PPR in Sheep and Goats: Signs, Spread and Prevention Guide

PPR (peste des petits ruminants, also called "goat plague") is a highly contagious viral disease of sheep and goats. It causes high fever, discharge from the eyes and nose, mouth sores, diarrhoea and pneumonia, and it can kill a large share of an unprotected herd, especially young goats. There is no cure; protection comes from vaccination through your vet or national programme, quarantine of new animals and strict biosecurity.

PPR is present across much of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and it is the target of an international eradication effort. For a breeder, it is one of the diseases that can wipe out years of work in a few weeks, which is why recognising it early and keeping clean records matters so much.

What PPR is and why it is so dangerous

PPR is caused by a virus closely related to the one that caused rinderpest in cattle. Goats are usually hit harder than sheep, and young animals between weaning and about one year old suffer the most. Camels and cattle can be infected but rarely show serious disease.

The danger comes from three things together:

• Speed. Once one animal is sick, most of the pen can be infected within days.
• Severity. In a herd with no immunity, deaths can be very high, and survivors lose weight and condition for weeks.
• Trade impact. PPR is a notifiable disease in most countries. An outbreak can mean movement restrictions and closed markets just before Eid or Tabaski, when prices are best.

Signs to watch for

The incubation period is usually a few days, rarely more than about two weeks. Signs often appear in this order:

1. Sudden fever, dullness and loss of appetite. The animal stands apart and stops eating.
2. Watery discharge from the eyes and nose that becomes thick and yellow, sometimes crusting and blocking the nostrils.
3. Mouth lesions: red patches, then grey dead tissue on the gums, tongue and lips, with a bad smell. The animal drools and struggles to eat.
4. Diarrhoea, often severe, a few days after the fever starts, leading to dehydration.
5. Breathing problems: coughing and fast, laboured breathing as pneumonia sets in.
6. Abortion in pregnant females.

Many of these signs overlap with other diseases such as pneumonia, contagious ecthyma (orf) or foot-and-mouth disease. Only a vet with laboratory confirmation can make the diagnosis. If you see several animals with fever, discharge and mouth sores at the same time, treat it as a suspected PPR case and call the vet immediately.

How PPR spreads between herds

The virus spreads mainly through close contact: coughing, sneezing, discharge and droppings from sick animals. It does not survive long in the environment, but it moves easily with:

• New animals bought from markets or other farms, especially animals that look healthy but are incubating.
• Shared spaces: markets, watering points, communal grazing, transport trucks.
• Returning animals that went to a market and were not sold.
• People and equipment moving directly from a sick herd to yours.

This is why outbreaks often follow a market visit, a festival season or the arrival of a new batch of animals.

Prevention: vaccination and biosecurity

Vaccination. An effective PPR vaccine exists and is used in national campaigns in many countries. A single vaccination is generally reported to give long-lasting protection, but the exact programme (age of first vaccination, campaigns, who vaccinates) must follow your local vet and ministry schedule. In many countries PPR vaccination is done or supervised by the veterinary authorities, so ask your vet when the next campaign is. You can see where PPR fits among the other vaccines in our sheep and goat vaccination schedule.

Quarantine every new animal. Keep bought animals separate for about 3 weeks, watch them every day, and only then mix them with the herd. Our guide on quarantining new animals explains how to set up a simple isolation pen.

Control movements. Clean and disinfect trucks, avoid sharing water points with unknown herds during outbreaks, and keep unsold animals from the market separate for a while when they return.

Limit visitors. Traders and other breeders should not walk straight into your pens. Boots and hands carry the virus from farm to farm.

What to do if you suspect PPR

1. Isolate the sick animals immediately, with their own feeder, water and handler if possible.
2. Call your vet and report the suspicion. In most countries PPR must be reported to the veterinary authorities.
3. Stop all movements: no buying, no selling, no market visits until the vet gives clear instructions.
4. Support the sick animals: shade, clean water, soft feed and care as directed by the vet. Antibiotics prescribed by the vet may be used against secondary infections, but they do not kill the virus.
5. Record everything: which animals showed signs, on which date, and which animals died. This helps the vet and the authorities trace the outbreak.

Keeping PPR records in practice

When an outbreak or a vaccination campaign happens, the questions are always the same: which animals were vaccinated, when, with which batch, and which ones are new and not yet protected? Answering from memory in a herd of 200 head is not realistic.

In Throf you can record each vaccination per animal or per group, with the vaccine name and batch, and set a reminder for the next campaign. Sick animals can be marked with the isolation health status so the whole team knows not to mix them, and every illness, treatment and inspection stays in the animal's health history. When the vet visits, you show a clear list instead of guessing.

A simple routine works well:

• Record every new animal on arrival, with its source, and keep it in a quarantine group.
• Log vaccination campaigns the same day, by animal number and colour tag.
• Check the herd daily for fever, discharge and diarrhoea, and record any sick animal immediately.

The short version

PPR is fast, severe and has no cure, but it is preventable. Vaccinate following your vet and national programme, quarantine every new animal, control market and transport contacts, and report any suspicion early. Good records turn a panic into a plan.