| dc.description.abstract | In May 2011 in Turkana County, north-western Kenya, tissue samples were
collected from goats suspected of having died of peste des petits ruminant (PPR)
disease, an acute viral disease of small ruminants. The samples were processed
and tested by reverse transcriptase PCR for the presence of PPR viral RNA. The
positive samples were sequenced and identified as belonging to peste des petits
ruminants virus (PPRV) lineage III. Full-genome analysis of one of the positive
samples revealed that the virus causing disease in Kenya in 2011 was 95.7% identi-
cal to the full genome of a virus isolated in Uganda in 2012 and that a segment of
the viral fusion gene was 100% identical to that of a virus circulating in Tanzania
in 2013. These data strongly indicate transboundary movement of lineage III
viruses between Eastern Africa countries and have significant implications for sur-
veillance and control of this important disease as it moves southwards in Africa. | en_US |
