Introduction and objectives: Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), classified in the genus Morbillivirus, within the family Paramyxoviridae, causes an acute transboundary animal disease that affects mainly small ruminants, whereas cattle undergo a subclinical infection. PPR is considered to be highly contagious and spreads rapidly by direct contact through excretions/secretions from sick animals. This ability to spread, together with its socio-economic importance in developing countries made it one of the notifiable diseases listed by the OIE1. The severity of the disease depends on diverse factors such as host species and/or breed as well as on the virus strain involved. The acute clinical pattern is characterized by high fever, nasal and ocular discharge, oral lesions, bronchopneumonia, evidenced by coughing, dyspnoea and often diarrhoea. Affected animals may die within 5–10 days after the onset of clinical signs, reaching up to 90 % of mortality and morbidity in naïve populations. A subacute form is known in which clinical signs are very mild, the animals usually recovering within a week of the onset of symptoms. PPR is endemic in most of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and China. The most effective way of controlling PPR is by vaccination. Attenuated vaccines, mainly Nigeria 75/1 strain, have been commonly used in different endemic zones, inducing a reported life-long protective immunity in sheep and goats against all genetically defined lineages. Due to the epidemiological and economic significance, the international animal health organizations have given priority to the establishment of effective vaccination programs, control of animal movements and availability of efficient and rapid diagnosis. Recently, PPRV strains belonging to genetic lineage IV have undergone a major expansion in close proximity to the Southern European borders, increasing the perception of risk associated with its introduction in this continent. Consequently, preparedness plans we