Sero-epidemiological study of peste des petits ruminants in sheep and goats in India between 2003 and 2009

This study describes the serosurveillance of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats that was carried out between 2003 and 2009 using serum samples from animals suspected of PPR that were submitted to the Rinderpest and Allied Disease Laboratory (Division of Virology of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute [IVRI]). A total of 2,197 serum samples from sheep and 2,687 from goats were screened for PPR virus (PPRV) antibody using a monoclonal antibody-based competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed at IVRI. Screening of the 4,884 serum samples showed that the prevalence of PPRV antibody in sheep and goats was 41.01% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 31.86 to 50.16) and 46.11% (95% CI: 37.18 to 55.04), respectively, with an overall prevalence of 43.56% (95% CI: 36.78 to 50.34) during the period. This indicates increased and widespread infection with the virus in India compared with earlier reports, which is attributed to the variations in sheep and goat husbandry practices in different regions, the agro-climatic conditions, the topography of different states, the socio-economic status of individual farmers and the migration of livestock in India.