Kenya Agricultural Research Institute Proposed and Ongoing Projects at National Veterinary Research Centre, Muguga

Abstract

Natural outbreaks if rinderpest were recorded in wildlife in Kenya 1993 and October2001. The disease has not been observed in cattle populations in close proximity to the National parks. Experimental infections of different breeds of cattle with the wildlife-derived isolate(linage II) of rinderpest virus have consistently shown that the virus causes very mild disease in cattle. Recent involving both catle and buffaloeshave shown that the virus causes more severe disease in buffalloes. Experimentally infected buffaloes readily transmitted the disease to other in contact buffaloes and cattle.Transmission was also observed between infected cattle and in-contact buffaloes. These findings indicated that clinically, undetectable lineage II rinderpest virus infections in some cattle can be transmitted to other in-contact cattle and buffaloes. The role of wildlife in the maintenance and transmission of cattle-derived rinderpest virus isolates has not been examined.