Emerging Virus Infections in the Wildlife-Livestock-Human Interface

Background

PPR is a contagious endemic disease that affects small ruminants like sheep and goats in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. The disease is caused by Peste de Petits Ruminants virus (PPRV), which is a morbillivirus. PPRV is closely related to Rinderpest virus, which today is eradicated from the world. PPRV has been identified as one of the next targets for eradication, but there are still some knowledge gaps to be filled before successful eradication schemes can be implemented. For example, the role of wildlife in the epidemiology and virus transmission needs to be clarified.

The project

The Division of Rural Development, through Dr Klara Fischer lead the research cooperation in this project regarding increasing the understanding of how PPRV affects rural economy and livelihoods in affected areas.

The effect that PPRV has on sheep and goats in some rural areas hits poor rural households in particular. In comparison with larger livestock, goats and sheep are commonly affordable also to the poorest sections of rural communities, where they provide important livelihood security. These animals however often never enter the formal economy (they are exchanged for crop produce, used for ceremonial purposes, for paying traditional doctors’ visits etc), the loss, or reduced productivity, of these animals due to PPRV is thus easily missed out in conventional economic analyses.

A livelihoods approach to studying the effects of PPRV therefore provided insights about the poverty effects of PPRV that would be easily missed by conventional economic assessments.