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The disease was first described by workers in the Côté d’Ivoire (Gargadennec and Lalanne, 1942), and thereafter in other parts of West Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. It is now recognized to be distributed from south Asia through the Middle East, and from the horn of Africa through to West Africa. The similarity in clinical signs to that of rinderpest in cattle probably accounts for the number of reports of rinderpest in small ruminants from some countries, and delayed the recognition of the disease as a distinct entity in India until the early 1990s.
The disease was first described by workers in the Côté d’Ivoire (Gargadennec and Lalanne, 1942), and thereafter in other parts of West Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. It is now recognized to be distributed from south Asia through the Middle East, and from the horn of Africa through to West Africa. The similarity in clinical signs to that of rinderpest in cattle probably accounts for the number of reports of rinderpest in small ruminants from some countries, and delayed the recognition of the disease as a distinct entity in India until the early 1990s.
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The infective agent was first considered a variant of rinderpest virus adapted to small ruminants, but was later shown to be antigenically (Gibbs et al., 1979) and genetically distinct (Diallo et al., 1989). Since PPRV isolates of West African, Middle Eastern and south Asian origin comprise distinct genetic groups, it is likely that the infections have circulated largely independently for long periods in each area.
The condition is caused by a morbillivirus of the family paramoxyviridae. The infective agent was first considered a variant of rinderpest virus adapted to small ruminants, but was later shown to be antigenically (Gibbs et al., 1979) and genetically distinct (Diallo et al., 1989). Since PPRV isolates of West African, Middle Eastern and south Asian origin comprise distinct genetic groups, it is likely that the infections have circulated largely independently for long periods in each area.
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