Systematic Veterinary Virology

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS

• Rinderpest: Clinically, RP and PPR are similar, but the former should be the prime suspect if the disease involves both cattle and small ruminants.
• Pasteurellosis: Enzootic pneumonia or the septicemic form of pasteurellosis is characterized by obvious respiratory signs, infrequent diarrhea, and a fatality rate rarely exceeding 10 percent
• Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia: There is no digestive system involvement, and the clinical signs and lesions are confined to the respiratory system and pericardium.
• Bluetongue: Swelling of the lips,  muzzle, and oral mucosa, together with edema of the head region, helps to differentiate bluetongue from PPR. Coronitis, common in bluetongue, is not a feature of PPR. Also, sheep are more affected than goats.
• Heartwater: There is often central nervous system involvement, including convulsions. There is no diarrhea.
• Contagious ecthyma (contagious pustular dermatitis, orf): The orf virus causes proliferative, not necrotic lesions, that involve the lips rather than the whole oral cavity. The absence of nasal discharges and diarrhea also distinguish orf from PPR.
• Foot-and-mouth disease: This condition is comparatively mild, and the most characteristic clinical sign, lameness, is not a feature of PPR.
• Nairobi sheep disease: Sheep are more severely affected than goats.
• Coccidiosis: There is no upper digestive tract and respiratory system involvement.
• Plant or mineral poisoning: Several plants and minerals may cause severe intestinal lesions. Case history and absence of fever should distinguish poisoning from PPR.