Study shows persistence of FMDV is related to its virulence
A study by scientists at The Pirbright Institute – home to the UK, World and European Reference Laboratory for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) - has shown that the persistence of specific viruses is related to their virulence in cell culture.
African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) are the primary carrier host of FMDV in the African savannah, where the disease is endemic. These buffaloes therefore provide a unique opportunity to study the persistence of FMDV, as transmission from carrier ruminants has only been convincingly demonstrated for this species.