Diagnosis and Control Strategies for Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus: Global and Pakistan Perspectives

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) causes an acute and highly contagious disease and belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and genus Morbillivirus. The control of animal diseases is one of the primary objectives of government livestock departments in Pakistan. Control of any viral disease requires rapid, specific and sensitive diagnostic tests and efficacious vaccines. Small ruminants infected with PPRV are routinely diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination, gross pathology, histological findings and laboratory confirmation. A number of serological and molecular diagnostic tests are used for the detection of PPRV. Control of PPRV may be attained using measures including movement control of sheep and goats from affected areas, quarantine of infected animals, removal of potentially infected fomites and a restriction on the importation of sheep and goats from infected areas. The effective way to control PPR in Pakistan is by mass immunization of small ruminants as strict sanitary control measures, including the stamping out policy are not economically viable. Therefore, the control of PPR requires an effective vaccine and for this purpose several vaccines such as homologous and recombinant vaccines have been developed