Epidemiology and control of rinderpest.

Abstract

Rinderpest arouses many emotions, but none more strong than the feeling of frustration born of our apparent inability to control this simple disease. We know rinderpest is principally transmitted by the movements of infected stock and that it can be curtailed by elementary zoo-sanitary measures — by the closure of markets , by the slaughter of infected animals or by quarantining infected herds. Or if politi­ cal considerations preclude these steps the virus can be eliminated by the mass application of live attenuated vaccines which give a life-long immunity. We have, then, the means of control within our grasp; yet despite this knowledge the virus persists in Africa, in India and in the Middle East. In Africa, the last five years have seen the return of rinderpest to areas from which it has been absent for a decade or more and, in the Middle East, movements of infected livestock pose a continual threat to neighbouring countries.