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| Ocular discharge and oral lesions associated with PPR. | |
Definitions for understanding exotic disease introduction | 4
One example of a directly contagious disease of animals is Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a viral disease of small ruminants caused by a morbillivirus (Family Paramyxoviridae). The disease, found in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and India, may manifest with acute signs of fever, nasal discharge, non-hemorrhagic diarrhea, conjunctivitis, stomatitis, pneumonia, and abortion; death usually occurs within 5-10 days.
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| Ocular discharge and oral lesions associated with PPR. | |
However, not all contagious infectious diseases are directly contagious; many important animal diseases are transmitted between animals by a vector. For example, African Horse Sickness, a severe cardiac and pulmonary disease of horses and other equidae, is caused by an orbivirus (Family Reoveridae) that is transmitted by a biting midge vector, Culicoides spp. Although highly fatal, the disease is not transmitted from one equid to another by direct contact. African Horse Sickness is primarily endemic to Africa, but several outbreaks have occurred in Spain, Portugal, and the Far East.
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| Severe pulmonary edema associated with African Horse Sickness. |