Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV) Infection Among Small Ruminants Slaughtered at the Central Abattoir, Maiduguri, Nigeria

Abstract

Three organs (lungs, spleen and lymph nodes) were collected from each of 100 sheep and 114 goats slaughtered at the central abattoir Maiduguri, Nigeria and analysed for the presence of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) precipitin antigens using agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. Forty one percent (41%) and 37.7% of the sheep and goats sampled tested positive for the PPRV precipitin antigen respectively. Organ specific distribution of the PPR antigen showed goats had 27.9% positive for one organ, 25.6% for two organs and 46.5% for three organs. Sheep has 19.9% positive for one organ, 24.4% for two organs and 56.1% for three organs. The result indicates a high activity of the PPRV among the small ruminants of this environment.

Key words: Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), sheep, goats, agar gel immuno-diffusion (AGID) test, Nigeria