Theme 4  " Diagnostics"

Theme leader: Dr Martin Beer, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Germany.

Prevention and control of epizootic diseases starts with the use of diagnostic tools to detect infected animals.

In recent years, sophisticated methods of molecular diagnostics for example real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) or microarray systems (DNA-chip technology) have been developed. DIVA vaccines (DIVA=differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals) in combination with DIVA diagnostics create new control strategies for epizootics. It is obvious that the new methods have to be further optimized, validated, and standardised across the EU.

In EPIZONE, integrating the knowledge and potency of veterinary research institutes should support and optimize diagnostic procedures and their use in prevention and control of epizootic diseases.

• EPIZONE prepares e.g. a review about real-time PCR diagnostics for foot-and-mouth disease virus, avian influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, classical swine fever virus and bluetongue virus.  

• Availability of DIVA diagnostic systems is reviewed too. Awareness of new control strategies by the DIVA principle to people involved in crisis management is realized, and supported by a foot-and-mouth workshop on DIVA diagnostics in collaboration with two other EU funded projects (CA-FMD-CSF and FAO EUFMD). 

• Another new development is that of pen-side diagnostics. Experts agree that the state of the art showed that these must not be applied in the absence of confirmatory tests. A first generation of these rapid pen-side tests (e.g. for avian influenza or foot-and-mouth disease) are under extensive validation.