Strengthening Europe’s capacity to respond to peste des petits ruminants

Since its emergence in Europe in 2018, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) has continued to spread. Over the past two years, it has reached Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo¹ and Romania, marking the first known incursions of the disease in some of those countries. As notifiable disease listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), one with high mortality rates and trade implications, PPR poses a serious threat to food security, rural livelihoods and national economies. 

Recent epidemiological developments and regional eradication efforts were discussed at the PPR Roadmap Meeting held in Tajikistan in November 2025. Eran Raizman, Senior Animal Health and Production Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), emphasized that awareness-raising publications and training initiatives like this course are essential for strengthening countries’ capacity to prepare for and respond effectively to PPR outbreaks. He noted that, in 2015, FAO and WOAH jointly launched the Global PPR Control and Eradication Strategy, which set the ambitious target of eradicating PPR worldwide by 2030. 

Virtual learning opportunity

In response to this growing emergency and the ambitious target, FAO has launched a new regional training initiative. Working closely with leading experts, FAO developed an online PPR preparedness course in English for European countries, aimed at strengthening the capacities of animal health professionals in both affected and high-risk regions. The course was developed under the FAO Virtual Learning Centers (VLC), a platform designed to deliver training on animal health and One Health.

The virtual course brought together over 330 participants from more than 30 European countries, forming a diverse learning community supported by experienced trainers, as highlighted by Daniel Beltrán-Alcrudo, FAO Technical Advisor on Animal Health. Over the four-week programme, participants engaged with seven interactive modules covering essential aspects of the disease, from clinical recognition and sample collection to field diagnostics and outbreak investigation. Before qualifying for their certificates, learners were guided step by step through transmission dynamics, risk factors, surveillance strategies, and the core principles of control and eradication. Contents were developed by Paula Menzies, a PPR expert from the University of Guelph, Canada.

The course also included a series of complementary webinars, featuring expert insights from Arnaud Bataille (CIRAD, EU/WOAH/FAO Reference Laboratory for PPR), who presented the latest findings on the emergence of PPR in Europe, drawing on both field observations and genetic analyses.  

Another live webinar gathered insights on recent outbreaks from Albania (Keti Margariti, Head of Veterinary and Animal Welfare Sector), Greece (Mary Gianniou, Head of Animal Health Directorate) and Romania (Theodora Chesnoiu, Animal Health Director at the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority).  

The course concluded with a final webinar on the PPR episystem and control strategies, followed by an overview of WOAH procedures for obtaining official PPR-free status. Sara Lysholm, PPR Status Officer at WOAH’s Status Department, outlined the process for achieving and maintaining official disease-free recognition.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the course organizers and fantastic participants for imparting your knowledge of PPR and experiences of PPR in the field. Reading about the challenges and the complexities of outbreaks has been extremely useful. I have thoroughly enjoyed the training course and I have learnt a huge amount. Thank you everybody.” Rachael Collins (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

To support continuous professional development, the course was accredited by Veterinary Continuing Education in Europe (VetCEE). Veterinarians who successfully completed the programme earned European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits towards their ongoing professional advancement. The course will be adapted into Russian to reach further countries in the Europe and Central Asia region.

¹All references to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).