Market authorization of the Peste des Petits Ruminants-Rift Valley Fever (PPR-RVF) combination vaccine in West and East Africa

 

Livestock vaccines have an important role to play in protecting the health and well-being of animals as well as the human populations that rely on them for food and other products. However, many vaccines that have a significant impact are not widely adopted by small-scale livestock farmers in Africa, due to various factors such as lack of awareness, limited access and affordability. As a result, there is a need to explore innovative approaches to promote the use of existing vaccines and improve access to new and improved vaccines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund (LVIF) is a program that supports research to test novel approaches to scaling the demand, access and use of new or improved livestock vaccines. A previous project supported by LVIF resulted in the development of combined vaccines for large and small ruminants, including one for Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a disease affecting both animals and humans. The project resulted in the successful development of a combined RVF and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccine, which is registered in Morocco as Ovivax PPR+RVF. The current initiative aims to support field trials and registration of the Ovivax PPR+RVF vaccine in West and East African countries to further scale up its use. These trials will evaluate the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity (ability to produce an immune response) of the Ovivax PPR+RVF vaccine.