Rinderpest can spread quickly through the air and in water containing waste from animals with the virus. The disease was deadly in eighty to ninety percent of cases. It mainly sickened cattle and buffalo, but also other animals including giraffes, yaks and antelope.

Some areas of the world escaped rinderpest. This was probably because of careful efforts to prevent the import of sick animals.

In nineteen ninety-nine, Walter Plowright won the World Food Prize as a hero of the fight against rinderpest. The British researcher fought the disease in Africa in the nineteen fifties and sixties.

He led the development of a vaccine called TCRV. A single dose of it could protect animals against rinderpest. Food production increased.

Now, rinderpest expert John Anderson calls the end of the disease "the biggest achievement in veterinary history" Officials say they must still decide where to keep some of the virus and infected tissue for future research. Rinderpest is only the second disease ever declared to have been eliminated. The other disease is smallpox.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can read and download our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.

Contributing: Sabena Castelfranco, Joe DeCapua and Jerilyn Watson