Seroprevalence of Peste des petits ruminants in small ruminants in the North Eastern Region of India.

Abstract

A seroprevalence study of the peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants was carried out in the different states (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura) in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India using serum samples collected from April 2017 to March 2018. A total number of 4,163 sera [sheep (n = 508) and goats (n = 3,655)] collected from 345 epi‑units/villages covering 176 municipalities in NER were screened by competitive ELISA kit for the detection of PPR virus antibodies. The results revealed that the seroprevalence of PPR in small ruminants in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura was 34.3%, 10.3%, 4.7%, 15.7%, 14.7%, and 5.5%, respectively with an overall 14.5% prevalence.Association between the presence of antibodies and goats has been showed to be significant (p < 0.01) at the NER level level and within every single state. This manuscript highlights the need for continuous monitoring of this important disease as for the severe economic impact PPR may have in the affected countries.