Written for
CENTAUR Global Network
RINDERPEST GLOBAL ERADICATION – HISTORICAL
SUCCESS OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
V. Kouba
Honorary Member of the CENTAUR International
Advisory Board
Former Chief,
Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Abstract
The
rinderpest recurred throughout history causing hundreds of millions of animal
deaths. The rinderpest has been registered in 114 countries of all continents,
causing enormous economic losses. After the World War II the rinderpest was
reported still from 66 countries. The largest and longest international
anti-epizootic global programme against
the most dangerous animal disease has been successfully completed before
the end of 2010. Specific vaccination was finished in 2006 and during following
surveys it had been no evidence of the existence of this infection in the
nature. The initial programmes at local and national levels were gradually
extended. In 1986 FAO Animal Health Service started global
rinderpest eradication programme fixing the deadline and merging newly
established regional projects in
Introduction
The rinderpest (caused by a Morbillivirus) initial symptoms included high
fever, loss of appetite, nasal and eye
discharges following by haemorrhagic erosions in the mouth and by acute
haemorrhagic diarrhoea. Most animals
died 6–12 days after the onset of
clinical symptoms. It was mainly
spread by direct contact, contaminated water and by infected animals’ movement.
Due to extreme lethality the rinderpest has been included among biological
weapons.
Fig. 1 Herd
of cattle dead due to rinderpest (World Animal Review, Special Issue –
Rinderpest, 1983, FAO)
The
rinderpest recurred throughout history.
It caused hundreds of millions of animal deaths that preceded famines in
Fig. 2.
Rinderpest – haemorrhagic erosions on the inner surface of the lower and upper
lips, the gums and on the surface of the tongue,
Fig. 3.
Rinderpest – haemorrhagic diarrhoea,
Fig. 4.
Rinderpest – haemorrhages in the small intestine,
Fig.
5. Rinderpest – haemorrhages in the gallbladder,
The
catastrophic consequences of the rinderpest caused in 18th
century the foundation of the veterinary
profession, in 19th century the establishment of public veterinary
services and in 1924 the foundation of the International Office of Epizootics
(OIE). The rinderpest was historically registered in 114 countries of all
continents. Its eradication was one of the main objectives of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) when it was established in
1945. The g l o b a l rinderpest
eradication programme started in 1986 and ended in 2010 (including very
long surveillance period) when the FAO
announced that it was confident the disease had been eradicated and declared
the end of field operations of this programme.
Fig. 6.
Rinderpest – map of all countries affected (V. Kouba according to OIE WAHID
2009 data)
In June 2011, FAO
Conference, the highest body of the United Nations agency, officially
recognized global freedom from this deadly cattle virus adopting a resolution
declaring the eradication of rinderpest (“FAO
Declaration on Global Freedom from Rinderpest”). The author was attending
this historical moment being invited as former Chief, Animal Health Service,
FAO when he was responsible for global
rinderpest eradication programme and its results. This invitation and message
that "FAO highly values your
contribution towards the eradication of rinderpest” represent the impulse to write this paper to acquaint
the reader with some aspects of this historical achievement.
Material
The main source of data
for this paper was represented by the documents of FAO Animal Health Service
(AGAH) responsible for executing worldwide
assistance to member country governments’
animal health programmes, including control/eradication of rinderpest as
the priority disease. The protocols from
AGAH meetings, international negotiations and expert consultations related to
the rinderpest were for this paper of
key importance. Other sources were found in the yearbooks on animal
disease worldwide occurrence as published in the FAO/WHO/OIE Animal Health Yearbook and in the OIE World Animal Health as well as the data of the OIE World Animal Health Information Database
(OIE 2010). Other FAO and OIE specific publications on rinderpest (FAO 1996,
1998, 2011, OIE 2011) were of particular importance.
The author as the
Editor-in-Chief during 1978-1984 and 1987 was regularly evaluating in the
FAO/WHO/OIE Animal Health Yearbook rinderpest global epizootiological changes
and introduced detailed reports on “Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC),
Organization of African Unity (OAU), Nairobi, Kenya” and on “West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign
Coordination (WARECC)”.
The papers published by
FAO-AGAH-EMPRES (Emergency Prevention
System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases) in 2011 in a special
issue of its Bulletin on rinderpest global eradication (Slingenberg; Chibeu and
El-Sawalhy; Kamata; Mathur; Njeumi and Roeder; Sasaki, Rajasekhar, Raja and
Hussain) represented important information as well.
Personal information
of AGAH virologists in charge of the
anti-rinderpest programmes, e.g. Dr. Y. Ozawa and Dr. K. J. Wojciechowski, was also taken into account. Finally, there
was considered author’ personal experience from solving rinderpest problems
(Kouba, 2003, 2010 and 2011) when he was as the Chief, Animal Health Service, FAO responsible for global
anti-rinderpest programme implementation and its results.
Methods
The
development of rinderpest control
methods had a long history. More or less passive approach lasted up to
18th century when stamping out
and cattle movement control were started. During the first decades of 20th
century these methods were combined with using rinderpest serum to limit spread of outbreaks. After the
World War II the serum was replaced by anti-rinderpest vaccine.
The
basic control activity was to identify the territories with the rinderpest
occurrence, i.e. affected localities/herds – outbreaks, zones under direct
specific risk, zones under indirect specific risk, the limits of territories
free of clinical cases of rinderpest and limits of territories free of
rinderpest virus. This required extensive serological monitoring in domestic
and wild animals of rinderpest susceptibles species.
The Joint FAO-IAEA Division on Nuclear
Techniques in Food and Agriculture was
instrumental in introducing and expanding diagnostic capabilities in
developing countries, with initial emphasis on rinderpest diagnosis and on
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) as the appropriate technology. The
range of diagnostic technology was expanded, especially into Polymerase Chain
Reaction (PCR) techniques for detection and characterisation of pathogens.
Radical
methods consisted in sanitary slaughtering all specifically diseased and
suspected animals as well as animal-contacts. Very strict quarantine of
infected sites and surrounding zones was supplemented with perifocal and territorial vaccination in the areas
under specific risk. (e.g. along borders between affected and
non-affected territories/countries). Extraordinary role had mass vaccination
using an attenuated tissue culture vaccine developed by W. Plowright (1962).
According
to J. Otte et al. (2011) the number of
specific vaccinations during 1950s -1990s reached 3 billion: West and
Control and eradication of rinderpest represented a very complex
and difficult to solve problems being multiplied by the fact that every case
was different under different conditions requiring different practical
application of established anti-rinderpest principles.
It must be
considered not only the rinderpest occurrence, its territorial localization,
stage of development but also size, structure and distribution of domestic and
wild animal populations of susceptible species. It must be considered
veterinary service organization and its ability of anti-epizootic actions. It
must be considered influencing factors such as ecological, economic, social and
political conditions as well as public, government and donors’ supports. In
some country political instability or even war complicated anti-rinderpest
programme. The grade of the demandingness was multiplied by the fact that the
time-bound programme required to reach the eradication prior to the deadline
what was much more difficult than before without fixed global final term.
The extremely
complex and demanding rinderpest eradication programmes, had different
work/resources/time consuming phases:
rinderpest etiology and epizootiology research and its results testing; field
investigations to identify all outbreaks and threatened territories; identification of control/eradication
strategy, tactics and methodology (incl. diagnosis system based on laboratory
investigations); specific vaccine production and control; creation of necessary
conditions (manpower, material, transport, funds incl. subsidies; logistics;
public, legislation and political support, etc.); identification of specific
objectives (incl. deadlines); attraction of donors; clearance procedures;
starting phase; intensive attack phase combined with protective measures
including vaccination; elimination phase, eradication phase and
post-eradication phase under continuing surveillance verifying freedom from
rinderpest and systematic evaluations. All these interconnected phases depending
on the results of the previous ones were demanding but very important.
Complex system approach when applying
action-oriented epizootiological principles (described e.g. in http://vaclavkouba.byl.cz/epiztextbook.htm)
was of extraordinary importance.
Anti-rinderpest
international programmes
FAO in 1946
started the programme to assist in the harmonization of efforts to contain high
impact livestock diseases. Rinderpest was at the top of the list and ever since
then has continued to be one of central elements of the activities and
programmes of the Organization. Initially the eradication efforts largely took
place on an individual country basis, using mass vaccinations.
Major
campaigns in
Internationally
organized FAO g l o b a l
rinderpest eradication programme started in 1986 based on creating
and merging three regional projects technically backstopped by the AGAH,: “The
Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC)”–
(FAO Project GCP/RAF/218/JPN), “The South Asia Rinderpest Eradication
Campaign (SAREC)“ -
(FAO Project RAS/86/023) and “The West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign
Coordination (WARECC)” -
(FAO Project RAB/86/024) including existing and new national programmes. It was started a frontal assault against rinderpest in the
affected countries and regions. That time the AGAH, after rinderpest
global situation analysis and its estimated prognosis, set the deadline –
“horizon 2010”. Time-bound strategy gave a new important impulse to global
rinderpest eradication campaign at all levels conducing to the intensification
of control/eradication (attack phases) measures aiming at the final objective.
The programme
required close collaboration with global and regional partners such as:
International Office of Epizootics (OIE) *), International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) **), African Union’s Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)
etc. as well as with funding agencies such as United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), European Union (EU), several donors’ country, international
banks etc.. The collaboration with relevant international rinderpest research
reference laboratories (first of all the Institute for Animal Health,
*)
International animal health information system, standards for diagnostic tests
and vaccines, rinderpest surveillance system – pathway, etc.
**) Rinderpest
laboratory diagnostic.
Fig. 7.
Rinderpest – map of global eradication
programme in 1986 (FAO archive)
From 1994 the
global rinderpest eradication programme was using pro forma the abbreviation “GREP”
and began further intensification of
much better funded final phase in
the remaining rinderpest countries reaching successfully the objectives, i.e.
global eradication.
Potential
donors are usually much more generous when the programme promises final success
very soon.
Global
campaign required to link local programmes with national ones, national
programmes with regional ones and these to link with the global one under the
FAO leadership, responsibility, central coordination combined with concrete
assistance, including AGAH field practical projects, to rinderpest and
rinderpest-threatened countries. Member country governments required deeds not
words (Acta no verba), i.e. final
results.
Provided anti-rinderpest actions by the FAO Animal Health Service
consisted in global initiative, organization, management, international
coordination, gaining necessary external support and also in technical assistance to member
countries. This usually consisted, after
becoming familiar with the specific situation and influencing conditions, in
various activities: identification of rinderpest situation and forecast of its
trend; identification of infected territories (populations) and threatened
territories; elaboration of anti-rinderpest contingency plans, strategy,
tactics, specific protective, control/eradication measures and surveillance
(e.g., large-scale serological monitoring for rinderpest situation
identification, post-eradication control and confirmation rinderpest-free
status); provision of methodologies (incl. manuals); assisting in rinderpest
diagnosis (establishing and strengthening diagnostic laboratories including equipment
and international experts); production and control of anti-rinderpest vaccines
as well as cold chain establishment; specific training, information and
control/evaluation system; advising on anti-rinderpest legislation;
strengthening of veterinary services organization etc..
According to
available data (OIE-WAHID 2010) the first country reporting last case of the rinderpest was
First major
global impulse was given in 1985 (remaining 39 rinderpest countries) by
identifying final deadline (2010) and in
1986 by starting g l o b a l rinderpest eradication programme merging
three new regional ones. Second major impulse was given in 1994 (remaining 19
rinderpest countries) by AGAH/EMPRES. Numbers of countries reporting last case
of rinderpest in individual decades were as follows: during the 1940s – 5,
during the 1950s – 5, during the 1960s – 7, during the 1970s – 3, during the
1980s – 26, during the 1990s – 18 and during the 2010s – 2 and thus finalizing
successfully the global eradication process as the major achievement in
veterinary history.
According to the number of countries reporting last case of
rinderpest it can be noted that during 1960-2010 there were two major “waves”.
The first was between 1986 and 1993 when last cases were reported by 17
countries. The second wave was between 1994 and 2003 when last cases were reported by the
remaining 18 countries finalizing
the programmes started in previous periods.
Fig. 8.
Rinderpest – graph on number of countries officially reporting last cases of
rinderpest during 1963-2003 (V. Kouba
according to OIE WAHID 2009 data)
The last evidence for rinderpest virus
circulation dates to 2003 in the Somali ecosystem in
Discussion
Thirty-seventh Session of FAO
Conference in
The
resolution also called on the world community to follow up by ensuring that
samples of rinderpest viruses and vaccines be kept under safe laboratory
conditions and that rigorous standards for disease surveillance and reporting
be applied. Stocks of the rinderpest virus will be maintained only by
internationally selected highly specialized laboratories.
The
resolution also required that with the cessation of field rinderpest
eradication operations, programme attention to be redirected to maintain
worldwide freedom from rinderpest, through safe custodianship and destruction
of remaining stocks of vaccines or virus samples that may be held at research
or diagnostic facilities. The resolution required also to develop a
post-eradication strategy so as to consolidate success of eradication taking
into accunt that the presence of virulent or attenuated rinderpest virus in
laboratories constitutes a potential threat to the global disease-free status.
This
extraordinary achievement would not have been possible without the joint
efforts and strong commitments of governments, the relevant organizations in
The
eradication of rinderpest in the world was first of all professional merit of
incalculable number of veterinarians and their supportive staff at all levels
headed by National Chief Veterinary Officers of the affected and threatened
countries being supported by broad network of partners, several international organizations and financial sponsors. The
global anti-rinderpest campaign structure involved incalculable number of
participating persons and institutions at all levels creating a global
organization pyramid with the FAO Animal Health Service on top of it.
Global rinderpest eradication programme principal role of
initiator, promoter, organizer, co-ordinator, manager, facilitator and executor
of concrete assistance to Member States with the responsibility for the worldwide
results primarily played FAO Animal Health Service. It was headed during last five decades (1961-2011) by
following Chiefs: Dr. Ervin Eichorn (USA), Dr. Reg Barn Griffiths (Great
Britain), Dr. Yoshihiro Ozawa (Japan), Dr. Václav Kouba (Czechoslovakia), Dr.
Yves Cheneau (France), Dr. Maurice Joseph Domenech (France) and Dr. Juan
Lubroth (USA). Each of them was responsible for the anti-rinderpest global programme
during a particular period. Special responsibilities within the FAO Animal
Health Service had the virologists of the Infection Diseases Group and from
1994 of the EMPRES unit.
Note: The
data for global historical cost/benefit
analysis are not available. The overall
cost of the rinderpest eradication
campaign during centuries could be estimated only very very roughly
(with a large question mark!): to be more than 50 billion USD?
Conclusion
Having
accumulated sufficient international experience with global eradication of the
most important animal disease, time has come to continue without any
interruption in this international policy representing a n e w
e r a of veterinary medicine
– era of global veterinary medicine
gradually “cleaning” our planet from the most important killing animal
infections. It can be continued with
planning of global eradication of one or two infections-killers meeting similar
criteria as the rinderpest, e.g. of zoonotic glanders in a shorter term – 2025
(?) commonly with WHO and of foot and mouth disease in a longer term - 2050
(?).
Fig. 9. FAO badge commemorating rinderpest global
eradication
This historic achievement of the global eradication of rinderpest
ranked as the second in history after the global
eradication of smallpox in humans in 1980. Rinderpest is the first
animal infection eradicated globally not only in the susceptible species of
domestic but also wild animals. Huge damage that
rinderpest has done in the past will not be repeated. It is a great
contribution to global development and production of animal species susceptible
to rinderpest, to international trade and to developing countries’ livestock
economy and poverty reduction. The global eradication of the rinderpest
represents the major achievement in the history of
veterinary medicine.
References
1. FAO 1996: The World
Without Rinderpest. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 129,
2. FAO 1998: Rinderpest:
The challenge ahead. FAO Technical Consultation on the global rinderpest
eradication Programme.
3. FAO
2011: Freedom from the World No. 1 Cattle Plague – Rinderpest. EMPRES
Bulletin, No. 38, 71 pp
4. FAO 2011:
The FAO Declaration on Global Freedom from Rinderpest. Adopted by 37th
FAO Conference Plenary Session,
5. FAO/OIE 2011: Joint FAO/OIE Committee on
Global Rinderpest Eradication final report. FAO EMPRES Bulletin, No. 38: 12-17
6. CHIBEU, D..M., EL-SAWALHY, A. 2011:
Rinderpest eradication in
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Annex
List of countries affected by
rinderpest and years of reporting last cases (OIE World Animal Health Information Database - WAHID 2010)
Africa: Angola (1962), Benin
(1987), Botswana (1899), Burkina Faso (1988), Burundi (1934), Cameroon (1986),
Central African Republic (1983), Chad (1984), Congo (1986), Cote d’Ivoire
(1986), Djibuti (1985), Egypt (1987), Eritrea (1995), Ethiopia (1995), Gambia
(1965), Ghana (1988), Guinea (1967), Guinea Bissau (1967), Kenya (2003),
Lesotho (1886), Libya (1966), Mali (1986), Mauritania (2003), Mozambique
(1896), Namibia (1907), Niger (1986), Nigeria (1987), Reunion (1902), Ruanda (1932), Senegal
(1978), Somalia (1983), South Africa (1904),
Sudan (1998), Swaziland (1898), Tanzania (1997), Togo (1986), Uganda
(1994), Zambia (1896), Zimbabwe (1898).
Asia: Afghanistan (1995),
Armenia (1928), Azerbaijan (1929), Bahrain (1985), Bangladesh (1958), Bhutan
(1969), Brunei (1950), Cambodia (1986), China (1955), Hong-kong (1950), India
(1995), Indonesia (1907), Iran (1994), Irak (1996), Izrael (1983), Kuwait
(1985), Japan (1924), Jordan (1972), Kazakhstan (1928), Korea (1931), Korea-DPR
(1948), Laos (1966), Lebanon (1982), Malayasia (1924), Mongolia (1992), Myanmar (1957), Nepal (1990), Oman (1995), Pakistan
(2000), Palestian Auton. Territories (1983), Philippines (1955), Qatar (1987),
Saudi Arabia (1999), Singapur (1930), Sri Lanka (1994), Syria (1982), Taipei
China (1949), Thailand (1959), Turkey (1996), United Arab Emirates (1995),
Vietnam (1977), Yemen (1995).
Europe: Albania (1924),
Austria (1881), Belgium (1920), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1883), Bulgaria (1913),
Croatia (1883), Czech Republic (1881), Denmark (1782), Finland (1877), France
(1870), Georgia (1989), Germany (1870), Greece (1926), Hungary (1881), Ireland
(1866), Italy (1949), Latvia (1921), Netherlands (1869), Poland (1921), Romania (1886), Russia
(1998), Serbia and Montenegro (1883), Slovakia (1881), Slovenia (1883), Sweden
(1700), Switzerland (1871), U.K./Great
Britain (1877), U.K. Northern Ireland (1900).