Cattle plague goes the way of smallpox - October 14, 2010

[tabatha]

The planet is rid of rinderpest, a devastating livestock disease targeted for eradication in the mid-1990s.

“This is the first animal disease virus that’s been eradicated through a vaccination campaign,” and only the second viral disease, after smallpox, to have been wiped from the earth, says Chris Oura, a veterinary scientist at the Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright, UK who was involved in the effort. “It is a major achievement.”

Officials at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) made the news official today in Rome, ending a 16-year battle to eradicate rinderpest. Nature chronicled this effort last year.

The centuries-old disease, also known as cattle plague, kills 80-90% of infected livestock and caused untold economics damage, Oura says. For instance, a 19th century outbreak decimated cattle populations in the Horn of Africa, while a 1980s outbreak in Nigeria cost an estimated £2 billion.

An effective vaccine against the virus has been around since the 1950s, but it was not applied in the concerted manner needed to stamp out the disease, Oura says. “It was clear that although the vaccine was being used, it wasn’t being used efficiently.”

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/10/cattle_plague_goes_the_way_of.html

[kestrel91316]

1. Wow. I have forgotten nearly everything I learned about this disease,

so it's a good thing it's gone. Well, and I haven't practiced on livestock for 27 years......