| Rinderpest, or cattle plague, is an acute,
highly contagious viral disease of wild and domesticated ruminants
and pigs.
It is characterized by sudden onset of fever, oculonasal
discharges, necrotic stomatitis, gastroenteritis and death.
In a fully susceptible population, as is the case in non-endemic
areas, morbidity and mortality can approach 100 percent. With
some strains of the virus, however, the disease may be mild
with low mortality from infection.
Rinderpest is the first livestock disease targeted for global
eradication. It is the subject of the Global Rinderpest Eradication
Programme which aims to achieve eradication by 2010.
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