Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a transboundary viral disease that affects small ruminants, such as goats and sheep, in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, causing substantial damage to livelihoods and disrupting livestock trade. Although Russia is PPR virus (PPRV)-free, controlling PPRV in neighboring countries is the top national priority. Recent PPR outbreaks in Mongolia and other countries in the Middle East caused by a lineage IV virus represent a risk of transboundary emergence in neighboring countries, including China, Kazakhstan, and Russia. In the present study, we assessed the potency and safety of the ARRIAH live attenuated PPRV vaccine (lineage II) in Zaannen and Nubian goat breeds by challenging them with a virulent lineage IV Mongolia/2021 isolate. For comparison, two commercial vaccines of Nigeria75/1 strain were used. The ARRIAH-vaccinated animals showed an increase in body temperature of 1–1.5 °C above the physiological norm, similar to the animals vaccinated with Nigeria75/1 vaccines. In all vaccinated groups, the average rectal temperature never exceeded 39.4–39.7 °C throughout the infection period, and no clinical signs of the disease were observed, demonstrating vaccine efficacy and safety in the current experimental setting. However, the control group (mock vaccinated) challenged with Mongolia/2021 PPRV exhibited moderate-to-severe clinical signs. Overall, the findings of the present study demonstrate that the ARRIAH vaccine strain has a promising protective phenotype compared with Nigeria75/1 vaccines, suggesting its potential as an effective alternative for curbing and controlling PPR in affected countries. Although the ARRIAH vaccine against PPR is not currently endorsed by the World Organization for Animal Health due to its incomplete safety and potency profile, this study is the first step to provide experimentally validated data on the ARRIAH vaccine.

Sheep- and goatpox are highly contagious, transboundary viral diseases caused by capripoxviruses (CaPV), severely impacting small ruminant production and resulting in significant economic losses. Our study aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal SGP distribution using the available genome sequence data and to evaluate the recombination occurrence. For this, the WAHIS, WOAH and FAO databases were utilized for the epidemiological analysis of SGP outbreaks. The cross-correlation was calculated to assess the impact of massive animal movements associated with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha on the SGP epizootic situation, and phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis, as well as a recombination analysis were performed. A total of 1629 SGP outbreaks were reported to WAHIS during 2010–2024, with the majority occurring in Mongolia, the Balkan countries, Russia and the Middle East. Over 60% of all SGP outbreaks were associated with croplands or grasslands, with the highest proportion corresponding to animal densities of 10–50 head/km². Statistically significant positive cross-correlation (p < 0.05) was identified between the month of the Eid al-Adha celebration and the number of SGP outbreaks in Russia, Mongolia, Bulgaria and Tajikistan, while in Greece and China no significant correlation was found. The inferred goat pox virus (GTPV) transmission pathways from China to Vietnam and from India to Bangladesh; for the sheeppox virus SPPV, the routes between Kazakhstan and Russia, Kazakhstan and India, as well as between Russia and China, had the strongest Bayes factor support. Intra-specific recombination events were not detected for the SSPV and GTPV datasets. However, inter-specific CaPV recombination analysis identified a single recombination event in GTPV. Therefore, the use of molecular epidemiological tools, along with the time-calibrated phylodynamic and phylogeographic analyses, has significant applications in the local and international surveillance of the occurrence of SGP outbreaks and for identification of potential recombination events.

Introduction. Transboundary and emerging infections of cattle and small ruminants, such as peste des petits ruminants, Schmallenberg virus infection, etc., pose a serious animal health and economic threat in the context of developing globalization. Given the current geopolitical situation, the need for modern domestically produced diagnostic systems is particularly acute. Such systems can be developed using genetic engineering methods. Objective. Analysis of domestic and foreign publications on the production of recombinant proteins of pathogens of transboundary and emerging infections of cattle and small ruminants. Creation of genetic constructs based on the processed data for further development of diagnostic tools, in particular ELISA test systems. Materials and methods. Using bioinformatics tools, codon composition of the sequences encoding the nucleocapsid proteins of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was analyzed and optimized. The optimized gene fragments were synthesized de novo and cloned into the pET-32b(+) expression vector. Successful insertion of the target sequence into the vector was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction analysis. Results . Information on ELISA test systems developed on the basis of recombinant antigens for the diagnosis of peste des petits ruminants and Schmallenberg virus infection is presented. The main technological aspects of obtaining recombinant antigens for their further use in a diagnostic system factored in the biological features of a particular pathogen are highlighted. Our proprietary methodology for creating protein expression vectors for the pathogens of the diseases under review is additionally described. Conclusion. The most promising recombinant antigens for use in ELISA test systems designed to detect antibodies against PPRV and SBV are full-length and truncated virion nucleocapsid proteins. Furthermore, the biophysical properties and antigenic structure of these proteins enable their production in Escherichia coli. It should be noted that production of significant amounts of functional proteins in soluble form may require their expression as part of fusion proteins with tags enhancing solubility and facilitating correct folding.