The confirmation of Peste des petit ruminants(PPR) in Kenya and perception of the disease in West Pokot

Abstract

Marakwet district is an arid district in Kenya where livestock keeping is a major activity. There have been severe outbreaks of PPR in Kenya since when it was first suspected in 1992 and confirmed in Turkana District in 2007. There has been no description of the disease in other geographical areas. PPR is a relatively new disease and is easily confused with other infectious conditions especially contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia, dermatophilosis contagious ecthyma which occurs in the same areas where PPR occurs and sometimes occur simultaneously. It is therefore important to describe the outbreaks that occur. In this study, the main clinical signs as observed by pastoralists were examined and PPRV confirmed through RT-PCR and ELISA tests. The main signs were nasal and ocular discharges, depression, loss of appetite, fever and diarrhoea. The prevalence of PPR was found to be 21.2%.