It is considered as the most destructive viral disease affecting small flocks, on par with rinderpest, a deadly cattle plague that has wreaked havoc on agriculture for millennia, resulting in famine and economic destruction.
PPR can cause death rates of up to 100 per cent in sheep and goats, and while it does not affect humans, the disease can cause enormous socio-economic losses.
If it spreads into all 15 nations comprising the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the disease could devastate livelihoods and the food security of millions of small herders and agro-pastoralists.
PPR occurs in Middle Eastern countries and parts of Central and South Asia, having affected western, eastern and central parts of Africa, but so far the southern portion of the continent has been spared.
Source: Club of Mozambique
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