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 the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation 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 percent 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
percent 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 $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 a 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
Kick starting the
campaign
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
Programme 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 agropastoralist communities need to be established.
Implementation
of the eradication programme also offers an ideal entry point for dialogue with
pastoralist communities, notably in the Sahel, that can catalyse both greater
resilience and the provision of other services leading to improved governance
and stability.
New
vaccines, possibly in combination for other diseases — or a marker vaccine
allowing for easier differentiation of infected and vaccinated animals — may be
developed that are less expensive or better suited for purpose. Diagnostic
laboratory capacity and competency will also need to be enhanced.
Progression
from control to eradication of the disease will require a persistent and
coordinated programme, beginning with an assessment of risks and capacities.
This will also require intensive targeted vaccination programs aimed at
reaching 80 percent of all animals, followed by the post-vaccination evaluation
phase in order to achieve compliance with the international standards
established in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code for recognition of
country or zonal freedom.
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