Peste des Petits Ruminants in Goats: Signs, Spread, and Prevention

Peste des petits ruminants, usually called PPR, is a severe viral disease of goats and sheep. It affects the respiratory and digestive systems and can cause fever, painful mouth lesions, diarrhea, pneumonia, dehydration, and death. Merck Veterinary Manual notes that goats and sheep are both susceptible, but goats often show more severe clinical signs.

PPR is caused by a morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. It is considered an internationally notifiable disease because outbreaks can spread quickly and cause major losses in small-ruminant herds. In some local outbreaks, illness rates can be very high and mortality can also be high, especially in young or immunologically naive animals.

For U.S. goat pet parents and producers, the most important point is this: PPR is a reportable foreign animal disease concern. If your goat has signs that fit PPR, your vet should be involved right away so testing, isolation, and reporting can happen promptly.

PPR is caused by the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), a morbillivirus. The virus is shed in ocular, nasal, and oral secretions and in feces. It spreads mainly through close contact and aerosols, especially when goats are housed closely together or moved through markets, transport, or shared grazing areas.

Shared waterers, feeders, bedding, and handling equipment may also help spread infection between animals. WOAH technical guidance notes that fomites can play a role, which is why cleaning and movement control matter during a suspected outbreak.

Goats between about 3 months and 2 years of age are often more severely affected, and stress from transport, crowding, poor nutrition, or concurrent disease may worsen outcomes. Cattle can develop antibodies after exposure, but they do not usually show clinical disease and are not considered important spreaders in the same way as infected small ruminants.

Your vet may first suspect PPR based on the pattern of illness: fever, eye and nose discharge, mouth erosions, diarrhea, and pneumonia-like signs in one or more goats. That said, clinical signs alone are not enough for a final diagnosis because several other goat diseases can look similar.

Definitive diagnosis relies on laboratory testing, most commonly PCR and ELISA, along with appropriate sample collection from live or deceased animals. Merck Veterinary Manual and WOAH both emphasize that a field diagnosis is considered provisional until laboratory confirmation is completed.

If PPR is suspected in the United States, your vet should involve state or federal animal health authorities right away. This is important because PPR is a reportable disease concern, and response steps may include quarantine, movement restrictions, tracing of exposed animals, and coordinated testing of the herd.

Prevention starts with biosecurity. Avoid bringing in goats of unknown health status, quarantine new arrivals, and do not share trailers, feeders, buckets, or handling equipment without thorough cleaning and disinfection. Limit nose-to-nose contact with outside animals, especially after shows, sales, transport, or communal grazing.

Watch closely for early signs such as fever, eye discharge, nasal discharge, mouth lesions, diarrhea, or coughing. If any goat looks suspicious, separate that animal right away and contact your vet. Fast isolation can reduce spread while your vet decides what testing and reporting steps are needed.

Vaccination is used in countries where PPR is present, and Merck notes that a vaccine is available for prevention. In the United States, prevention focuses heavily on import controls, surveillance, rapid reporting, and herd biosecurity because PPR is a foreign animal disease concern. If you buy, transport, or exhibit goats, ask your vet about practical herd-health protocols that fit your operation.