Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) (Animal)

Primary reference(s)

OIE, 2018. Terrestrial Manual: Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia. Chapter 3.7.4. World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Accessed 3 October 2020.

Additional scientific description

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is one of the most severe diseases of goats (Spickler, 2015). It was first reported in Algeria in 1873 (Samiullah, 2013). This disease, which affects the respiratory tract, is extremely contagious and frequently fatal; in some naive flocks, the morbidity and mortality rates may reach 100% (Spickler, 2015).

CCPP affects goats in more than 40 countries of the world thereby posing a serious threat to goat farming around the globe (Yatoo et al., 2019). It causes major economic losses in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, where it is endemic (Spickler, 2015). CCPP is now also known to affect some species of exotic ungulate. This has raised concerns for zoos and for the conservation of some endangered species exposed to goats (Spickler, 2015).

Definitive CCPP diagnosis can be difficult, as the causative agent is one of the most fastidious mycoplasmas and can be missed during routine bacteriological analysis (Spickler, 2015). CCPP is caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp) which belongs to the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster, a group of five closely related Mycoplasmas, pathogenic to ruminants (Samiullah, 2013). In goats it is manifested by anorexia, fever and respiratory signs such as dyspnoea, polypnea, cough and nasal discharges. The acute and subacute disease is characterised by unilateral sero-fibrinous pleuropneumonia with severe pleural effusion. Diagnosis is carried out by clinical and necropsy observations that should be confirmed by laboratory tests (OIE, 2018). Typical signs of CCPP are an accumulation of pleural fluid, unilateral hepatisation, adhesions, pleurisy and pleuropneumonia (Samiullah, 2013).

CCPP is included in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) list of notifiable diseases (Samiullah, 2013). CCPP-free countries may pose trade restriction of domestic and wild goat from countries considered infected with CCPP (OIE, 2019).

There is no evidence that humans are infected by M. capricolum subsp. Capripneumoniae (Mccp) (Spickler, 2015).

Metrics and numeric limits

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia is a disease listed by the OIE in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (OIE, 2018).

Examples of drivers, outcomes and risk management

Drivers: introduction of infected animal to a naive population (OIE, 2009).

Outcomes: spread of infection, trade ban (OIE, 2019).

Risk management: vaccination programme, treatment with antimicrobials, movement control, depopulate infected herd, improve biosecurity at farms (OIE, 2018).