The Pasteur Institute of Iran started its work in the field of human plague control 70 years ago. Since then, no case of the disease has been reported in the country, said Mahmoud Jamshidian, a microbiology specialist.
On the differences between human and cattle plague (Rinderpest), he said “cattle plague virus cannot be transmitted to humans.” Domestic cattle have been immunized against the disease through vaccination and therefore the disease can be transmitted only to sheep and goats.
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) aim to tackle and eliminate plague in sheep and goats, also known as Ovine Rinderpest, by 2030 to free hundreds of millions of rural families from one of the major risks to their food security and livelihood.
Although human plague was seen only in a few parts of the world in recent decades, including south-east India, no country can claim it has completely eradicated the disease, and it can only be controlled.
