Author/Authors :
Balamurugan, Vinayagamurthy Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Varghese, Bibitha Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Muthuchelvan, Dhanavelu Division of Virology - Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Campus, Mukteswar, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India , Vinod Kumar, Kirubakaran Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Chettri, Karuna Department of Animal Husbandry Livestock Fisheries and Veterinary Services, Government of Sikkim, Krishi Bhawan, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India , Puttahonnappa Suresh, Kuralayanapalya Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Govindaraj, Gurrappanaidu Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Hemadri, Divakar Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India , Roy, Parimal Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR–NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Abstract :
This cross-sectional serosurvey outlines the seroprevalence of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small
ruminants in the hilly terrain north-eastern state of Sikkim in India. A total of 776 small ruminants’ (sheep [n = 99]
and goats [n = 677]) serum samples were collected from 62 epidemiological units (epi-units) of the state using a
two-stage sampling method from September 2017 to February 2018. The collected sera were screened for the small
ruminant morbillivirus (SRMV) antibodies using a PPR-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA).
The results showed 1.16% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.61-2.19%) apparent prevalence with almost zero calculated
true prevalence, which implies the insignificant prevalence of SRMV antibodies in the small ruminants population.
Further, only a few samples from <5 % epi-units have shown positive for SRMV antibodies with an overall seropositive
of <30% in the surveyed epi-units in Sikkim. This report is first of its kind on the seroprevalence of PPR in a unique
niche of hilly terrain settings and it implies that SRMV has not yet become established in the small ruminants
in Sikkim, despite the enzootic nature of the disease in the rest of India. This necessitates the imposing of strict
quarantine measures and restrictions in the small ruminants trade along with the implementation of the intensive
active surveillance programme to make a PPR free state.
Keywords :
Cross-sectional study , Peste des petits ruminants , Seroprevalence , Small ruminants , Sikkim , India
