Evidence of peste des petits ruminants in serology of sheep and goats from Sindh, Pakistan.

The following is the first detailed description of laboratory confirmed evidence of peste des petits ruminant virus (PPRV) in 14 districts of Sindh province, Pakistan. Sindh is the 2nd largest province of Pakistan in terms of human population and livestock. Livestock are the main origin of the people's livelihood. Samples were collected during the surveillance programme from sheep and goats showing severe respiratory signs and mouth lesions. Competitive enzyme-linked immuno-sorbant assay (cELISA) was performed to detect the presence of antibodies in the serum against PPRV. Findings suggested that the overall PPR sero-prevalence in sheep was 49.5% when compared to goats, which was 56.3%. As we observed during an 18 months' period, most of the cases that occurred emerged with the start of hot season and peaked during the months of April, May, June and July, and then the prevalence dropped. Among various age groups, the animals that showed the higher prevalence of antibodies to PPRV were >2 years. In the age group <1 year, there was a significant difference in the prevalence which was 48.6% in goats when compared to 32.1% in sheep. Similarly, it was the same in the second age group (1-2 years), 46.9% in sheep when compared to 55.3% goats. There was little variation in the third age group (>2 years), being around 61.7% in goats when compared to 63.4% in sheep. The highest sero-prevalence was in Tharparkar followed by Mirpur Khas and Tando Allahyar. The study indicated the scenario of PPRV circulation in the population of the two domestic ruminant species (sheep and goats) with frequent disease outbreaks.