Aim

• To consider how modern technologies and digital transformation can support and improve the diagnostic capacity for FAST diseases and ensure availability of diagnostics, personnel, and capacities where they are most needed. Furthermore, to discuss how understanding the host defense can provide insights for designing effective vaccines or drugs to prevent and control the spread of FMD and similar TADs.

Main issues

• FMD is a persistent challenge for the livestock industry in many countries. Identification of virus-host interactions is critical for understanding the host defense against this virus infection and can provide insights for designing effective vaccines or drugs to prevent and control the spread of FAST diseases.
• Progress in molecular epidemiology: how can the diagnosis and control of FAST diseases benefit from recent innovations in molecular diagnostic methods and platforms such as next generation sequencing?
• Diagnosis of FAST diseases is still often negatively impacted by the challenges of sample collection and sample transport to national reference laboratories from remote areas and under adverse conditions. How can innovations in field-based diagnostics such as lateral flow immunoassays and biosensors contribute to improved diagnosis of FAST diseases?
• How can digital technology through automated tools and dashboards contribute to more timely diagnosis and molecular analysis and information sharing of FAST diseases?