CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FAO REFERENCE LABORATORIES AND COLLABORATING CENTRES

Reports from FAO/OIE World Reference Laboratory for FMD, Rinderpest and PPR, Pirbright, UK

Foot-and-mouth disease

Year-end report: present world situation

• Europe

Foot-and-mouth disease type Asia 1 entered Greece in July, probably caused by infected animals moving across the Evros River from neighbouring Turkey. A total of 14 outbreaks were reported in the Prefectures of Evros and Xanthi, three of them primary. The nucleotide sequence of the strain was very similar to that of isolates from Iran and Turkey received in 1999 and 2000. However, there were no reports of FMD in European Turkey (Turkish Thrace).

• Africa and the Near East

There have been no outbreaks of FMD reported from Tunisia, Morocco or Algeria during 2000, following the successful eradication of the disease in 1999. FMD type O is still present in Egypt. There have been outbreaks of type SAT·1 in Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa. The first outbreak of type O was reported from South Africa in September affecting a pig herd. The origin was traced to infected swill collected from the port of Durban. The virus spread to a neighbouring farm and also into cattle on communal grazing land. Monovalent type·O vaccination has been started around the outbreaks to contain any further spread. Type·O isolates were also received from Uganda.

• Asia

Outbreaks of types A, Asia 1 and O have been reported from Turkey and Iran, although their distribution, particularly of the Iran/96 and Iran/99 topotypes of type A, is not well defined. These serotypes have also spread into the Caucasian countries. A strain of A Iran/96 was also isolated from samples from Iraq. Outbreaks due to type O have been widespread throughout West Asia, but this year, for the first time, there have been outbreaks due to SAT·2 in Saudi Arabia and on the border with Kuwait. SAT·2 vaccine was used in large dairy herds to help control the outbreaks, and will be included in the routine vaccination programme. The type SAT·2 was probably imported with live animals from northeast Africa, where strains with a similar nucleotide sequence had been circulating during 1999.

FMD remains endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, outbreaks being predominantly due to type O. Type O has also caused large outbreaks in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Outbreaks, also predominantly due to type O, have been reported from Thailand, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Viet Nam and Cambodia with occasional reports of type Asia 1 and A. The Philippines has outbreaks of type O restricted to Luzon island, affecting pigs only. Taiwan Province of China also has type O, but two strains are present: the 1997 adapted pig strain also present in the Philippines and China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and a newer (1999) introduction that caused outbreaks in cattle and goats.

In March this year, there were outbreaks of FMD type O in Japan and the Republic of Korea, the first since 1908 and 1934, respectively. Japan reported four outbreaks, and was able to contain the disease by slaughter and serosurveillance, while the Republic of Korea quickly introduced vaccination. Soon after, in April, an outbreak of type O was reported in a pig farm close to Vladivostock in the Russian Federation, and in southeast Mongolia in cattle, sheep, goats and camels. All these outbreaks were due to the same strain, and probably originated in China. This strain also appeared in Taiwan Province of China in 1999, is responsible for the South African outbreak, and has been found throughout West and East Asia. Because of its wide distribution it has been given the name Pan-Asian strain.

• South America

There have been new introductions of FMD virus into Argentina, southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) and Uruguay, after many years of absence. The virus recovered in Argentina was the A24strain, closely related to the vaccine strain, while the outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sol and Uruguay were due to type·O. Argentina and Uruguay have eliminated the infections, although the situation in Brazil is unclear. Paraguay has reintroduced vaccination. Outbreaks of types·O and A have also occurred in the north of South America.

This is the fourth year in which the World Reference Laboratory has not received samples containing type·C FMD virus.

Rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants

Rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) report for the year 2000 (PCR results)
				PCR
COUNTRY	DATE RECEIVED	NUMBER	SPECIES AND MATERIAL	RINDERPEST	PPR
Central African Republic	29/02/00	21	Cattle: swabs and lymph nodes	-ve	-ve
	03/03/00	60	Cattle: swabs	-ve	-ve
Iraq	28/04/0	7	Sheep: swabs	-ve	+ve
	13/07/00	7	Goats: lymph node, lung, intestine	-ve	+ve
	04/09/00	7	Goats: lung, lymph node spleen, liver swab	-ve	-ve
	26/10/00	30	Sheep: lymph node, spleen, lung, intestines and swabs	-ve	+ve
Pakistan	26/06/00	6	Cattle: swabs, tonsil, lymph nodes	-ve	-ve
Sudan	13/03/00	6	Cattle: swabs and blood	-ve	-ve
Turkey	22/12/99	8	Sheep and goats: lung, lymph node, spleen, tongue	-ve	+ve
Uganda	11/01/00	8	Cattle, sheep and goats: blood and swabs	-ve	-ve
Yemen	15/09/00	30	Cattle, sheep and goats: lymph node, lung, spleen, swabs and intestine	-ve	+ve
Zimbabwe	06/06/00	2	Tissue culture cell lines	-ve	-ve