Histopathological study of a natural outbreak of Peste des petits ruminants in goats of Tamilnadu

Abstract

The Morbilli viruses responsible for Rinderpest in cattle and Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats, are important pathogens of domestic ruminants. PPR infection is most commonly recorded among the sheep population in India. This article deals with the first exclusive outbreak of PPR in goats in a mixed population that occurred in the southern districts of Tamilnadu, India. The histopathological aspect of the infection in various organs has been studied in correlation with the clinical signs and symptoms from materials collected in 10 different outbreaks of PPR in goats. This study revealed peculiar findings such as severe affection of respiratory system with mild involvement of alimentary system that was seen to be rare and exclusively to Indian outbreaks of PPR. The histopathological study revealed extensive involvement of lungs, lymph nodes, spleen, intestine, liver, in descending order of severity. All the outbreaks recorded revealed no sex differences but the age of susceptibility was seen much in young ones and death was more noted in them.