Seroprevalence of Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Its Associated Risk Factors in Small Ruminants of District Chakwal, Pakistan

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects small domestic and wild ruminants posing a threat to global food security and the long-term viability of farmer's livelihood. The present study was conducted between December 2019 to November 2020 to ascertain differences in seroprevalence and to find age, sex, species, season, herd size, and managemental predisposition to PPR. A total of 300 random sera samples (233 goats and 67 sheep) were collected from the district Chakwal. Competitive ELISA (cELISA) was employed to detect the presence of antibodies (IgG, IgM) as an indicator of exposure to the PPR virus. The results showed an overall seroprevalence of 62%. Multivariable analysis revealed that significantly (OR =2.40, 95% CI =1.46-3.93, p = 0.001) more adult animals (69.34%) were seropositive than young ones (48.51%) while the proportion of PPR positive was significantly higher in large (65.93%) and medium (64.55%) herds (OR =2.78, 95% CI =1.371-5.647, p = 0.006) (OR =2.61, 95% CI 1.19-5.75, p = 0.02) than small herds (41.02%). There were no big differences in the number of animals that tested positive for antibodies between goats (64.37%) and sheep (55.22%), females (62.36%) and males (61.9%), across three different times of the year (60.1%, 62.82%, and 65.4%), or between animals mostly fed at home and those that graze outside. The percentage of animals reared in mixed farming was insignificantly high (65%) compared to animals raised separately (60%). The findings of this study indicate that PPR is currently widespread in the district and remains a major cause of disease outbreaks.