Rinderpest is only the second infectious disease to have been globally eradicated. In the final stages of eradication, the virus was entrenched in pastoral areas of the Greater Horn of Africa, a region with weak governance, poor security, and little infrastructure that presented profound challenges to conventional control methods. Although the eradication process was a development activity rather than scientific research, its success owed much to several seminal research efforts in vaccine development and epidemiology and showed what scientific decision-making and management could accomplish with limited resources. The keys to success were the development of a thermostable vaccine and the application of participatory epidemiological techniques that allowed veterinary personnel to interact at a grassroots level with cattle herders to more effectively target control measures.

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has played a prominent role in Thai history and society. However, in the face of modernization, elephant handlers have been struggling to justify their continued ownership. As a result, working elephants may still encounter situations in which their health and welfare are jeopardized. This study developed both a survey instrument and a visual assessment to describe and evaluate the health and living conditions of elephants encountered in a variety of work and living situations. These situations were found to be significantly associated with whether or not an elephant received proper husbandry or was in good body condition. These results may prove valuable in predicting the welfare of elephants according to work and living situations.

Ethnoveterinary medicine is the study of indigenous knowledge systems of animal health care, the practical aspects of which are relevant to applied development work. The Afghan Pashtun Koochi of southern Afghanistan possess a sophisticated body of ethnoveterinary knowledge about animal diseases, treatments for animal diseases, and animal management practices. Although the Koochi live and migrate in fragile, arid and often sparsely vegetated environments, they know the regional plants and minerals well and utilize many of them in the care of their diseased livestock. The Koochi also use indigenous vaccination and surgical treatments to promote herd health. This study demonstrates the breadth of the Koochi's knowledge in these areas and describes many of the indigenous methods and medicines they use to care for and to treat disease among their livestock. (C)1995 Academic Press Limited

The method of vaccine virus production, chemical stabilization, and lyophilization of a thermostable Vero cell-adapted rinderpest vaccine is presented. The production method results in a vaccine which can be used in the field without refrigeration for up to 30 d.