Madar (Louga) - Suspicious goat deaths in several localities of Senegal's Louga region, notably the Niayes area, have raised strong suspicion of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), an infectious disease of small ruminants, the head of the Louga departmental livestock service, Aya Ndiaye, said in an interview published by the Senegalese news agency APS on Friday, 23 October 2026.
Unusual mortality has been reported "for some time" in goat herds in the region, "especially in the Niayes area", he said. The head of a cooperative in the Thieppe area wrote to the regional governor to alert the authorities.
Investigations followed the first reports and samples were taken in the Leona area for laboratory testing. Small-ruminant pasteurellosis was suspected at first, but the pattern of the disease, with lulls followed by new waves of deaths in other localities, did not allow that to be confirmed.
Laboratory tests carried out in Kebemer department confirmed CCPP, which strengthens suspicion that the disease is circulating in the Louga region, the official said.
The disease takes an acute form, with high fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, frequent coughing, breathing difficulties and nasal discharge, or a chronic form marked mainly by a persistent cough and weight loss. Goats that survive can remain carriers.
Ndiaye said the disease poses no danger to humans but can cause heavy losses in affected herds, and urged close monitoring of animals and quick reporting of any suspected case to veterinary services. The number of dead animals was not disclosed.
