The current study reports the outbreaks of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in the small ruminant population of Pakistan. The objectives were to understand the clinical picture of disease under field conditions, estimate the basic epidemiological parameters for the local population of small ruminants and to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of PPR during 2005 to 2007 in Pakistan. A total of 62 outbreaks were investigated among sheep and goat flocks in the five provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). The PPR virus activity in these outbreaks was demonstrated by clinical picture and presence of PPR virus specific antibodies by employing cELISA. The combined estimates of mean cumulative morbidity and mortality for sheep and goats were estimated 65.37% and 26.51% respectively with a case fatality of 40.40%. The species specific mean cumulative morbidity, mortality and case fatality for goats were 68.80%, 29.45% and 42.75% respectively, while these estimates for sheep were 48.77%, 14.98% and of 26.16% respectively. These estimates for goats were significantly higher (P < 0.001 to P = 0.001) than those for sheep. It was concluded that PPR is wide spread throughout the country and epidemiological picture suggest that disease has established as an endemic infection in the country.
Summary
Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are highly contagious and have the potential to spread very rapidly irrespective of the national borders, causing serious economic losses. These diseases cause high morbidity and mortality in susceptible animal populations. Furthermore, the extent of their consequences may significantly affect the food security and national economics. In Pakistan, the main TADs include rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants, foot and mouth disease and avian influenza. In the present paper the status of these diseases in Pakistan is discussed.
Availability of a rapid and sensitive diagnostic technique is key in successful prevention and control of infectious diseases like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Existing conventional diagnostic tests for FMD are laborious and time-consuming with low sensitivity and specificity. Molecular-based techniques are costly and difficult, involving refined apparatus like a thermal cycler. In the present study, the technique of real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) was standardized for diagnosing FMDV and its serotypes, evaluated using field samples, and compared with the existing real-time PCR in Pakistan. RT-LAMP amplified the target 3D gene using specific primers at 65 °C for 60 min and the VP1 gene using serotype specific primers at 63 °C for 60 min. A total of 38 samples out of 50 were positive by RT-LAMP and identified serotypes were A (n = 15), O (n = 15), and Asia-1 (n = 8). The efficiency of RT-LAMP in this study was highest for serotype Asia-1 (80.9%) followed by serotype A (73.4%) and O (62.35).
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