Peste des petits ruminants
Also called PPR, goat plague
A severe viral disease of goats and sheep with high fever, mouth sores, eye and nose discharge, pneumonia and diarrhoea. It spreads quickly through a flock and can kill many animals.
Cause and spread
- Cause
- Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV).
- How it spreads
- Through close contact: the virus is in the nasal and eye discharge, saliva, urine, dung and milk of sick animals and spreads mainly by breathing it in. Incubation is about 2 to 10 days.
Signs to watch for
- High fever, depression and loss of appetite
- Watery then thick, pus-like discharge from the eyes and nose, with crusting
- Grey erosions and sores on the gums, lips and tongue with foul-smelling breath
- Diarrhoea, sometimes bloody
- Cough and fast breathing from pneumonia
- Abortion in pregnant animals
Many diseases look alike. Only a laboratory test can tell them apart, so please see a veterinarian for any sick animal.
How it is diagnosed
The virus or its genetic material is found in blood, eye, nose and mouth swabs and, after death, in lymph nodes and lungs. Nasal swabs are more likely to detect virus than eye or mouth swabs when the amount of virus is low. PCR is widely used.
Prevention and control
- Vaccination is the main control in countries where the disease is common
- Quarantine and test new animals before mixing them with the flock
- Avoid contact with other flocks and with wildlife
- Report suspected outbreaks to the animal husbandry department
Where this information comes from
- Peste des Petits Ruminants (factsheet) · Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University
General information for animal owners and veterinarians, last checked October 2026. It does not replace the advice of your veterinarian, who should decide which tests and treatment your animal needs.