Vaccines against peste des petits ruminants virus.

Abstract

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious and economically important viral disease affecting goats, sheep and wild ruminants. The disease is currently circulating in Asian and African countries, creating problems in small ruminant farming. Current control of the disease mainly includes isolation and disinfection of the contaminated environment, and administration of a live-attenuated vaccine, which provides a strong immunity. Maintenance of cold chain for vaccine efficacy has proven difficult in subtropical countries. A thermostable live-attenuated conventional or recombinant vaccine is a way to avoid cold chain-associated problems in tropical and subtropical countries. Mass vaccination of sheep and goats in endemic countries might be a pragmatic approach to control PPR in the first phase of disease eradication. In the future, the development of a marker vaccine with a robust companion test may help in serosurveillance to identify infection in vaccinated animals to control PPR disease. Here, we discuss available potent PPR vaccines and the future possibility of developing new-generation vaccines against PPR.