EuFMD

C. Potzsch - FMD risk reduction in Transcaucasia and neighbouring countries by European Commission for the Control of FMD

Introduction
Intranasal administration of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine as a potentially effective means for mass vaccination has been experimentally demonstrated to induce strong mucosal and systemic immune responses in goats. However, little is known about the influence of intranasal PPR vaccination application methods on the induction of immune response in goats. This study compares the influence of two different intranasal vaccine application methods on the immune responses in goats.

Materials and methods
Twenty, male, PPR immunologically naive West African dwarf goats were divided into four groups (n=5). Groups A and B were vaccinated intranasally (IN) with live attenuated PPR vaccine (Nigeria 75/1) by either nasal dropper (Group A) or nasal spray (Group B) methods and compared with the subcutaneous route vaccination (Group C) and unvaccinated control (Group D) for 28 days.

Results
PPR blocking ELISA based on the H-antigen demonstrated high-titres of PPRV-specific antibodies in all vaccinated animals regardless of vaccination route with peak mean percentage inhibitions of 79.3% (day 14); 69.8% (day 21) and 86.6% (day 21) for IN-Drop; IN-Spray and Subcutaneous vaccination groups, respectively. Pulmonary histomorphological assessment showed the development of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissues (BALT) in IN-Spray Group only. PPR Immunohistochemistry showed PPR viral antigens in the lymphoid cells of the germinal centers of the BALT. PPRV antigen was also detected in the spleen and mediastinal lymph nodes of all vaccinated animals after 28 days post-vaccination.

Discussion
The findings of this study shows that the choice of application methods for intranasal PPR vaccine delivery is essential in the induction of immune response and suggests that the IN-Spray method may hold greater potential for earlier induction of systemic immune response as well as pulmonary protection against the pneumonic form of the disease.

PRIORITISATION OF VACCINES – APPROACHES TO MAXIMISING IMPACT

The often-accepted approach to FMD vaccination campaigns is that it is important to vaccinate as many animals as possible against as many strains as may occur in the country. However, this approach is subject to resource limitations. For instance, with constrained budget then cheaper, low quality vaccines may be purchased, or with the limited veterinary manpower then unskilled operatives may be used.
Modelling shows that high quality vaccines will eliminate disease quicker than low quality vaccines and is cost effective. Prioritization is therefore imperative, but first we need to understand what prioritization means as this can take different forms. Once we have defined prioritization then two elements become key, one is the understand of where the disease is occurring, ie surveillance, and the other is predicting need, ie forecasting.
Finally we can consider examples of prioritization such as the focus on areas where the greatest spread may occur or targeting the strain most likely to be of current risk.
The goal of all players is to control FMD as quickly as possible to reduce the impact of the disease and to remove the risk to disease free areas. Prioritization of vaccine usage is an important component in achieving that goal. During this talk we highlight these points and open the discussion on how best to implement these approaches.

Alasdair King
Merck Animal Health, USA

M. Grant - FASTer vaccination: assessing level of preparedness by European Commission for the Control of FMD

IMPACT of ON-FARM biosecurity level in pig herds on the spread and control of foot and mouth disease

K. Mintiens*,1, H. Ferreira2, G. Garner1, R. Bradhurst3, S. Yadav1, E. Moroney4, M. Casey5, M. de la Puente1, J. Dewulf2, P. Hullinger1
1 European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, FAO, Rome, Italy
2 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
3 Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
4 Elise Moroney, Irish Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine, Dublin, Ireland
5 Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Introduction
Interest in biosecurity has risen considerably over the last decade in parallel with increasing food trade, outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases, and increasing antimicrobial resistance. Enhancing biosecurity is crucial for both preventing and controlling FAST diseases. In this paper we describe the impact of enhancing biosecurity on pig farms on simulated foot-and-mouth disease epidemics (FMD) in Ireland, using the EuFMDiS model.
Materials and methods
EuFMDiS is a continental-scale modelling platform of livestock disease spread and control that simulates transmission within and between countries. EuFMDiS considers on-farm biosecurity as a protective measure for indirect and local disease spread between herds. It is parameterised as a biosecurity weight of the destination herd that influences the probability of this herd to become infected.
The biosecurity weights are derived from a FMD biosecurity score that is estimated for different pig herd types in Ireland based on the data that are collected by Biocheck.Ugent®, a risk-based scoring system for evaluating the quality of on-farm biosecurity. To estimate the impact of enhanced on-farm biosecurity on the spread and control of FMD, the minimum value of the FMD biosecurity score were truncated at a higher value, simulating a compulsory implementation of additional biosecurity measures on all farm.
Results
The mean (min/max) FMD Biosecurity Score estimated from the Biocheck.Ugent data for Irish pig herds (n=254) was estimated at 63% (41%;83%), which is higher than the mean Score for pig herds (n=2066) in all European countries that participate in Biocheck.Ugent, i.e. 62% (18%, 96%). Truncating the minimum Score for Irish pig herds to 50% resulted in reduction in size and duration of FMD outbreaks in Ireland.
Discussion
This pilot study shows the potential positive impact of implementing on-farm biosecurity management systems on the resilience to FAST disease outbreaks. The study requires further elaboration but can potentially contribute to solutions for business continuity during epidemics.

P. Compston - How do you define a Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in an endemic context by European Commission for the Control of FMD

S. Fevre Et Al - Empowering veterinary paraprofessionals in Africa by European Commission for the Control of FMD

P. Durr-Spread: deciphering farm-to-farm FMD transmission through a big data decision support system by European Commission for the Control of FMD

C. Ezeasor -Intranasal vaccine application methods influence the immune responses in goats by European Commission for the Control of FMD

S. Hamilton and G. Garner -How much is enough? by European Commission for the Control of FMD