Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus Epidemiology and Control

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is a highly contagious morbillivirus primarily affecting sheep and goats across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Characterised by high morbidity and mortality, PPR inflicts severe economic and food‐security losses among smallholder communities. The global strategy for eradication by 2030 relies on coordinated surveillance, regular mass vaccination, improved diagnostics and genomic monitoring of viral lineages. Endemic circulation is driven by transboundary movements of livestock and gaps in herd immunity; genetic studies reveal four main lineages with distinct regional distributions. Control measures centre on live‐attenuated vaccines, though their thermosensitivity and lack of DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) capability pose challenges for campaigns in remote areas. Advances in vector‐based vaccines, point‐of‐care diagnostics and mathematical modelling of transmission pathways are enhancing the precision of control programmes. Ongoing efforts must integrate field epidemiology, molecular surveillance and stakeholder engagement to sustain vaccination coverage, detect incursions early and prevent re-emergence.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have confirmed that cattle play a negligible role in PPRV transmission under typical husbandry systems. Experimental co-housing trials demonstrated that intranasally infected cattle seroconvert without onward spread to co-located goats. A complementary mathematical model indicated that even in mixed‐species settings, cattle are unlikely to sustain transmission chains, reinforcing that vaccination efforts aimed solely at small ruminants can achieve herd‐level protection and drive eradication. However, the potential for emergent PPRV strains with enhanced virulence in bovines underscores the need for continued genomic surveillance across all susceptible hosts.

Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus Epidemiology and Control publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in peste des petits ruminants virus epidemiology and control across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

PPRV: A Morbillivirus that causes an acute, highly contagious disease in sheep and goats.

DIVA capability: A feature of certain vaccines allowing differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals.

Seroconversion: The point at which antibodies become detectable in an animal’s blood after infection or vaccination.

Lineage: A genetically distinct group of viral strains sharing a common ancestor and geographical history.

Transboundary spread: The cross-border movement of pathogens due to animal trade, migration or informal transport routes.

References

1. Long-term trial of protection provided by adenovirus-vectored vaccine expressing the PPRV H protein. npj Vaccines (2024).
2. Empirical and model-based evidence for a negligible role of cattle in peste des petits ruminants virus transmission and eradication. Communications Biology (2024).
3. Comparative evolutionary analyses of peste des petits ruminants virus genetic lineages. Virus Evolution (2024).
4. Molecular Characterization of Lineage-IV Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus and the Development of In-House Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (IELISA) for its Rapid Detection”. Biological Procedures Online (2024).