After an apparent absence of approximately three years, rinderpest cases are again being detected in Sindh Province; in 2000 three outbreaks were detected in dairy farms near Karachi. The diagnoses were confirmed at the Animal Sciences Institute of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, by immunocapture ELISA. It is now clear that the apparent absence was a reflection of the low incidence combined with deficiencies in the disease recognition and reporting system. Although most field service veterinarians in Karachi are experienced in the diagnosis of rinderpest, the symptoms they readily recognize are acute, severe and involve large numbers of animals. They are less confident in diagnosing rinderpest when it presents as a subacute condition in a small number of animals. One of the key factors to improve rinderpest reporting is the availability of a rapid "penside" test for rinderpest infection (the Rapid Chromatographic Strip Test), developed by the World Reference Laboratory for Rinderpest. Isolated outbreaks of low morbidity and case fatality rate, such as those encountered to date, would probably have been overlooked in the past or have attracted only therapeutic interventions; it is normal to treat rinderpest-affected cattle and buffaloes in Pakistan.
Trace-back studies suggested a link to the interior of Punjab for one outbreak and to northern Sindh for the others. Investigations provided no evidence of disease at the origin in Punjab, suggesting that infection might have occurred in transit, perhaps at overnight halts. Further investigations by Dr Manzoor Hussain of NARC in November uncovered evidence of a small number of previously unreported rinderpest outbreaks which occurred in northern Sindh during the years 1998-2000 (as recently as November). The endemic rinderpest situation appears to be closely linked to the dairy buffalo farming system and to the long-distance transportation of newly calved buffaloes; yet, at a detailed level, it is not understood how the virus transmission chain is being maintained. Understanding these factors is a prerequisite for timely and cost-effective eradication. The interim strategy is therefore to concentrate on developing an understanding of the infected area - the size of the maintenance population and the physical limits of its distribution - before the use of pulsed vaccination is contemplated. It is vital that all clinical cases of rinderpest should be reported. To this end the FAO project (TCP/PAK/8923 Epidemiological analysis of rinderpest and development of an eradication strategy) is strengthening the disease surveillance and reporting systems and has produced a rinderpest recognition manual for distribution to all field staff.
Pakistan's declaration to the International Office of Epizootics (OIE) can be viewed on the OIE Web site
In order to comply with the OIE pathway and in line with the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP) recommendations, the Veterinary Organization of Iran intends to stop vaccination against rinderpest in four southern and southwestern Iranian provinces. This cessation of vaccination will be replaced by active disease surveillance. The full report can be obtained on the OIE Web site
The western part of the country has been declared provisionally free, with cessation of vaccination in this zone replaced by intensified surveillance. The country is now divided into three zones:
The full report can be obtained on the OIE Web site