Published Date: 2008-10-16 23:00:35
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (07): OIE, PPRV lineage IV
Archive Number: 20081016.3282
PESTE DES PETITS RUMINANTS - MOROCCO (07): OIE, PPR VIRUS LINEAGE IV
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Date: Thu 16 Oct 2008
Source: OIE's WAHID interface, Peste des petits ruminants, Morocco,
(Follow-up report No. 9) [abridged, edited]
<http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=7431>
Information received on 14 Oct 2008 from Dr Hamid Benazzou, Directeur
de l'Elevage, Direction de l'Elevage, Ministere de l'agriculture et
de la peche maritime, RABAT, Morocco
Summary
Report type: Follow-up report No. 9
Start date: 12 Jun 2008
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 18 Jul 2008
Report date: 14 Oct 2008
Date submitted to OIE: 16 Oct 2008
Summary of outbreaks:
Total outbreaks: 12
Total animals affected
Species / Susceptible / Cases / Deaths / Destroyed / Slaughtered
Goats / 175 / 62 / 7 / - / -
Sheep / 917 / 76 / 32 / - / -
Outbreak statistics
Species / Apparent morbidity rate / Apparent mortality rate /
Apparent case fatality
Goats / 35.43 percent / 4.00 percent / 11.29 percent
Sheep / 8.29 percent / 3.49 / 42.11 /
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: Unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments: In addition to perifocal vaccination, a
full scale campaign of vaccination of sheep and goats began on 22 Sep
2008. Up to 13 Oct 2008, 3 666 652 head have been vaccinated.
The CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International
Development), OIE reference laboratory for rinderpest and peste des
petits ruminants [PPR], has confirmed that it is lineage IV of the
PPR virus which is involved.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[With the added 12 outbreaks (the detailed dates and locations of
which are available at the above URL), the total number of outbreaks
in Morocco is, as of 14 Oct 2008, 244. A map with all outbreaks since
the start (June 2008) of this major epizootic, covering almost the
entire territory of Morocco, can be accessed
at
<http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/public.php?page=event_summary&reportid=7212>.
The epidemiological comment, indicating that the causative pathogen
of this epizootic is lineage IV of the PPR virus, is a welcomed
response to ProMED-mail's repeated requests for information (see
commentaries in 20080923.3004 and 20081003.3126). This is a piece of
information of the highest significance, since lineage IV is an
Asian/Middle Eastern virus and different from the other 3 PPR virus
lineages, which are of African origin.
This development may be indicative of the possibility that the virus
was introduced into North Africa by animals imported from a Middle
Eastern country and not, as was rather plausibly suggested earlier,
that "the disease may have been introduced through the movement of
live, infected animals ... (since) for North African countries, the
control of animal movements over borders is difficult, especially in
the southern part of the region where herders follow a nomadic
lifestyle" (20080909.2819).
Information on the further genotyping of the Moroccan isolate and its
relatedness to other lineage IV strains will be helpful.
The identification of the Moroccan PPR virus by CIRAD (OIE's
reference laboratory for PPR) as lineage IV directs us to the thesis
of a leading expert, Dr William (Bill) Taylor, as recently published
(Diseases of Sheep, editor Ian Aitken, 4th edition, Blackwell Publishing 2007).
Dr Taylor is of the opinion that PPR is really an Eurasian disease,
possibly originating, along with rinderpest, somewhere on that
landmass. He thinks there is reasonable evidence for its existence in
India before it was "discovered" in West Africa, supposing that it
was transported to West Africa by sailing ship when trade was carried
out by that means and the vessels came round the Cape of Good Hope.
This would mean that lineage IV, or whatever went before it, was the
parental lineage, and each time the virus was transported to a new
continent, a new lineage arose.
Dr Taylor, whom we have approached to make a comment on the current
epizootic in Morocco, says that what interests him about the Moroccan
issue is that it illustrates the same fundamental issue, i.e. the
movement of lineage IV out of Asia Minor to Africa. "So, if not
eliminated, we could be observing the birth of a new African
lineage." - Mod.AS]
See Also
Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (06): OIE, RFI 20081003.3126Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (05): OIE, vaccination 20080923.3004
Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (04): OIE, update 20080919.2952
Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (03): FAO 20080909.2819
Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco (02): ovine, caprine, OIE 20080802.2369
Peste des petits ruminants - Morocco: ovine, OIE 20080724.2248
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