Rinderpest

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black and white photo of dead cattle
Rinderpest outbreak in South Africa, 1896

The rinderpest was an animal disease that cattle , other ruminants and other cloven-hoofed animals such as hippos and some Asian domestic pig breeds was attacked. In sick animals, the viral infection initially led to severe inflammation of the mucous membranes in the head area, followed by severe diarrhea, which - depending on the affected population - was fatal in up to 90% of cases.

The heavy losses caused by the rinderpest were the reason for the establishment of the first veterinary training centers in the 18th century. Thanks to epidemic hygiene measures, the disease last appeared in Switzerland in 1871 and in Germany last in 1870. The last outbreak in Europe was in Italy in 1954 , and the last outbreak in domestic animals in the world was in Africa in 2001. The disease has been combated since 1994 within the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program (GREP) with a globally coordinated vaccination , culling and surveillance campaign.

On October 15, 2010, the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced that the rinderpest had been eradicated thanks to the coordinated measures under the GREP. The official determination of the eradication took place on May 25, 2011. This is the second time in history that an infectious disease has been eradicated since smallpox .

history

Drawing, in the foreground dead cattle
Dutch illustration of Rinderpest from the 18th century
Portrait (half profile) of Ramazzini
Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714)
Portrait (quarter profile) of Lancisi
Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654-1720)

Antiquity, Middle Ages and Early Modern Times

The viral disease originally comes from Asia . Its earliest surviving description can be found in the Veterinary Papyrus Kahun , which dates from around 1800 BC. Was written. Even Aristotle described in his Historia animalium in the fourth century BC. Two diseases of cattle, the podagra and the goiter , whereby the symptoms of the goiter correspond to those of the rinderpest.

The rinderpest was introduced to Europe by the Huns and later again by the Mongols during the 376 to 386 migrations . These brought with them Asian gray steppe cattle, which were less susceptible to the rinderpest virus and which excreted over months. Severus Sanctus Endelechius wrote the poem de mortibus bovum in the 4th century AD , in which the symptoms of rinderpest are described. The disease occurred again and again throughout Europe from late antiquity to early modern times ( enzootics ), with major outbreaks occurring particularly during times of war.

18th century

In 1712, Bernardino Ramazzini from the University of Padua wrote the oldest precise description of the disease that has survived. On this basis, the papal body medic Giovanni Maria Lancisi developed on behalf of Pope Clement XI. Control measures, which he published in his book De bovilla peste from 1715. He introduced the culling of sick cattle and then had the carcasses buried with unslaked lime . In addition, he ordered the quarantine of infested stocks, a ban on animal transport and a systematic meat inspection . Infringements of its instructions were from the Papal States punished draconian: laymen were to death by hanging , members of the clergy to the galleys convicted. Lancisi's control strategy was unpopular with the people, but led to the rinderpest in the Papal States being brought under control.

When the disease was introduced to England around 1714 , Thomas Bates had affected animals culled and buried. The outbreak was brought under control in just three months. In contrast to the procedure in the Papal States, no draconian penalties were used to enforce these measures, but compensation payments for the cattle farmers affected.

Other severe outbreaks occurred in France (1714) and Prussia (1716) at the beginning of the 18th century . Lancisi's methods have also been used successfully in both countries. In other parts of Europe where no state control measures were in place, rinderpest remained enzootic and resulted in heavy casualties. The disease killed around 200 million cattle in Europe in the 18th century alone. For comparison: In 2007 there were 88.75 million cattle in the entire EU .

The threat of rinderpest was also the trigger for the establishment of the first training center for veterinarians in Lyon by Claude Bourgelat in 1761. The strategic control of the disease was one of the most important subjects taught. In the years that followed, other European countries also opened veterinary schools and state institutions for coordinated control of the disease. No such facilities have been opened in England.

19th century

The introduction of the steamship and the railroad in the 19th century opened up new possibilities for animal transport on the one hand and made the spread of rinderpest easier on the other. Between 1857 and 1866 there was another major European epidemic, which led to an almost complete loss of cattle herds, particularly in the United Kingdom . The rinderpest was brought in by a cargo of Asian cattle shipped to Hull from the port of Tallinn . From there, the epidemic quickly spread across Britain. Lancisis and Bates' control methods had been forgotten again in England in the middle of the 18th century, so that it took several months before the disease could be contained again by extensive culling. This outbreak led to the establishment of a state veterinary authority in the United Kingdom in 1865.

In 1887 the Italian army brought the disease with Indian cattle to Ethiopia , from where a panzootia spread across Africa. 80–90% of all cattle died of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa , and there were also great losses in antelopes , giraffes and buffalo . Due to the decimation of the cattle and wild ruminant populations , more bushes emerged, in which tsetse flies multiplied and, as a result, increasingly infected the population with sleeping sickness . A third of all Ethiopians and two thirds of the Tanzanian Maasai died as a result of the famine, and millions of people also died in neighboring countries. The famine in central Kenya in 1899 was also partly due to the consequences of this epidemic. While the rinderpest came to a standstill in southern Africa around 1900, there have been repeated outbreaks north of the equator until recently.

20th century and present

The causative agent of rinderpest was first isolated by Maurice Nicolle and Adil Mustafa in 1902 and identified as a virus . The last major outbreaks in Europe occurred in Bulgaria in 1913 during the Second Balkan War and in Belgium in 1920 . However, only 2,000 cattle fell victim to the Belgian outbreak due to complex disease hygiene measures. The outbreak was due to a herd of infected zebus that fell ill in the port city of Antwerp on their way from India to Brazil . Under the influence of this epidemic outbreak, the League of Nations founded the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), which still exists today as the world organization for animal health .

Outbreaks still occurred in Nigeria in the 1980s. In 1993 the pathogen was still widespread in Somalia , Ethiopia, Yemen and Pakistan . In the Middle East, there were repeated outbreaks of cattle imported from North Africa and the Indian subcontinent until the 1990s. In September 1991 there was a serious epidemic in Turkey with 2,700 cattle dead. With the slaughter of 12,000 cattle and the vaccination of 12.5 million other cattle, the epizootic could be contained again after four months.

In 1994, OIE and FAO launched the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program (GREP), a global initiative to eradicate rinderpest, consisting of nationwide vaccination campaigns , culling , monitoring and surveillance of cattle and wild animal populations in the enzooty areas . The EU participated with the PARC program ( Pan African Rinderpest Campaign ). The last case occurred in India in 1995 and in Pakistan in 2000; thereafter Asia was considered free from rinderpest. The last outbreak in domestic cattle occurred in Kenya in 2001 ; In the case of wild animals, the last natural herd disappeared in the border area between Somalia , Ethiopia and Kenya in 2007. The eradication was facilitated by the fact that the rinderpest can only persist in African wild animals if domesticated cattle are present at the same time.

The pathogen currently still exists in a number of research laboratories. OIE and FAO formally declared the disease to be eradicated on May 25, 2011 in a joint declaration. A second FAO declaration of eradication was released on June 28, 2011.

Pathogen

electron microscope image of the rinderpest virus
Rinderpest virus under the electron microscope

The rinderpest virus is a pathogen belonging to the genus Morbillivirus and prefers to attack epithelial cells and lymphocytes . It is closely related to measles and canine distemper viruses and is considered to be the ancestor of measles virus, and possibly all other morbilli viruses. The pathogen can survive for up to five months in hay, straw or in the ground, but is inactivated within 24 hours in manure or stables by putrefaction processes .

Spread of disease (epizootiology)

The main hosts of the rinderpest virus are domestic cattle . The infection can also affect sheep , goats and any other ruminant . Certain other cloven-hoofed ungulates are also susceptible: some Asian pig breeds can develop rinderpest, and among the wild animals, hippos can also be infected. No diseases have been observed in humans so far.

The virus does not cause persistent infection ; infected animals either die or can eliminate the virus through an immune response. However, the infection can also run subclinically (subliminally) in enzootic areas , so that clinically normal animals in such areas can shed the virus for some time without contracting rinderpest themselves.

One to two days before the first symptoms, the virus begins to be excreted through the nasal secretions . After the outbreak of the disease all secretions and for about a week excreta infectious, then the virus excretion increases due to the onset of specific immune response rapidly. It is transmitted through direct or close indirect contact, with the virus entering the body through the tonsils .

Pathogenesis

The virus multiplies in the tonsils after infection and spreads throughout the body via the lymphatic system . It then penetrates through the bloodstream into the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tract and destroys the epithelial cells . This damage caused by the virus leads to erosion and necrosis of the mucous membranes of the mouth, the digestive tract and the upper respiratory tract ; bleeding in the intestines, swelling and necrosis of the lymphatic system of the intestine and, due to the destruction of the epithelium, also lead to bacterial secondary infections . The latter are also favored by virus-related destruction of the B and T lymphocytes , which leads to a weakening of the immune system. This lymphotropic component only occurs in some rinderpest virus strains.

Clinical picture

Detail photo of a bovine dentition with mucosal erosions
Erosion of the oral mucosa in rinderpest
Detail photo of a bovine eye with a purulent eye discharge
Purulent conjunctivitis from rinderpest

The incubation period is 3 to 15 days. The disease begins in cattle and buffalo with a prodromal stage , which is characterized by a high fever (up to 42 ° C), loss of appetite and general weakness. One to two days later, the infected animals show swelling of the mucous membranes as well as eye and nasal discharge. Within two to three days there is erosion of the mucous membrane in the mouth area, which quickly enlarges into cheesy plaques ("pseudomembranes") due to fibrin secretion . The discharge from the eyes and nose becomes mucous-purulent (mucopurulent) to purulent due to secondary infections ; the muzzle appears dry and chapped . At this stage, severe, watery-slimy-bloody diarrhea occurs because of the damage to the intestinal mucosa by the virus. The animals have severe abdominal pain, thirst and breathing problems and usually die of dehydration after four to seven days . With peracute courses , deaths can occur after 2-3 days without changes in the mucous membrane.

Acute and subacute, but also latent courses can occur in sheep and goats. The symptoms are similar to those in cattle, but the disease usually progresses faster and often without erosion of the oral mucosa. In acute infections, respiratory problems are in the foreground (nasal discharge and pneumonia with coughing). They either end fatally after about a week or the animals recover within two weeks. Subacute courses are most common in sheep and goats and are characterized by attacks of fever without any other symptoms.

Diseases of domestic swine occur only in Asian pig breeds. They are similar to those in cattle. Acute courses are characterized by erosion of the mucous membrane, bloody diarrhea and nasal discharge, vomiting and abortions . Subacute infections with fever, loss of appetite, and transient skin reactions can also occur.

If an animal survives the infection, it remains immune to rinderpest for life . The recovery is happening slowly and can by secondary infections and caused by the virus immunodeficiency complicated be. In the enzootic areas , the morbidity and lethality are low, in contrast, in the case of an epizootic in a cattle herd that has not previously had contact with the virus, all animals can become ill and up to 90% die. So that was mortality in Asia low, in Africa, where the cattle from 1889 to 1896 was rife, whereas high because had among the resident cattle breeds hardly genetically fixed defense mechanisms can emerge.

pathology

Pathological-anatomically , crusts and erosions of the oral mucosa are particularly noticeable, which can extend into the esophagus . The forestomach are rarely affected, occasionally erosions appear in the area of ​​the rumen pillars . The pylorus of abomasum often shows bloody erosions and necrotic foci. The small intestine can also show such changes, but usually less pronounced. The Peyer's plates are swollen and show bleeding and foci of necrosis. The changes are most pronounced in the large intestine, where strip-shaped changes are found, which are caused by greatly expanded and blood-filled capillaries in the lamina propria of the mucous membrane folds ("zebra stripes"), as well as bleeding mucosal erosions. The liver can show signs of congestion . There is often bleeding in the gall bladder and urinary bladder . The lymph nodes of the abdominal cavity are swollen and edematous . The turbinates are swollen, show petechiae and sometimes have erosions. The lungs are often unchanged in cattle, but bronchopneumonia is often found in sheep and goats .

diagnosis

In enzootic areas the clinical manifestations are usually sufficient for a suspected diagnosis; likewise during outbreaks in normally unaffected populations, if the virus could be detected in them. Samples should preferably be taken before the onset of diarrhea. Suitable tissues are blood, lymph tissue, spleen and intestine, which should be transported to the laboratory at 4 ° C or on ice.

The suspicion of rinderpest must be reported immediately to the official veterinarian , who will also initiate appropriate diagnostic, protective and control measures. The samples are examined in the respective reference laboratory in the country: in Germany at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute , in Switzerland at the Institute for Virology and Immunology (IVI).

Indirect detection of rinderpest infection is carried out by detecting specific antibodies in infected animals using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which is also available as a rapid test . Indirect detection is only useful in areas where the disease is not enzootic. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be carried out for direct virus detection and for precise genome analysis and also allows conclusions to be drawn about the origin of the pathogen. Further options are electron microscopic detection of the pathogen, immunofluorescence test , immunohistochemistry (peroxidase), agar-gel immunodiffusion , immunoelectrophoresis and passive hemagglutination . Rinderpest is one of the notifiable animal diseases.

As differential diagnoses come BVD / MD , coast fever , foot and mouth disease , infectious bovine rhinotracheitis , Vesikulärstomatitis and Malignant catarrhal fever in question. In sheep and goats, the pest of small ruminants must also be considered.

Treatment and prevention

Vaccination of a cow against rinderpest ( Gambia 1959)

Rinderpest can only be treated symptomatically, which can only make economic sense in the case of valuable animals. Infusions are used to prevent fluid loss , and secondary infections can be treated with antibiotics . A preventive vaccination is possible in which all cattle and domesticated water buffaloes over one year old are given a live vaccine . A single vaccination leaves behind a very long immunity of over eleven years; maternal immunity (immunity due to antibodies from the mother) in calves from animals that have been vaccinated or immunized by infection lasts from 6 to 11 months.

The first widely used vaccine was developed by the British Walter Plowright in the 1960s . In the 1980s, a vaccine made from weakened viruses was used, which was heat-stable and therefore particularly suitable for tropical countries. However, it is no longer possible to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals in the antibody test, which is why mass vaccinations are no longer carried out today. In the event of a renewed outbreak of rinderpest, the control strategy would consist of culling sick and exposed animals, strict quarantine , disinfection measures and possibly selective vaccination campaigns.

Economic impact

There is little data on the economic impact of rinderpest, with most published studies being limited to individual countries or even individual outbreaks. Another problem with estimating the economic impact is that studies of outbreaks in Africa are disproportionately represented in the literature, while the economic effects in Asia are almost completely neglected. Data on the cattle populations in Africa and Asia are also imprecise and in some cases incomplete, which also makes it difficult to assess the effects of rinderpest.

The economic impact of the Pan African Rinderpest Campaign between 1986 and 1999 in Benin , Burkina Faso , Ivory Coast , Ethiopia, Ghana , Kenya, Mali , Tanzania , Senegal and Uganda has been best studied . The cost of the campaign in these countries was 51.6 million  ECU . Approximately 123 million cattle have been vaccinated against rinderpest. The average cost per cattle vaccinated was 0.42 ECU, varying between 0.27 ECU in Ethiopia and 1.71 ECU in Ivory Coast. The losses avoided as a result of the campaign were measured at 126,000 tons of beef , 39,000 tons of milk , 14,000 tons of manure and 86,000 hectares of land worked by the use of cattle as draft animals , although the method used to estimate these results is not clear. The trade and economic effects of these reduced losses have not been studied, so this estimate of economic benefits is likely to be underestimated. The monetary value of the losses avoided by PARC between 1986 and 1999 is estimated at 99.2 million ECU.

literature

Web links

Commons : Rinderpest  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Rinderpest  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wikisource: Laws against Rinderpest in the German Reich  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

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This article was added to the list of excellent articles on March 6, 2011 in this version .