From 1–3 April 2025, representatives from China, Mongolia, and Central Asian countries gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for a pivotal regional workshop aimed at accelerating efforts to eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) by 2030. The workshop focused on the implementation of the “PPR Episystem” approach, which integrates epidemiological, environmental, social, and economic factors to better understand and disrupt the virus’s transmission.
Participants at the China, Mongolia, and Central Asia Episystem workshop for PPR eradication, 1-3 April 2025, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The meeting was graciously hosted by the Mongolian General Authority for Veterinary Services, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, underscoring Mongolia’s commitment to regional cooperation and leadership in the fight against PPR.
Organized by the PPR Secretariat (led jointly by the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the event brought together veterinary and animal health authorities from China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, and Russia. This collaborative initiative was part of the broader PPR Global Control and Eradication Strategy (GCES), launched in 2015 under the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs).
The workshop built on the foundations of the PPR Global Eradication Programme (PPR GEP) Blueprint, which was launched in 2022 and emphasizes the need for an episystem-based approach to disease control. The approach aims to identify the complex, dynamic systems that allow the virus to persist and spread, particularly across borders.
Workshop Objectives Included:
• Raising awareness about the episystem concept and its role in effective PPR eradication.
• Facilitating action-oriented discussions on shared PPR risks and emergency response strategies.
• Linking the episystem framework to concrete eradication actions at the national and regional levels.
• Developing recommendations for integrating the episystem approach into eradication plans.
Importantly, the workshop also considered the significant impact of PPR on wildlife species and their role in the broader episystem. Dr. Amanda Fine, Director of One Health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, delivered a presentation highlighting how wildlife populations can be both victims of PPR and potential contributors to its transmission dynamics. Her insights underscored the need for a holistic, One Health approach to eradication that includes the monitoring and protection of wildlife health alongside domestic livestock management.
For more information see Outbreak of Peste des Petits Ruminants among Critically Endangered Mongolian Saiga and Other Wild Ungulates, Mongolia, 2016–2017 and Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus and the Wildlife-Livestock Interface.
The history of PPR outbreaks in China and Mongolia from 2014 to 2017—and the close genetic relation of these outbreaks to virus strains found in Central Asia—highlighted the necessity of a coordinated response. Recognizing that episystems often transcend borders, the workshop emphasized the importance of harmonized surveillance, vaccination, and response strategies.
As a result of the workshop, participating countries committed to revising their national eradication activities to align with the episystem approach. This includes mapping out episystems using epidemiological and molecular data, concentrating eradication efforts within identified hotspots, and maintaining surveillance in surrounding areas to cut off potential transmission routes.
These outcomes will also inform future updates to regional PPR Roadmaps and guide the efforts of Regional Advisory Groups and Regional Economic Communities in fostering continued collaboration across borders.