Co‐infection of peste des petits ruminants and goatpox in a mixed flock of sheep and goats in Kanam, North Central Nigeria

Peste‐des‐petits‐ruminants (PPR) and Goat pox (GTP) are two devastating and economically important transboundary animal diseases of small ruminants in Africa and Asia that have been difficult to control. This study however, investigated an outbreak of PPR and GTP in a mixed flock of indigenous sheep and goats in Kanam, North Central Nigeria. A total of nine sera and seven tissues (lungs, spleen, scab and skin) samples were collected and analysed in the laboratory using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for PPR antibodies and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of PPR virus (PPRV) and GTP virus (GTPV). Gene fragments of the nucleoprotein of PPRV and the G‐protein‐coupled chemokine receptor (GPCR) of GTPV were amplified and sequenced to confirm the presence of the causative viruses. Serologically, antibodies to PPRV were detected in all (9/9) sera collected. GTPV and PPRV was detected in corresponding samples (42.8% n  = 3/7) of the scab/skin samples collected by both PCR and RT‐PCR technique. The phylogenetic analysis of PPRV revealed that the virus belongs to lineage IV and clustered with viruses from Gabon and Cameroon. Similarly, the GTPV also clustered with other sequences from Burkina Faso and Yemen. The positive cELISA, RT‐PCR and PCR results from samples collected from the same animals confirmed co‐infection of PPR and GTP in this mixed flock of sheep and goats. This is the first report of concurrent infection of PPR and GTP in mixed flock of sheep and goats in Nigeria. Our findings underscore the need for farmers to vaccinate their flock to control spread and economic losses as result of these diseases.