Different isolates of peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) from outbreaks in Africa and India were investigated for virulence in West African dwarf goats in the Ivory Coast. Six groups of five animals received a virulent suspension of various strains of virus at a concentration of 10(3) TCID(50)/mL and the goats were observed for 15 days after infection. The Côte-d'Ivoire 89 (CI89), Guinea Conakry and Bissau Guinea PPRV strains caused a peracute disease; the India-Calcutta strain caused acute disease; the Sudan-Sennar strain produced an acute to mild disease, while the Nigeria 75/1 wild-type strain caused a mild disease and the animals recovered. The viruses studied contained examples of PPRV from specific lineage groups based on their nucleoprotein PPRV gene. This experiment indicated that virulence characteristics might be a useful marker to help classify PPRV isolates.