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Sometime soon, rinderpest will officially be declared extinct, marking the first time mankind has ever eradicated an animal disease

Posted Tuesday, 12/01/2009 by admin

In animal health circles, it's the equivalent of the Apollo 11 moon landing: some time in the next 18 months, FAO jointly with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and other partners will officially declare one of the most devastating animal diseases known to man, rinderpest, as eradicated.
It will be the first time in history that humankind has succeeded in killing off an animal disease and only the second time a disease has been consigned to the dustbin as a result of human efforts. (The first was smallpox, in 1980.)

Like highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N1 variety or the pandemic H1N1/2009 flu virus today, rinderpest seemed unstoppable.
But if you look at it another way, the solution was simple. We had the know-how. We had the vaccine. What was missing was, in the first place, adequate and targeted investment, and, secondly, a cohesive global coordinating mechanism. Once we had those, solving the problem was just a matter of time". says Juan Lubroth, FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer.

Adopted from FAO NEWS RELEASE