Dear Colleagues,
I am quite happy that we are learning a lot from this e-conference – thanks to the organizers. Going through participations coming to us, I would like to summaries my comments in addition to those in my own contributions already circulated.
1. PPR in Yemen was first diagnosed in 2000 (I mean the first virus isolation) from an imported Somali animal. This isolate was sequenced in the Reference lab (Pirbright- UK) as linage III. I think 1-2 years later the government started vaccination against PPR using Nig75/1 vaccine (some information about limited use RP vaccine for small ruminants non-official in the early 1980s). Disease in Yemen is mostly seen in goats. Vaccinated animals are surely protected from the new occurrence of the disease (field observations).
2. Question that why PPR resurgence? I think to answer this we have to be realistic and have data to justify not a feeling. In Yemen and also it might be in other countries, veterinary services were more occupied by the control of RP and to some extent here in Yemen the one disease which was usually recognized was Sheep & Goat pox. Other diseases were neglected and many deaths and cases undiagnosed i.e. the cause unknown, in addition to which the lack of farmer awareness played an important role in not reporting any diseases. Recently, at least the last 10-15 years, the farmers themselves started to report many cases as all animals in particular small ruminants become very important assets for the rural population especially the poor.
3. Some comments about antiviral drug development and “transfer factor”. One, although this kind of work is a good scientific achievement, when we come to a strategy to control the disease we need to protect animals from getting the disease not to wait until its get the disease and then do the treatment. Two, the treatment usually I think is much more expensive then the protection by vaccine including vaccination itself.
4. What do we really need?: 1) many things are already available in our hand to start fighting the disease: good vaccine, good diagnostic tools and good evaluation tools;2) somethings we really do need to know in order to ease the eradication process are the epidemiological role of camels, cattle and wild animals and the possible value of DIVA vaccine - do we really need this vaccine?; 3) we have to use the chance of this e-conference with very nice participation of scientists from around the globe to evaluate what we have in our hands and to suggest new subjects/questions that needed for the future research, as many good ideas I just came across through the participations, but they may take us away from our really needed subject “the best and most affordable approach to eradicate PPR” .
best wishes for all
Mansoor Alqadasi