Some 700 sheep and goats have died in the last two weeks in an outbreak of Peste Des Ruminants ( PPR) in Kalikot District, some 400 km west of Kathmandu, The Kathmandu reported on Friday.

The animals died mainly in the Village Development Committees in the northwestern part of the district. According to local residents, sheep and goats died four to five hours after the disease hit and the PPR was reportedly contacted by animals that were taken to remote region of the country for gazing.

The disease claimed some 200 livestocks in Naula Singh alone, said the District Veterinary Office (DVO). PPR is an acute or subacute viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by fever, stomatitis, gastro-enteritis arid pneumonia.

Local residents are concerned over an epidemic in the villages of the region from the dead animals. Two DVO teams equipped with PPR vaccine have left for the most affected areas of the region, DVO chief Dr. Kalyan Kumar Shrestha said.

Last year some 400 sheep and goats died of the disease in several villages of the region.

Source: Xinhua