Author(s): M Islam, DC Pathak, S Das, T Raman, S Sarma, Rita Nath and Anisha Sultana

Abstract: Peste des petits ruminants is an acute, febrile, emerging and economically important viral disease of goats having high morbidity and mortality rate. Present investigation was conducted to diagnose PPR in goats of Assam. On the basis of clinical and pathological alterations and confirmed by molecular techniques. The clinically affected animals showed predominant clinical signs like high fever, anorexia, dullness, mucopurulent occulo-nasal discharge, stomatitis and diarrhoea soiling the perianal region and hind quarter. Grossly, lungs showed congestion and consolidation in anterior and cardiac lobes, emphysema in the diaphragmatic lobes, frothy exudates in the lumen of the trachea, ulcerative lesion in gums, lips and tongue, and hemorrhagic enteritis. Microscopically, there were bronchopneumonia and interstitial pneumonia with presence of intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies in the bronchial epithelium. Lymphocytic depletion in lymph nodes and spleen were characteristic findings. Degenerative and ulcerative lesions in the tongue, gums and lips with intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the lining epithelium of lips were also common findings. In RT-PCR, out of 79 post mortem samples, 58 showed amplification of PPR viral nucleic acid at 463 bp for N gene using N gene specific primer.

DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2023.v7.i2Sh.272