the lost economic value, sick animals add to the food security and nutritional challenges faced by the more than 300 million vulnerable households who raise sheep and goats in the affected regions.

A year ago in Cote d’Ivoire, high-level authorities from 15 countries endorsed global control and eradication strategy for the disease in line with the principles of the successful campaign that led to the global elimination of rinderpest, a similar disease affecting cattle, declared in 2011.

In line with the recommendations of the Abidjan conference, the FAO and OIE have established a joint secretariat and in April 2016 concluded consultations to develop a Global Control and Eradication Program based on the adopted Strategy. The PPR Eradication Program Secretariat is chaired by Bouna Diop and includes coordinators from FAO and OIE, respectively Felix Njeumi and Jean-Jacques Soula.

Regional roadmaps for the 15-year campaign are now being formulated, and chief veterinary officers, epidemiologists and other experts in affected countries are being made aware of available tools to assist in their elaboration of their national campaigns.

Existing quality vaccines are effective and affordable, so global eradication is technically feasible. However, delivery systems to ensure their efficacy and access by remote agro-pastoralist communities need to be established.