The 14th Anniversary of Rinderpest Eradication – A Blueprint for Beating Epidemics

Exactly 14 years ago, on 25th May 2011, rinderpest became the second infectious disease in history to be eradicated—after smallpox. It was a quiet but profound success. For centuries, rinderpest - a diarrhoeal disease - ravaged cattle and buffalo populations, killing up to 90% of infected animals. In agrarian societies, this meant not just economic loss but widespread hunger and social collapse. Its arrival in Africa in the 1880s triggered mass human mortality, famine, and ecological upheaval.

By the 1980s, the virus had been beaten back from most of the world but it remained stubbornly endemic in East Africa, particularly in remote, pastoral regions of Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Uganda. These were areas where weak governance, armed conflict, and poor infrastructure made conventional eradication tools ineffective.

A technological breakthrough made eradication possible. A thermostable version of the vaccine—able to withstand high temperatures without refrigeration—made it feasible to reach remote herds.

But just as important was how the vaccine was delivered: by community-based animal health workers trained to work on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback. These local actors knew the rhythms of pastoral life—herd movements, seasonal migrations, and trusted lines of communication—and were essential to reaching coverage levels high enough to stop transmission.

Disease modelling was also crucial for estimating the levels of immunity needed to stop transmission, and using this to target vaccination efforts. In Sudan, for example, the reproductive number (R0) of 4.6 meant 77% vaccine coverage was required; in Somalia, it was just 33%. These models helped focus limited resources where they would have the greatest impact, and provided the evidence needed to shift away from costly, unfocused mass campaigns.

Yet even these tools would have failed without adequate surveillance and early warning systems. Conventional surveillance systems were insufficient to detect outbreaks. Participatory surveillance, using pastoralists’ knowledge about outbreaks in their communities, was crucial for detecting and responding to many of the final rinderpest outbreaks.

The rinderpest story has urgent lessons for tackling plant disease epidemics. It shows that eradication is possible when science and technology are combined with a deep understanding of the local social and institutional context. Crucially, success depended not just on the technologies themselves, but on how they were used: in targeted, data-driven interventions guided by disease models and early warning systems grounded in local knowledge. It was this collaboration—between scientists, pastoralists, and frontline health workers—that turned the vision of eradication into reality.