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Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals with debilitating and devastating consequences for livestock industries throughout the world. Key antigenic determinants of the causative agent, FMD virus (FMDV), reside within the…

This paper describes the evaluation of four novel real-time multiplex reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays for rapid and sensitive diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). In order to overcome the genetic diversity of FMD viruses…

Genetic changes in avian influenza viruses influence their infectivity, virulence and transmission. Recently we identified a novel genotype of H9N2 viruses in widespread circulation in poultry in Pakistan that contained polymerases (PB2, PB1 and PA) and non-structural (NS)…

The protective efficacy of recombinant vaccines expressing serotype 8 bluetongue virus (BTV-8) capsid proteins was tested in a mouse model. The recombinant vaccines comprised plasmid DNA or Modified Vaccinia Ankara viruses encoding BTV VP2, VP5 or VP7 proteins. These…

Infection of chickens with low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) virus results in mild clinical signs while infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses causes death of the birds within 36-48 hours. Since natural killer (NK) cells have been shown to…

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a pest control strategy involving the mass release of radiation-sterilized insects, which reduce the target population through nonviable matings. In Lepidoptera, SIT could be more broadly applicable if the deleterious effects of…

Analysis of full-genome sequences was previously used to trace the origin and transmission pathways of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) outbreaks in the UK in 2001 and 2007. Interpretation of these data was sometimes at variance with conventional epidemiological tracing…

In recent years, several animal disease epidemics have occurred within the European Union (EU). At the 4th Annual Meeting of the EPIZONE network (7–10 June 2010, St. Malo, France), an interactive session was run to elicit the opinions of delegates on a pre-defined list of…

The prevention, control and reduction of livestock diseases require a good understanding of how the underlying causative agents are transmitted. On livestock premises the rate of spread is strongly determined by the contact, both direct and indirect, between infectious and…

Although a disease of low mortality, the global impact of foot and mouth disease (FMD) is colossal due to the huge numbers of animals affected. This impact can be separated into two components: (1) direct losses due to reduced production and changes in herd structure; and (2…