On 13 December, an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – also known as goat plague or ovine rinderpest – was confirmed in a small flock of sheep by the Croatian veterinary institute in Zagreb. Following a number of abortions, samples were taken from a 26-head sheep herd in the community of Prgomet, some 20 km northwest of Split. As there is currently no vaccine available that is able to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA), disease control is based on biosecurity, movement control and stamping out.
Moving towards the north-west
This is the first outbreak of PPR in Croatia, which has severely affected south-eastern Europe. Present in Bulgaria since 2018, the virus later arrived in Greece and Romania (July 2024), Hungary (January 2025), Albania (June 2025) and Kosovo (July 2025). The highly contagious disease is caused by Morbillivirus caprinae, and is transmitted via direct contact. Spread of the disease mainly occurs through transport of infected animals. The World organisation for animal health (WOAH) has produced an infographic to help identify PPR.
(Photo ©Uschi Dugulin/Pixabay)