Effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 Vaccine in Sheep and Goats in India: A Nationwide Post-Vaccination Seromonitoring Study Towards PPR Elimination.
4 affiliations
- 1Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI), Yelahanka, Bengaluru 560119, Karnataka, India.
- 2Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Mukteswar, Nainital 263138, Uttarakhand, India.
- 3Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi 110001, India.
- 4Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy.
Abstract
India launched a nationwide Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Eradication Programme in 2023 with the objective of achieving countrywide control and elimination of PPR by 2030, adapting a systematic mass vaccination, surveillance, and seromonitoring strategy in alignment with the WOAH/FAO Global Control and Eradication Strategy (GCES) under the PPR Global Eradication Programme (PPR-GEP) 2030. As part of the first round of mass vaccination, the present study evaluates the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 (Lineage IV) vaccine in sheep and goats in fields across all the states in India, with particular emphasis on the post-vaccination evaluation (PVE) as per WOAH guidelines. A total of 24,542 post-vaccination (30-90 days) serum samples were collected from sheep and goats aged 6-12 months from 2528 epidemiological units (epi-units, villages) across 24 states of India, following GCES guidelines. Sampling was conducted according to state vaccination schedules during January 2023-December 2024, ensuring appropriate post-vaccination immune-response windows. Serum samples were analysed to detect PPR virus (PPRV)-specific antibodies using the native PPR competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) kit. The study demonstrated an overall post-vaccination seroconversion rate of 69.3% (95% CI: 68.7-69.8%) among small ruminants, indicating a substantial vaccine-induced immune response under field conditions in the target age group with desirable vaccine effectiveness. Exceptionally high post-vaccination seroconversion was observed in Telangana (91.6%) and Andhra Pradesh (82.3%), reflecting effective implementation of vaccination campaigns in these two states. Overall, 61% (1553/2528) of the evaluated epi-units recorded 70% seroconversion post vaccination, whereas 22% (510/2287) of epi-units showed ≥70% seroprevalence pre vaccination in sheep and goats aged 6 to 12 months. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 vaccine in inducing protective immunity under field conditions in accordance with GCES guidelines. The observed inter-state variations in immune response may be attributed to differences in vaccination coverage, implementation efficiency, animal demographics, husbandry practices, and local epidemiological conditions. However, some states failed to achieve the desired level of post-vaccination immunity, indicating the need for intensified vaccination efforts and improved campaign implementation in such regions. Continued mass vaccination, strengthened surveillance, real-time disease monitoring, farmer awareness programs, and capacity-building initiatives for veterinary services are critical for improving vaccine effectiveness and accelerating progress towards a PPR-free India. This study provides important field evidence supporting the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 vaccine and contributes significantly to both national and global PPR eradication initiatives.
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BibTeX
@article{balamurugan2026effectiveness,
title = {{Effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 Vaccine in Sheep and Goats in India: A Nationwide Post-Vaccination Seromonitoring Study Towards PPR Elimination.}},
author = {Vinayagamurthy Balamurugan and Kirubakaran Vinod Kumar and Rakshit Ojha and Ponnidurai Malini and Ramachandra Deshpande and Prajakta Prashant Bokade and Annett Helcita Dsouza and Shweta Priya and Anand Asha and Archana Pal and Gangarajareddy Deekshitha and Mahadevappa Swathi and Shakuntala Krishnaiah Harshitha and Shanmugam Chandra Sekar and Kuralayanapalya Puttahonnappa Suresh and GurrappaNaidu Govindaraj and Divakar Hemadri and Nayakvadi Shivasharanappa and Sujit Nayak and Njeumi Felix and Baldev Raj Gulati and Satya Parida},
journal = {Viruses},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/v18101102},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944022},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 Vaccine in Sheep and Goats in India: A Nationwide Post-Vaccination Seromonitoring Study Towards PPR Elimination.
AU - Vinayagamurthy Balamurugan
AU - Kirubakaran Vinod Kumar
AU - Rakshit Ojha
AU - Ponnidurai Malini
AU - Ramachandra Deshpande
AU - Prajakta Prashant Bokade
AU - Annett Helcita Dsouza
AU - Shweta Priya
AU - Anand Asha
AU - Archana Pal
AU - Gangarajareddy Deekshitha
AU - Mahadevappa Swathi
AU - Shakuntala Krishnaiah Harshitha
AU - Shanmugam Chandra Sekar
AU - Kuralayanapalya Puttahonnappa Suresh
AU - GurrappaNaidu Govindaraj
AU - Divakar Hemadri
AU - Nayakvadi Shivasharanappa
AU - Sujit Nayak
AU - Njeumi Felix
AU - Baldev Raj Gulati
AU - Satya Parida
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Viruses
DO - 10.3390/v18101102
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944022
AB - India launched a nationwide Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Eradication Programme in 2023 with the objective of achieving countrywide control and elimination of PPR by 2030, adapting a systematic mass vaccination, surveillance, and seromonitoring strategy in alignment with the WOAH/FAO Global Control and Eradication Strategy (GCES) under the PPR Global Eradication Programme (PPR-GEP) 2030. As part of the first round of mass vaccination, the present study evaluates the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 (Lineage IV) vaccine in sheep and goats in fields across all the states in India, with particular emphasis on the post-vaccination evaluation (PVE) as per WOAH guidelines. A total of 24,542 post-vaccination (30-90 days) serum samples were collected from sheep and goats aged 6-12 months from 2528 epidemiological units (epi-units, villages) across 24 states of India, following GCES guidelines. Sampling was conducted according to state vaccination schedules during January 2023-December 2024, ensuring appropriate post-vaccination immune-response windows. Serum samples were analysed to detect PPR virus (PPRV)-specific antibodies using the native PPR competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) kit. The study demonstrated an overall post-vaccination seroconversion rate of 69.3% (95% CI: 68.7-69.8%) among small ruminants, indicating a substantial vaccine-induced immune response under field conditions in the target age group with desirable vaccine effectiveness. Exceptionally high post-vaccination seroconversion was observed in Telangana (91.6%) and Andhra Pradesh (82.3%), reflecting effective implementation of vaccination campaigns in these two states. Overall, 61% (1553/2528) of the evaluated epi-units recorded 70% seroconversion post vaccination, whereas 22% (510/2287) of epi-units showed ≥70% seroprevalence pre vaccination in sheep and goats aged 6 to 12 months. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 vaccine in inducing protective immunity under field conditions in accordance with GCES guidelines. The observed inter-state variations in immune response may be attributed to differences in vaccination coverage, implementation efficiency, animal demographics, husbandry practices, and local epidemiological conditions. However, some states failed to achieve the desired level of post-vaccination immunity, indicating the need for intensified vaccination efforts and improved campaign implementation in such regions. Continued mass vaccination, strengthened surveillance, real-time disease monitoring, farmer awareness programs, and capacity-building initiatives for veterinary services are critical for improving vaccine effectiveness and accelerating progress towards a PPR-free India. This study provides important field evidence supporting the effectiveness of the PPR Sungri-96 vaccine and contributes significantly to both national and global PPR eradication initiatives.
SN - 1999-4915
ER -