Retrospective study on sero-epidemiology of peste des petits ruminants before its official confirmation in Northern Tanzania in 2008
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Roavs
Abstract
A retrospective sero-epidemiological investigation of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) was carried out in
Ngorongoro district, situated in northern part of Tanzania and bordering Kenya. The study involved collection of
field information from 101 respondents who own goats and sheep in four villages which had experienced a
‘rinderpest-like’ syndrome in domestic small ruminants between first suspected cases of PPR in 1995 and official
confirmation of the disease in Tanzania in 2008. A total number of 198 serum samples from goats and sheep
collected in 1998 and 2004 for different research projects or suspected disease investigation were retrieved from the
Veterinary Investigation centre (VIC) Arusha and subjected to competitive ELISA test for detecting antibodies to
PPR virus. Findings of this study suggest that PPR was in northern Tanzania at least four years before official
confirmation and reporting based on clinico-pathological grounds, local field-based reports from livestock field
officers and District Veterinary Officer. The seroprevalence of PPR from 198 serum samples analysed was 12.6%
with the serum samples collected from suspected PPR cases showing significantly (p=0.000) higher seroprevalence
(71.4%) than that in samples collected for investigation of other diseases (5.7%). Interviewed farmers were aware of
PPR including clear description of clinical signs of the disease. Although farmers were aware of efforts made to
control the disease, only 32% of them had their animals vaccinated against PPR. The low vaccination coverage
suggests continued prevalence of PPR in the study area. It is concluded that there is limited capacity with respect to
veterinary disease surveillance, reporting and control of transboundary and emerging diseases which need to be
addressed in the country.
Description
Keywords
Peste Des Petits Ruminants, Sero-Epidemiology, Northern Tanzania