An Agent of Misery Dies a Quiet Death

In case you missed it--and you probably did--Rinderpest virus has been eradicated. Rinderpest is a disease of cattle that is extremely deadly--killing upwards of 90% of infected animals. It is closely related to--and thought to be the origin of--Measles virus. If it wasn't one of biblical plagues, it certainly could have been. As explained by the New York Times (Virus Deadly in Livestock Is No More, U.N. Declares),

Rinderpest is thought to have originated in Asia and spread through prehistoric cattle trading; it was in Egypt 5,000 years ago. It never became established in the Americas (though there was a small outbreak in Brazil 90 years ago), nor in Australia or New Zealand. Cattle infected with it would have started dying aboard ship and the herd would be slaughtered or quarantined on arrival.

But it reached Africa in the late 19th century, with devastating consequences. The near total destruction of herds meant widespread famines; in one of those, a third of the population of Ethiopia died, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization.

It was apparently introduced to Abyssinia, which is now Ethiopia, in cattle from India imported by the Italians during their campaign to conquer Abyssinia, said Dr. Jeffrey M.B. Musser, a rinderpest expert at Texas A&M’s veterinary school. Some experts believe it was deliberate, as a form of biological warfare, he said, while others contend that it was accidental.

As a result of a sustained international vaccination campaign, rinderpest has not been detected in the field since 2001. Field surveillance will now cease and the eradication officially declared complete later this spring. This is only the second virus to be eradicated from the earth--aside from remaining frozen laboratory stocks--the first being smallpox.

Thank you, science!

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