AHMEDABAD: After lumpy skin diseasea new worry stares at the state animal husbandry department – the high seroprevalence of one of the most contagious peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus among small ruminant animals like sheep and goats of Saurashtra region. PPR is referred to as the sheep and goat plague. The Ahmedabad branch of the animal husbandry department along with researchers from Junagadh and Navsari agricultural universities had earlier collected serum samples from 828 unvaccinated and 423 vaccinated sheep and goats for PPR virus. Their results have showed high prevalence of the virus.
The researchers found high seroprevalence of PPR antibodies in 84% of unvaccinated sheep and goats in Bhavnagar district, while it was 96% in those animals that were vaccinated. Similarly, in Surendranagar district 73.6% of the unvaccinated animals had PPR antibodies, followed by Amreli which had 56% seroprevalence among animals tested for PPR. In Jamnagar and Rajkot, the seroprevalence was 32% and 27% respectively among unvaccinated animals. PPR is a highly contagious. Once the PPR turns into an outbreak it can infect up to 90% of an animal heard, and the disease kills anywhere up to 70% of infected animals.
The disease sees sudden onset of depression, fever, discharges from the eyes and nose, sores in the mouth, disturbed breathing and cough, foul-smelling diarrhoea, which ultimately leads to death of the ruminant animal. The PPR virus does not infect humans.
“Our clinical findings have confirmed the circulation of PPR virus among population of sheep and goats in the Saurashtra region. This may be due to intermixing of vaccinated and unvaccinated animals. A clear vaccination strategy for control of disease is required. The study showed varying antibody level in affected districts reflecting infection and vaccination profile of herds,” claims the animal husbandry department report on the PPR seroprevalence in Saurashtra region. Recently the Gujarat government has launched a massive vaccination programme for cattle against lumpy skin disease in Saurashtra and Kutch region. An emergency procurement for 2.4 lakh doses of goat pox vaccine was recently placed by animal husbandry department.
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