IVO Plans Ovine Rinderpest Eradication in Iran

The Iran Veterinary Organization is aiming to eradicate ovine rinderpest in the country by 2030, ridding Iran of the deadly disease.

Speaking to IRNA, Mehdi Khalaj, head of the organization, said the IVO has  plans to ensure the target is reached in the next 14 years.

Also known as peste des petits ruminants (PPR), ovine rinderpest is a contagious disease affecting small ruminants such as goats and sheep and has an 80% mortality rate in severe cases.

The disease has mostly been observed in the provinces of Alborz, Markazi, Khuzestan, Tehran and Zanjan.

Experts agree that lack of regular vaccinations is the reason why PPR has persisted for so long in Iran, taking a heavy toll on livestock.

“We aim to increase the number of vaccinations per year to 50 million by 2018,” said Khalaj.

In the Iranian year March 2014-15, the number of vaccinations reached 5.7 million, before hitting the 13.7 million mark the following year.

In the first six months of the current Iranian year (started March 20), the number of vaccinations hit an all-time high of 20 million.

The increase in the number of vaccinations has helped significantly reduce the number of hotspots. According to Khalaj, there were 1,760 regions where the disease was observed in 2014 before being reduced to 750 in 2015.

“We’ve managed to reduce the number of hotspots to 240 so far this year,” he said.

The first ever instance of PPR in Iran was reported in Tehran Province back in 1994 among domestic ruminants. Six years later in 2000, the disease resurfaced in Tehran, this time among wildlife in national parks, and has been affecting both livestock and wildlife sporadically ever since.