Rinderpest, a disease of the past

According to historical documents, the first epizootic of rinderpest in Europe took place sometime between 376 and 386 AD, near the end of the Roman Empire. However, some believe the disease may have been one of the seven plagues of Egypt. Eurasian in origin, rinderpest has decimated hundreds of millions of cattle and buffalo in Europe, Asia, and Africa and has caused severe famines. It remains one of the most deadly transboundary animal diseases of domestic and wild mammals belonging to the Bovidae family. Thanks to coordinated international collaboration, and after 80 years of struggle, rinderpest was officially declared eradicated in 2011. In human history, this is only the second disease to have disappeared from the planet, the first being human smallpox, and the first animal disease to do so.