RESUMEN
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a contagious and economically important transboundary viral disease of small ruminants. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) national animal health plan aimed to control and eradicate PPR from the country by following the global PPR control and eradication strategy which adopts small ruminants' mass vaccination to eradicate the disease from the globe by 2030. A smart vaccination approach, which is less expensive and has longer-term sustainable benefits, is needed to accelerate the eradication of PPR. In this study, a mathematical algorithm was developed based on animals' identification and registration data, belonging to the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), and other different parameters related to PPR risk occurrence. The latter included animal holding vaccination history, the number of animals per holding, forecasting of the number of animals and newborns per holding, the proximity of an animal holding to a PPR outbreak and the historical animal holding owner vaccination rejection attitude. The developed algorithm successfully prioritized animal holdings at risk of PPR infection within Abu Dhabi Emirate to be targeted by vaccination. This in turn facilitated the mobilization of field vaccination teams to target specific sheep and goat holdings to ensure the generation of immunity against the disease on a risk-based approach. The vaccination coverage of the targeted livestock population was increased to 86% and the vaccination rejection attitude was reduced by 35%. The duration of the vaccination campaign was reduced to 30 compared to 70 working days and hence can alleviate the depletion of human and logistic resources commonly used in classical mass vaccination campaigns. The results obtained from implementing the algorithm-based PPR vaccination campaign will reduce the negative impact of PPR on the UAE livestock sector and accelerate the achievement of the national PPR eradication plan requirements.
RESUMEN
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an important infectious viral disease of domestic small ruminants that threatens the food security and sustainable livelihood of farmers across Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The objective of this research is to analyze the disease's spread and its impacts on direct government costs through conducting three simulations of different control strategies to reduce and quickly eradicate PPR from the United Arab Emirates in the near future. A Modified Animal Disease Spread Model was developed in this study to suit the conditions of the United Arab Emirates. The initial scenario represents when mass vaccination is ceased, and moderate movement restrictions are applied. The second scenario is based on mass vaccination and stamping out the disease, whereas the third simulation scenario assumes mass and ring vaccination when needed, very strict movement control, and stamping out. This study found that the third scenario is the most effective in controlling and eradicating PPR from the UAE. The outbreak duration in days was reduced by 57% and the number of infected animals by 77% when compared to the other scenarios. These results are valuable to the country's animal health decision-makers and the government's efforts to report to the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) regarding the progress made towards declaration of the disease's eradication. They are also useful to other concerned entities in other Middle Eastern, North African, and Asian countries where the disease is spreading.
