How fast can PPRV spread? Analyzing the results of an experimental PPRV infection of goats equipped with Ultra-Wideband sensors
7 affiliations
- 1UMR ASTRE, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
- 2UMR ASTRE, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- 3ENSIAS, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
- 4UMR SELMET, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- 5LNERV, Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles, Dakar, Sénégal
- 6International Livestock Research Institute, West Africa Regional Office, Dakar, Senegal
- 7Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
Abstract
Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease affecting goats and sheep. The speed and extent of its spread depend on contact patterns and the virus’s intrinsic characteristics. To estimate its propagation speed and the role of inter-individual contacts, we conducted PPR virus transmission experiments in goats that were equipped with Ultra-Wideband (UWB) sensors to continuously track inter-individual distances alongside clinical and virological monitoring. Using Bayesian modeling, we integrated contact data and health status to estimate the basic reproduction number (R0), the incubation period, and the virus transmissibility. The novel integration of distance tracking revealed that animal density in an area critically drives infection risk: the minimum exposure time that is required for a naïve animal to become infected dropped from nearly two days at low density to just four hours at high density. Overall, the derived R0 estimates were 4.3 (95% HDI: 3.1–4.8) for a 5-day infectious period and 8.6 (95% HDI: 6.2–9.6) for a 10-day infectious period. The incubation period was estimated to be around 14.7 days (95% CI 11.6–20.1). The exposure time varies greatly depending on the density, ranging from nearly two days at low density to around four hours at high density. These findings highlight high-density environments, such as conditions in livestock markets, as an important factor of PPRV transmission between animals and the disease spread. Considering the high frequency of animals’ movement on long distances, the high incubation period, about 15 days, might be one of the factors explaining the spread of PPR along long distances from the source of infection. To efficiently control and eradicate PPR, sheep and goats’ movement control must be one of the means to be applied. Our findings, based on a single lineage IV PPRV strain (Senegal 20-GP) evaluated under experimental conditions, suggest that the adequacy of the current 21-day quarantine period, as specified in the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Code, deserves further evaluation and validation under field conditions.
Related
- Bioinformatic and experimental analyses revealed pathogen-derived pathoPEPs candidates predicted to control plant miRNAs expression and infection
- Nanobodies Equipped with HaloTag Enable Scalable Fluorescence-Lifetime Multiplexing.
- Effects of Experimental Infection with Lagovirus europaeus GI.1 and GI.2 on the Fecal Microbiota of Rabbits: New Insights into Virus–Host Microbiota Associations
- Protocol for analyzing tumor-infiltrating bystander CD8+ T cells in mice using adoptive transfer of P14 TCR-transgenic CD8+ T cells
- Protocol for imaging and analyzing the synaptic coverage of astrocytes with super-resolution STED microscopy in mouse brain slices
BibTeX
@article{nhili2026fast,
title = {{How fast can PPRV spread? Analyzing the results of an experimental PPRV infection of goats equipped with Ultra-Wideband sensors}},
author = {Manal Nhili and Jean-Baptiste Menassol and Gaye Laye Diop and Mariame Diop and Aminata Ndoye and Mbengué Ndiaye and Aminata Ba and Michel Dione and Assane Gueye Fall and Noha El Khattabi and Modou Moustapha Lo and Mounia Abik and Andrea Apolloni and Adama Diallo},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358839},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358839},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - How fast can PPRV spread? Analyzing the results of an experimental PPRV infection of goats equipped with Ultra-Wideband sensors
AU - Manal Nhili
AU - Jean-Baptiste Menassol
AU - Gaye Laye Diop
AU - Mariame Diop
AU - Aminata Ndoye
AU - Mbengué Ndiaye
AU - Aminata Ba
AU - Michel Dione
AU - Assane Gueye Fall
AU - Noha El Khattabi
AU - Modou Moustapha Lo
AU - Mounia Abik
AU - Andrea Apolloni
AU - Adama Diallo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358839
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358839
AB - Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease affecting goats and sheep. The speed and extent of its spread depend on contact patterns and the virus’s intrinsic characteristics. To estimate its propagation speed and the role of inter-individual contacts, we conducted PPR virus transmission experiments in goats that were equipped with Ultra-Wideband (UWB) sensors to continuously track inter-individual distances alongside clinical and virological monitoring. Using Bayesian modeling, we integrated contact data and health status to estimate the basic reproduction number (R0), the incubation period, and the virus transmissibility. The novel integration of distance tracking revealed that animal density in an area critically drives infection risk: the minimum exposure time that is required for a naïve animal to become infected dropped from nearly two days at low density to just four hours at high density. Overall, the derived R0 estimates were 4.3 (95% HDI: 3.1–4.8) for a 5-day infectious period and 8.6 (95% HDI: 6.2–9.6) for a 10-day infectious period. The incubation period was estimated to be around 14.7 days (95% CI 11.6–20.1). The exposure time varies greatly depending on the density, ranging from nearly two days at low density to around four hours at high density. These findings highlight high-density environments, such as conditions in livestock markets, as an important factor of PPRV transmission between animals and the disease spread. Considering the high frequency of animals’ movement on long distances, the high incubation period, about 15 days, might be one of the factors explaining the spread of PPR along long distances from the source of infection. To efficiently control and eradicate PPR, sheep and goats’ movement control must be one of the means to be applied. Our findings, based on a single lineage IV PPRV strain (Senegal 20-GP) evaluated under experimental conditions, suggest that the adequacy of the current 21-day quarantine period, as specified in the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Code, deserves further evaluation and validation under field conditions.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -