Peste des petits ruminants virus causes a highly infectious disease of small ruminants that is endemic across Africa, the Middle East and large regions of Asia. The virus is considered to be a major obstacle to the development of sustainable agriculture across the developing world and has recently been targeted by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for eradication with the aim of global elimination of the disease by 2030. Fundamentally, the vaccines required to successfully achieve this goal are currently available, but the availability of novel vaccine preparations to also fulfill the requisite for differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA) may reduce the time taken and the financial costs of serological surveillance in the later stages of any eradication campaign. Here, we overview what is currently known about the virus, with reference to its origin, updated global circulation, molecular evolution, diagnostic tools and vaccines currently available to combat the disease. Further, we comment on recent developments in our knowledge of various recombinant vaccines and on the potential for the development of novel multivalent vaccines for small ruminants.

Despite safe and efficacious vaccines against peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), this virus has emerged as the cause of a highly contagious disease with serious economic consequences for small ruminant agriculture across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. We used complete and partial genome sequences of all 4 lineages of the virus to investigate evolutionary and epidemiologic dynamics of PPRV. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of all PPRV lineages mapped the time to most recent common ancestor and initial divergence of PPRV to a lineage III isolate at the beginning of 20th century. A phylogeographic approach estimated the probability for root location of an ancestral PPRV and individual lineages as being Nigeria for PPRV, Senegal for lineage I, Nigeria/Ghana for lineage II, Sudan for lineage III, and India for lineage IV. Substitution rates are critical parameters for understanding virus evolution because restrictions in genetic variation can lead to lower adaptability and pathogenicity.

We tested wildlife inhabiting areas near domestic livestock, pastures, and water sources in the Ngorongoro district in the Serengeti ecosystem of northern Tanzania and found 63% seropositivity for peste des petits ruminants virus. Sequencing of the viral genome from sick sheep in the area confirmed lineage II virus circulation.

• PPR emergence in North Africa and European part of Turkey. • Threat of incursion of PPR to Europe. • Possible preventive measures to stop spread of PPR to Europe is discussed.

Peste des petits ruminants is responsible for an economically important plague of small ruminants that is endemic across much of the developing world. Here we describe the detection and characterisation of a PPR virus from a recent outbreak in Tamil Nadu, India. We demonstrate the isolation of PPR virus from rectal swab and highlight the potential spread of disease to in-contact animals through faecal materials and use of faecal material as non-invasive method of sampling for susceptible wild ruminants. Finally we have performed a comprehensive 'multi-gene' assessment of lineage IV isolates of PPRV utilising sequence data from our study and publically available partial N, partial F and partial H gene data. We describe the effects of grouping PPRV isolates utilising different gene loci and conclude that the variable part of N gene at C terminus gives the best phylogenetic assessment of PPRV isolates with isolates generally clustering according to geographical isolation. This assessment highlights the importance of careful gene targeting with RT-PCR to enable thorough phylogenetic analysis.

For the first time, complete genome sequences of four lineage III peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viruses (Oman 1983, United Arab Emirates 1986, Ethiopia 1994, and Uganda 2012) originated from the Middle East and East Africa are reported here. The availability of complete genome sequences from all four lineages (I to IV) of the PPR virus (PPRV) would greatly help in a comprehensive understanding of the molecular evolution and emergence of PPRV.