OIE ups focus on sheep disease PPR
Alongside programmes aimed at eradicating foot and mouth disease and rabies, delegates from 180 member countries decided at the annual World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) meeting that peste des petits ruminants (PPR) would be a priority for 2014.
PPR is a viral disease of goats and sheep. It has expanded during the past 10 years and it is now present over a large part of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The strategy which led to the eradication of rinderpest in 2011, built on global and regional coordination, will serve as a model for the PPR eradication programmes.
Over 800 participants attended the 82nd General Session of the World Assembly of OIE Delegates in Paris.
During the week, the status of member countries with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), FMD, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), African horse sickness (AHS) and PPR were considered. For the first time, 48 countries were recognised 'free of PPR'.
