Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus Tissue Tropism and Pathogenesis in Sheep and Goats following Experimental Infection

Abstract

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a viral disease which primarily affects small ruminants, causing significant economic losses for the livestock industry in developing countries. It is endemic in Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent. The primary hosts for peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) are goats and sheep; however recent models studying the pathology, disease progression and viremia of PPRV have focused primarily on goat models. This study evaluates the tissue tropism and pathogenesis of PPR following experimental infection of sheep and goats using a quantitative time-course study. Upon infection with a virulent strain of PPRV, both sheep and goats developed clinical signs and lesions typical of PPR, although sheep displayed milder clinical disease compared to goats. Tissue tropism of PPRV was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Lymph nodes, lymphoid tissue and digestive tract organs were the predominant sites of virus replication. The results presented in this study provide models for the comparative evaluation of PPRV pathogenesis and tissue tropism in both sheep and goats. These models are suitable for the establishment of experimental parameters necessary for the evaluation of vaccines, as well as further studies into PPRV-host interactions.

Evaluation of Humoral Response and Protective Efficacy of an Inactivated Vaccine Against Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Goats

“…() and Truong et al. (), whereas appearance of viremia and PPRV excretion in this study was a few days later respect to what observed by El Harrak et al. (), Hammouchi et al.…”

Future research to underpin successful peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) eradication

“…Examining small ruminant susceptibility Previous reports have suggested that goats may be more severely affected than sheep by PPRV infection [21][22][23]. However, variation in disease severity has also been observed between different species of goats [24,25], and detailed research is required to define this susceptibility and whether the variation extends to specific features such as the duration of viral shedding in infected animals, which will contribute to the dynamics of PPR transmission.…”

Diagnostic pathology in microbial diseases of sheep or goats

“…The virus has an affinity for the alimentary epithelium where it causes necrosis. Subsequent abrasions in the affected area are responsible for the sloughing of necrotic tissue resulting in erosions and ulcers, primarily in the caudal oral cavity (Truong et al, 2014). Goats and sheep are also susceptible to bluetongue, a viral disease caused by a virus of the Reoviridae family, which induces vascular damage leading to oedema, haemorrhage and thrombosis in several organs (MacLachlan et al, 2008), including the oral mucosa.…”