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This work discloses the epidemiology, clinical and pathological features of Maedi-visna virus infection in Ethiopian highland sheep. Because of its wide distribution to major sheep producing areas of the country, Maedi-visna found to be one of the major constraints of the sheep industry. The economic importance of the disease rests with losses associated with morbidity, mortality, decreased productivity, and loss of marketing opportunities as a result of restrictions. The emergence and high incidence of the disease particularly in improved breeds of sheep at ranches has critically hampered the efforts of the country towards improving the genetic makeup of the indigenous sheep. Elimination of Maedi-visna from infected flocks in the smallholder farms is expensive and time consuming. This work, therefore, provides ground for further research at a nation wide and implementing control strategies against Maedi-visna to minimize the morbidity and mortality of small ruminants and to prevent further spread of the disease along with the distribution of breeding rams to free regions of the country.

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Tsegaw Fentie, DVM, MSc: Studied Tropical Veterinary Epidemiology at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University. Currently he is a Ph.D candidate in Tropical and Infectious Diseases at Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

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