The Pre and Post-vaccination evaluation illustrate vaccination performance and provide relevant indicators for appropriate implementation of small ruminant plague (PPR) vaccination programmes in West Africa.

Following the mass vaccination campaign launched in December 2019 simultaneously in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia with the financial support of the Swiss Cooperation, the ECOWAS Commission, through its Regional Animal Health Centre (RAHC) based in Bamako, Mali, organised last September, post-vaccination evaluation exercise to assess the impact of the vaccination campaign in the three countries.

In Guinea, a seroconversion rate (presence of antibodies) of the vaccinated animals of 72.6% was observed, compared to the results of the pre-vaccination evaluation during the mass vaccination campaign (37%). In Liberia, a 58% seroconversion rate was observed as compared to 34% of the pre-vaccination evaluation while in Sierra Leone, the results showed 78% seroconversion compared to 36% of the pre-vaccination evaluation. The acquisition of antibodies against PPRV after the vaccination indicates that the animals had responded to the vaccine and were probably protected against the PPR virus. A total of 580,453 households, mainly women, directly benefited from the project with multiplier effects on resource-poor households and communities. The project has also had a positive impact on veterinary governance as well as human resources and laboratory capacity.

The results observed in the 3 countries are epidemiological indicators confirming that the objectives set by the ECOWAS Commission for the eradication of PPR is attainable by 2030 in line with the PPR Global Strategy. However, follow up vaccination rounds must be carried out for full protection of newly susceptible species in all the mapped vaccination sites. It is also important to establish a broader surveillance strategy involving more vaccinated herds and farmers to better assess the impact of vaccinations.