Detection and molecular characterization of Peste des Petits Ruminants virus from outbreaks in Burundi, December 2017–January 2018

Abstract

In December 2017, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) emerged in Burundi (East Africa) and rapidly spread to five provinces (Gitega, Kirundo, Mwaro, Muramvya and Karuzi) in the country, causing severe disease and killing more than 4,000 goats in the province of Gitega alone. An initial outbreak investigation was conducted in December 2017 by the Burundi Government Veterinary Services and samples were collected for laboratory confirmation. A competitive Enzyme Linked Immuno‐Sorbent Assay (cELISA: Chinese Patent No. ZL201210278970.9) supplied by the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute was used to test 112 sera and results showed around 37.5% positive samples. This high level of PPR positive sera in an animal population where PPR infection and vaccination had not been previously reported indicated the exposure of the animals to PPRV. Subsequently in January 2018, the laboratory tests conducted at the African Union‐Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (AU‐PANVAC) laboratories following a joint investigative mission by the African Union‐Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU‐IBAR), AU‐PANVAC and the East African Community (EAC) confirmed the presence of PPR in Burundi. Samples tested by conventional RT‐PCR indicated the presence of the PPR virus (PPRV). Confirmatory isolation of the virus was also performed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus belongs to lineage III and shows a close relationship with PPRV isolates from Kenya in 2011 and Uganda in 2012. A possible explanation for the outbreaks of PPR in Burundi between December 2017 and February 2018 is presented.

Peste des Petits Ruminants at the Wildlife–Livestock Interface in the Northern Albertine Rift and Nile Basin, East Africa

“…A phylogenetic analysis was carried out using the total of 35 partial N-gene sequences ( Figure 5) that confirmed the circulation of lineage III PPRV in DRC, as also reported in samples collected from domestic goats in 2018 [49]. This partial N-gene sequence generated in this study is 100% identical to the sequence from Burundi (MH370230) [50], whereas four nucleotide differences were observed between this sequence and the sequences from the 2018 PPRV outbreak in DRC (MN243724 and MN243725) [49]. However, this sequence, along with the sequences from DRC collected during the 2018 PPR outbreaks and Uganda in 2012 and 2018 PPR outbreaks form one cluster ( Figure 5).…”

“…This study, together with recent works [49,50], reports the circulation of PPRV lineage III in the northern Albertine Rift area causing the first-known PPR outbreaks in this region from 2016 onwards. Our results confirm that PPRV strains from DRC in October 2017 were identical to the lineage III strains that emerged subsequently in Burundi in December 2017 [50]. These results further indicate that national borders are highly porous for disease spread and that PPR outbreaks in East Africa can easily occur on a transboundary basis [51,52].…”

“…PPRV lineage II, III, and IV have circulated in different countries and regions from East Africa [14,23,42,51]. This study, together with recent works [49,50], reports the circulation of PPRV lineage III in the northern Albertine Rift area causing the first-known PPR outbreaks in this region from 2016 onwards. Our results confirm that PPRV strains from DRC in October 2017 were identical to the lineage III strains that emerged subsequently in Burundi in December 2017 [50].…”

Characterisation of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Disease in Pastoralist Flocks in Ngorongoro District of Northern Tanzania and Bluetongue Virus Co-Infection

“…However, based on partial genome sequencing, the virus strains detected in this study were almost identical, and therefore the variation in observed clinical signs between the four flocks from which sequences were obtained ( Table 1) was most likely due to host or environmental factors or co-infections rather than virus genotype. The circulation of multiple lineages of PPRV in Tanzania reflects multiple introductions, most likely through transboundary movements of infected small ruminants for trade or migration from neighbouring countries where PPRV is also considered to be endemic and multiple lineages have been detected-Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo [66][67][68][69][70]. However, the live attenuated PPRV vaccine (Nigeria/75/1) is reported to provide protection against all the lineages [71].…”

Genetic Parameters for Growth and Kid Survival of Indigenous Goat under Smallholding System of Burundi

“…This is a great challenge because veterinary surveillance systems are weak. As an illustrative example, the outbreak of small ruminant pest decimated more than 4000 goats herds in 2018 [45]. A meta-analysis shows that animal diseases kill about 18% of livestock in low-income countries [46].…”