Sheeppox and goatpox are smallpox diseases of small ruminants. For humans, sheep and goat pox are harmless.

Endemic in Asia (including the European part of Russia), Asia Minor, the Middle East and Africa. 

Since early 2025, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and North Macedonia have reported cases of sheep and goat pox. In Greece in particular, there have been increased outbreaks in several clusters spread across the country.

Sheep and goats. Infection of wild small ruminants with sheep or goat pox viruses is possible.

Infection usually occurs via direct animal-to-animal contact, often via aerosols. Indirect spread via insects (e.g. stable flies, via contaminated stable equipment, tools, objects and transport vehicles is possible due to the longevity of the virus in the environment. Improperly treated animal hides and skins are also important sources of pathogen spread.

4-14 days

High fever (40-42 °C), nasal and eye discharge, pneumonia, disturbance of the general condition, languor, refusal to eat due to painful blisters in the mouth. The mortality rate varies between 50 % and 100 % and is particularly high in young animals.

There is no therapy

Intensive observation or short-term segregation of newly purchased animals or goats and rams newly recruited for mating. Vaccines are available but not licensed in the EU. Prophylactic vaccination is prohibited in all EU countries.

Sheep and goat pox are among the notifiable diseases of small ruminants (category A animal disease). So far, the disease has not occurred in Austria.

Sheep and goat pox are endemic in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Minor (Turkey) and Asia (e.g. the Asian part of Russia, China, India). Since 2018, there have been repeated outbreaks in the European part of Russia on the border with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine. In Europe, outbreaks have occurred in Greece (2013–2014, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), Bulgaria (2013, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), Spain (2022), Romania (2025), Serbia (2025) and North Macedonia (2026). Information on the current animal disease situation can be found in the World Animal Health Information System.

The affected animal species are sheep and goats. Infections in wild small ruminants have been documented. In Europe, the European mouflon has been identified as a susceptible species. Data on ibex (Capra ibex) and chamois (Rubicapra sp.) are lacking. There are no known cases of human infection with the sheep or goat pox virus.

The import of sheep and goats from regions where sheep and goat pox is endemic is prohibited. The initial outbreaks of these animal diseases in Greece and Bulgaria were attributed to the illegal movement of individual infected animals in the context of transhumance or migration, as well as to the illegal trade in animals (EFSA Journal 2014;12(11):3885). The initial outbreak in Spain is thought to have been caused by an introduction from North Africa. The movement of healthy animals within the affected EU Member States, Greece and Bulgaria, takes place solely for the purposes of breeding and slaughter. Further mechanisms of spread over longer geographical distances (e.g. via wild animals, birds or vectors) have not been investigated.

The pathogens causing sheep and goat pox, the sheep pox virus (SPPV) and the goat pox virus (GTPV), belong to the genus Capripoxvirus. Sheep and goat pox viruses are double-stranded, enveloped DNA viruses (size: 170–260 nm × 300–450 nm). They occur in genetically distinct strains. Some of these viral strains may be specific to the animal species after which they are named; however, some strains can infect both goats and sheep. Phylogenetically, the sheep and goat pox viruses differ from the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which also belongs to the capripoxviruses; serologically, capripoxviruses cannot yet be distinguished.

Direct transmission of the pathogens from infected to healthy animals occurs via pathogen-laden aerosols produced by coughing, sneezing and vigorous head shaking. This spreads pathogen-laden secretions (nasal and ocular secretions, coughing mucus). Direct transmission of the pathogen via open skin wounds upon contact with infected animals is also possible. Suckling lambs and fawns can also become infected from an infected mother via skin lesions on the udder. Affected animals are infectious from the very first signs of skin lesions.

Indirect transmission occurs via arthropods (e.g. stable flies). Scientific studies on vectors are scarce. Virus-containing secretions in feed, water, wool, the stable environment and transport vehicles, as well as poorly prepared or untreated hides from infected animals, contribute to the spread of the disease. The viruses can be detected in the saliva and nasal or ocular secretions of infected animals for up to 64 days, in skin lesions for up to 30 days, in shed scabs from lesions for up to 180 days, in urine for 15 days and in faeces for 61 days after infection. The viruses can survive in the environment for extended periods – e.g. up to 180 days in pastures or 6 months in the shade inside barns. The viruses are susceptible to temperatures above 70 °C (65 °C for 30 minutes, 56 °C for 2 hours). The preferred pH range is between 6.6 and 8.6. Highly alkaline or acidic pH levels destroy most pathogens. 1% formalin or chloroform, 2–3% sodium hypochlorite and several other virucides can inactivate the viruses.

Symptoms

The severity of the disease depends on the virulence of the viral strain, the breed and the age of the host animals. The course of the disease and the severity of symptoms are more pronounced in homologously infected animals. Young animals are more severely affected than older animals; morbidity is 70–90%, mortality over 50%. Mortality can be almost 100% in lambs and fawns. Animals that recover have lifelong immunity to new infections.

Animals are usually infected via open skin wounds or via the respiratory tract through pathogen-carrying aerosols. The first skin lesions appear 6 days after infection. Most animals are not infectious until the 6th day. The first symptoms are nasal and ocular discharge, fever (40–42 °C), respiratory problems, loss of appetite and depressed behaviour. Skin lesions first appear on the face, around the lips and nose, and on the eyelids. Skin lesions are also often found on the udder and at the base of the tail, and sometimes beneath the fleece. Pox lesions can occur in almost all internal organs – in the oral cavity, nasal cavity, on the tongue, in the lungs and on the mucous membranes of the digestive and respiratory tracts. Lymph nodes, the liver and the spleen are affected to a lesser extent. Recovery of the animals is possible after 21 days post-infection (dpi). Although the animals no longer show clinical symptoms, they can shed the pathogen for up to 64 days after infection. In lambs, the symptoms of the disease are more pronounced. Due to the painful lesions in the mouth, nasal area, respiratory tract and digestive tract, the young animals often refuse to eat and starve to death.

Treatment and control

Sheep and goat pox are notifiable animal diseases. Control of both diseases is therefore based on

• preventing the introduction and spread of the pathogen through trade restrictions on the movement of animals and animal products from affected countries
• early detection of the diseases
• measures prescribed by the authorities in the event of an outbreak (e.g. the ‘stamping out’ method (culling of infected and suspected animals)

In the event of an outbreak of sheep and goat pox, restrictions on the movement of animals and animal products, as well as the establishment of protection zones around outbreak sites or other disease-specific restrictions, are to be expected. Following the culling of affected herds, intensive cleaning and disinfection of the stables, as well as a waiting period before restocking, are prerequisites for reintroducing animals. The monitoring and examination of sentinel animals is important for detecting further outbreaks of infection.

Attenuated live vaccines are available, but these are not authorised in the EU. Diagnostically, it is possible to distinguish between vaccinated animals and those infected with a field strain in the case of SPP; this is not possible with GTP.

Sample type:

Live animals:

• Skin lesions and/or skin crusts.
• Salivary fluid (native in tubes or swab possible - no bacteriological swab transport media).
• Nasal and ocular fluid (with swab - no bacteriological swab transport media)
• Blood (EDTA/Heparin) and serum

Carcasses (dead):

• Whole carcass
• skin lesions and/or skin crusts
• Lymph nodes
• Spleen
• Lungs and altered regions of the respiratory tract
• Nasal fluid (with swab - no bacteriological swab transport media).

Samples can be sent to the National Reference Laboratory for Capripox (Institut für veterinärmedizinische Untersuchungen Mödling) via the official veterinarian.

Detection methods:

• Molecular biological methods (PCR)
• Detection of antibodies by ELISA
• Serum neutralization test (SNT)
• Virus cultivation in cell culture (for research purposes only)

The diagnostic methods are also used in exclusion diagnostics. Exclusion diagnostics not only allows early detection of an epidemic, but also serves to maintain the competence of laboratory diagnostic tests.

Differential diagnosis

Bluetongue, foot-and-mouth disease, plague of small ruminants, lip bark, ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) infections, idiopathic ulceration, moderate limp, insect bites, photosensitivity.

Further information - useful references

Consumer health communication platform (KVG) - sheep and goat pox

World Organisation for Animal Health: www.woah.org

WOAH sheep and goat pox fact sheet: https://www.woah.org/en/disease/sheep-pox-and-goat-pox/

WAHIS: https://wahis.woah.org/#/home

EFSA: www.efsa.europa.eu/de

EFSA: Disease profiles:(https://animal-diseases.efsa.europa.eu/)- Sheep and GoatPox: https://animal-diseases.efsa.europa.eu/SPPV

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): https://www.fao.org/home/en

Specific Diseases of sheeps and Goats: https://www.fao.org/3/t0756e/T0756E06.htm