Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

Consideration of the Status of Rinderpest in South 

America 

August 2011 
2

Table of Contents 

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 3

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

Rinderpest Virus and Epidemiology of the Disease ........................................................... 4

Global Distribution of Rinderpest ....................................................................................... 5

Rinderpest in South America .......................................................................................... 5

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 6

Appendix 1: Rinderpest in South America, 1996 – 2004; Handistatus II ......................... 7

Appendix 2: Current Rinderpest Status of Africa, Asia, and Europe* .............................. 7

Appendix 3: Remaining Rinderpest Foci, 1980s - 2000 .................................................... 8

References ........................................................................................................................... 9

Abbreviations 

APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization 

FMD Foot-and-Mouth Disease 

GREP Global Rinderpest Eradication Campaign 

RPV Rinderpest Virus 

USDA United States Department of Agriculture 
3

Executive Summary 

Historically, rinderpest was a prominent disease in U.S. laws, regulations, and trade 

matters because of its global distribution and incidence. The Tariff Act of 1930 mandated 

that imported animals and meat products only come from countries that were free of 

rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). 

Currently, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) continues to evaluate 

the FMD and rinderpest status of foreign regions, as requested by the competent authority 

of the region. Regions that APHIS recognizes as free of these diseases are listed in title 9 

of Code of Federal Regulations (9 CFR) part 94.1 and 9 CFR 94.11. Once listed, imports 

of susceptible live animals and products from susceptible species originating in or 

transiting these regions are no longer prohibited (or are permitted with restrictions) 

because of FMD or rinderpest. 

In-depth evaluations assessing the FMD status of South American countries are necessary 

because of the presence of FMD in certain regions of South America. However, 

rinderpest has never been established in South America and no South American countries 

have ever reported the disease except Brazil, which had an outbreak in 1921 that was 

limited in scope and quickly eradicated. Furthermore, the global distribution of rinderpest 

has diminished significantly in recent years as a result of the Food and Agriculture 

Organization’s (FAO’s) Global Rinderpest Eradication Program (GREP). The last known 

cases of rinderpest occurred in the southern part of the “Somali pastoral ecosystem” 

consisting of southern Somalia, eastern Kenya, and southern Ethiopia. In May 2011, the 

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) announced its recognition of global 

rinderpest freedom. 

Given that rinderpest has never established in South America, an incursion of rinderpest 

into that region would likely result in the classical, acute form of the disease, due to the 

availability of naïve susceptible populations. Given the overt clinical signs of acute 

rinderpest, such an outbreak would likely be detected. 

APHIS therefore proposes to recognize South America free of rinderpest. The countries 

of South America would be added to the list of countries that APHIS considers free of 

rinderpest. Upon request, APHIS will continue to evaluate the FMD status of South 

American countries or regions in accordance with 9 CFR 92.2. 
4

Introduction 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) import regulations and trade 

policies for animals and animal products are rooted in a number of Acts, including 

multiple Tariff Acts of the early 1900s (e.g. the Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 and the 

Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922) [1]. Of particular significance was the SmootHawley Tariff Act of 1930, which expanded previous restrictions on animals and meat by 

prohibiting the importation of cattle, sheep, swine, and meats from countries in which 

rinderpest or FMD existed [2]. At that time, and well into the mid-1900’s, rinderpest was 

widespread throughout Asia, parts of Europe, and Africa [3, 4]. 

Currently, when requested to do so by the competent authority of a potential or existing 

international trading partner, APHIS evaluates and codifies in 9 CFR 94.1 the rinderpest 

and FMD status of foreign regions. APHIS uses an animal health evaluation process, 

outlined in 9 CFR 92.2, which includes assessments of the region’s veterinary 

infrastructure, disease status and controls, surveillance efforts, diagnostic capability, and 

related factors. Where appropriate, the evaluations outline constraints, hindrances, or 

limitations in the foreign region, and identify any mitigations for associated risks. If the 

evaluation results are favorable APHIS proposes a rule to recognize a country or region 

as “free of both rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease” or “free of rinderpest.” If 

recognized as free of rinderpest and FMD, imports of live susceptible species and 

products from these animals originating in or transiting these regions are no longer 

prohibited (or are permitted with restrictions) because of FMD or rinderpest. In Section 

94.11 of the CFR, APHIS further designates regions of the world recognized as free of 

rinderpest and FMD but subject to certain restrictions because of their proximity to or 

trading practices with rinderpest or FMD-affected regions. 

Rinderpest Virus and Epidemiology of the Disease 

Rinderpest virus (RPV), a Morbillivirus, exists as a single serotype [5]. The virus is 

molecularly grouped into three distinct lineages (African lineage 1, African lineage 2, and 

Asian lineage 3) based on evolutionary divergence [5, 6]. Close contact is required for 

viral spread. The virus is not vertically transmitted, and there are no arthropod vectors 

[7]. RPV has a short infectious period; it has no latency period and does not result in 

persistent infection [8]. RPV infection does not induce a carrier state [5], and vaccination 

against RPV yields a long duration of immunity [5]. The virus is fragile and rapidly 

inactivated by heat and light, but does remain viable for long periods in chilled or frozen 

tissues [9]. RPV detectability is low in products, but so is RPV survivability. A single 

waste-feeding incident with rinderpest has been documented [5]. 

Rinderpest disease is characterized by fever, necrotic stomatitis, gastroenteritis, profuse 

diarrhea, dehydration, and high mortality [9, 10]. Rinderpest typically presents as an 

acute disease with overt signs including fever, oculo-nasal discharges, mucosal necrosis 

and erosions, and ulcerations in the digestive and upper respiratory tracts [10]. Although 

cattle are the primary reservoir, RPV causes severe disease in many species of wildlife 

and susceptible game species [5]. The acute form of disease has been observed in clovenhoofed animals such as the buffalo, eland, giraffe, lesser kudu, and warthog [11]. 
5

However, there is no evidence that wildlife serve as a reservoir for the virus. Rather, it is 

believed that cattle are the maintenance hosts, and if the virus is not present in cattle, it 

will disappear in wildlife [7]. The disease is associated with high morbidity and 

mortality; the classical acute form of the disease can result in 80-90% mortality in cattle, 

buffalo, yaks, and many wildlife ungulate species [12, 13]. 

A mild form of rinderpest, with wide variations in disease frequency and intensity, has 

been observed. Morbidity and mortality rates vary, both ranging from 0 – 10%, and 

classical clinical or epidemiological features may be lacking [10], which poses a 

challenge for disease detection. The mild form of rinderpest is most clearly demonstrated 

in lineage 2 viruses from East Africa [14], but has been observed with all three RPV 

lineages [5]. Outbreaks of the mild form of rinderpest have occurred in Egypt (African 

lineage 1), Kenya (African lineage 1), northern Iraq (Asian lineage 3), and the Somali 

pastoral ecosystem (African lineage 2) [5]. 

The mild form of rinderpest has been observed in highly endemic areas and in 

populations with some inherited resistance [10]. When rinderpest first occurs in a naïve 

population, its virulence increases, and when the virus becomes endemic, its virulence 

decreases [5]. Accordingly, the selection pressure for rinderpest virulence is affected by 

the disease situation and immune status of potential hosts in an area, with populations of 

naïve cattle presenting a selection pressure for virulence, and populations of partially 

immune cattle presenting a selection pressure for attenuation [5]. It is highly unlikely 

that the mild form of rinderpest exists in South America, because rinderpest has never 

established itself in that part of the world. Further, because wild and domestic susceptible 

species there would be naïve, any future RPV introduction into South America would 

likely result in the acute, classical form of disease, which, by way of high morbidity 

and/or mortality, would be detectable. 

Global Distribution of Rinderpest 

Historically, rinderpest has been widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa 

but has never been established in North America, Central America, the Caribbean 

Islands, South America, Australia, or New Zealand. Virtually the entire history of 

rinderpest occurrence is in Europe, Russia, the Middle and Far East, India and Pakistan, 

Africa, and the Arabian peninsula [5]. As evident in Appendix 3, the incidence of 

rinderpest has declined significantly over the course of the last 20 years and its 

geographic distribution has been confined over the last decade. As reported by GREP, the 

only remaining known focus for rinderpest is the southern part of the ‘Somali pastoral 

ecosystem’ (southern Somalia, eastern Kenya, and southern Ethiopia) [8, 15-18]. In May 

2011, based on the conclusion that rinderpest has ceased to circulate in animals, the OIE 

announced its recognition of global rinderpest freedom [19]. 

Rinderpest in South America 

In addition to significant decline in the global distribution of rinderpest in recent years 

(Appendix 3), rinderpest has never established in South America. Rinderpest has never 

been detected in any South American country with the exception of a single incursion in 

Brazil in 1921. Zebu cattle infected in Belgium were shipped to Brazil and introduced the 
6

disease, which occurred first in work oxen, and then spread to dairy herds and wild deer. 

By use of quarantines, movement controls of livestock, and slaughter of all sick and incontact animals, the outbreak was limited in scope and eradicated within 3 months. The 

last official report of a case of the disease was on May 23, 1921, and restrictions were 

lifted in August of that year [4, 5, 20, 21] with no subsequent disease occurrence. 

Given that rinderpest has not occurred in South America since 1921 and the wide host 

range of susceptible domestic and wildlife species in South America, the most likely 

expression of a rinderpest incursion would be the acute, classical form of the disease. It 

is therefore likely that, if introduced into South America, rinderpest would be detected. 

Conclusion 

APHIS concludes that the historical absence of rinderpest in South America supports 

recognition of South America as free of rinderpest. APHIS also concludes that a future 

incursion of rinderpest into South America would likely manifest as the acute, classical 

form of the disease, and would likely be detected. APHIS therefore proposes to recognize 

South America free of rinderpest. The countries of South America will be added to the 

list of countries that APHIS considers free of rinderpest. APHIS will continue to 

evaluate the FMD status of South American countries or regions upon request and in 

accordance with 9 CFR 92.2. 
7

Appendix 1: Rinderpest in South America, 1996 – 2004; Handistatus II 

Country/Territory 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

 Argentina 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Bolivia 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Brazil (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921) (1921)

 Chile 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Colombia 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Ecuador 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 French Guiana 0000 0000 0000 - - - - - 

 Guyana 0000 0000 0000 

 Paraguay 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Peru 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Suriname 0000 - - 

 Uruguay 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

 Venezuela 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 

Note: Rinderpest status of South American countries as reported to the World Organization for Animal 

Health (OIE). 0000 = disease never reported. - = disease not reported (date of last outbreak not known) 

Appendix 2: Current Rinderpest Status of Africa, Asia, and Europe* 

Source: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/disease_rinderpest.asp 

*Freedom/provisional freedom defined by the procedures laid out in the OIE’s Terrestrial Animal Health 

Code [22]. OIE-recognition is not always reflected in Handistatus data. For example, Rwanda is 

recognized “free from infection” by OIE yet Handistatus II has no available data on Rwanda. 

 
8

Appendix 3: Remaining Rinderpest Foci, 1980s - 2000

Figure 1: Distribution of rinderpest in Africa, Europe, and Asia in the early 1980s [15] 

Figure 2: Distribution of rinderpest in Africa, Asia, and Europe in the late 1990s [15] 

Figure 3: Rinderpest zones of risk in Africa, Asia, and Europe as of 2000 [15] 

Somali pastoral ecosystem 
9

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