Vaccines, diagnostics and biology of the livestock morbilliviruses rinderpest virus and peste des petits ruminants virus

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is a morbillivirus, closely related to the human pathogen Measles virus (MV) and Rinderpest virus (RPV), the recently eradicated cause of a devastating disease of cattle. PPR is a rapidly spreading disease of sheep and goats, widespread now in large parts of the developing world. Since these animals are most commonly the primary livestock of people at the bottom end of the economic ladder, the socio-economic impact of PPR outbreaks tends to be particularly hard on these groups, and there is a growing movement to control and eventually eradicate PPR. IAH played a significant role in the eradication of RPV, including training, diagnostic development and understanding the biology of the virus. This project aims to make a similar contribution to the global effort against PPRV.
On the applied side, we are developing new vaccines against PPR which will allow the distinguishing of infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA vaccines), as well as pen-side tests to allow more rapid identification of PPRV infection. A significant part of this work involves collaboration with laboratories in Africa to uplift their capabilities. We are working in the laboratory on generating recombinant antigen for diagnostic tests, to eliminate the need for growing live virus. We are also studying the molecular and cell biology of the virus, examining the way it controls host innate immune responses. We have developed a system for recovering live virus from a DNA copy of the genome, allowing us to create targeted mutations in the virus, and will apply this technique to studies of the growth of the virus and the biology underlying the restriction of disease to sheep and goats.