ROME, Italy- Concerns over possible trade restrictions are discouraging some countries from fully using available vaccines against Peste des Petits Ruminants, the World Organisation for Animal Health has warned.
WOAH Deputy Director General for Global Frameworks and Capacity Building Dr Baba Soumaré said it was regrettable that effective tools existed to fight the deadly livestock disease but were not always deployed because of worries about their impact on trade.
“It is a pity that we have formidable tools, yet because of some concerns about trade, they are not being used,” Dr Soumaré said during a high-level animal-health dialogue in Rome.
PPR is a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats. Although it does not infect humans, it can cause widespread livestock deaths, disrupt markets and destroy the incomes of pastoralists and smallholder farmers.
Dr Soumaré said WOAH was working with its network of experts and reference centres to develop science-based standards that allow countries to vaccinate without fearing unnecessary trade barriers.
The organisation is also supporting vaccine production, quality control and distribution while working with manufacturers to improve access through vaccine banks.
“We need to ground our work in science,” he said. “WOAH puts critical attention on ensuring that its standards and guidelines are science-based, transparent and inclusive.”
Dr Soumaré acknowledged that the original timeline for eradicating PPR had changed but said governments and international partners should not abandon the campaign.
“The timeline has changed, but that should not discourage our resolve and collaborative effort to defeat this disease,” he said. “Failure is not an option.”
Participants at the Rome meeting backed a revised call to eradicate PPR by 2040 while strengthening the control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
Dr Soumaré urged partners to review the first phase of the eradication campaign to identify what had worked and address weaknesses that had slowed progress.
He said the global campaign began with optimism following the successful eradication of rinderpest because vaccines, diagnostic tests and technical expertise were already available for PPR.
However, he said eliminating the disease would require governments to move beyond declarations and fulfil their financial and political commitments.
“It requires strong commitment and meeting those commitments, not just a pledge,” Dr Soumaré said.
He urged countries to lead the campaign by investing their own resources and demonstrating that the disease was a national priority because of its effects on livelihoods, food security and trade.
The WOAH official also called for stronger cooperation at national, regional and global levels, including continued support for the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases, a partnership between WOAH and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The framework has supported regional organisations and member countries in controlling livestock diseases that spread across borders.
Dr Soumaré said successful eradication would depend on quality vaccines, strong veterinary services, scientific surveillance and coordinated action among governments, regional institutions and international partners.
