Rinderpest

Rinderpest, or cattle plague, was a highly contagious viral disease that devastated livestock populations for centuries, particularly in Africa and Asia. Caused by a morbillivirus in the Paramyxoviridae family, it spread rapidly among cattle and buffalo, causing fever, oral lesions, diarrhea, dehydration, and death—sometimes wiping out entire herds.

Declared eradicated in 2011, with the last case in 2001, rinderpest became only the second infectious disease—after smallpox—to be eliminated globally. Despite this success, live virus stocks are still held in a handful of laboratories worldwide, including in the U.S., China, Ethiopia, France, and Japan.

Rinderpest is classified as a Tier 1 Select Agent by the U.S. Federal Select Agent Program due to the high risk it poses if accidentally or deliberately released. Advances in synthetic biology further heighten concern, as the virus could be recreated from its genetic sequence. Although eradicated, rinderpest remains a significant global biosecurity threat.