Systematic Veterinary Virology

INTRODUCTION

• Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also known as goat plague, is caused by a paramyxovirus of the Morbillivirus genus. It was first described in 1942 in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa and is closely related to rinderpest virus, canine distemper virus, and human measles virus.
• PPR is an acute or subacute viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by fever, erosive stomatitis, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis, and pneumonia. Goats are usually more severely affected than sheep (hence called goat plague).