Application of the Nagoya Protocol to veterinary pathogens: concerns for the control of foot-and-mouth disease.

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement adopted in 2010 (and entered into force in 2014) which governs access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their utilisation. The agreement aims to prevent misappropriation of genetic resources and, through benefit sharing, create incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. While the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources is a widely accepted concept, the way in which the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol are currently being implemented through national access and benefit-sharing legislation places significant logistical challenges on the control of transboundary livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Delays to access FMD virus isolates from the field disrupt the production of new FMD vaccines and other tailored tools for research, surveillance and outbreak control. These concerns were raised within the FMD Reference Laboratory Network and were explored at a recent multistakeholder meeting hosted by the European Commission for the Control of FMD. The aim of this paper is to promote wider awareness of the Nagoya Protocol, and to highlight its impacts on the regular exchange and utilisation of biological materials collected from clinical cases which underpin FMD research activities, and work to develop new epidemiologically relevant vaccines and other diagnostic tools to control the disease.

First study on molecular detection of three major canine tick-borne pathogens in subclinically infected dogs in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Canine tick-borne pathogens (CTBPs) are an important cause of morbidity in dogs in Thailand. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of three CTBPs in clinically normal, owned dogs to understand the risk for the general canine population. We also examined sex, age, tick infestation, and packed cell volume (PCV) of the animals in association with active infection of the CTBPs. Materials and Methods: A total of 139 dogs were included in the study. Blood samples were collected for thin blood smear, PCV and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the association between individual factors and CTBP infection status determined by PCR. In addition, sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen's kappa were calculated to assess the utility of routine blood smear. Results: The PCR results showed that 31 dogs (22.3%) were infected with at least one of the three pathogens. The occurrence rate for Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, and Hepatozoon canis was 2.2% (3/139), 18.7% (24/139), and 2.8% (4/139), respectively. There were two cases of coinfection with A. platys and E. canis. The univariate analyses did not yield any associations between recorded variables and the active infection. Microscopic examination showed good sensitivity and agreement only for H. canis (Sn: 75%, 95% confidence interval: 24.9-98.7, k=0.85). Conclusion: Our findings confirmed the endemicity of the CTBPs in owned canine population in the study site. In-depth epidemiological investigation would be warranted to elucidate environmental risk factors for CTBP infection.

Reviewing Solutions of Scale for Canine Rabies Elimination in India.

Canine rabies elimination can be achieved through mass vaccination of the dog population, as advocated by the WHO, OIE and FAO under the 'United Against Rabies' initiative. Many countries in which canine rabies is endemic are exploring methods to access dogs for vaccination, campaign structures and approaches to resource mobilization. Reviewing aspects that fostered success in rabies elimination campaigns elsewhere, as well as examples of largescale resource mobilization, such as that seen in the global initiative to eliminate poliomyelitis, may help to guide the planning of sustainable, scalable methods for mass dog vaccination. Elimination of rabies from the majority of Latin America took over 30 years, with years of operational trial and error before a particular approach gained the broad support of decision makers, governments and funders to enable widespread implementation. The endeavour to eliminate polio now enters its final stages; however, there are many transferrable lessons to adopt from the past 32 years of global scale-up. Additionally, there is a need to support operational research, which explores the practicalities of mass dog vaccination roll-out and what are likely to be feasible solutions at scale. This article reviews the processes that supported the scale-up of these interventions, discusses pragmatic considerations of campaign duration and work-force size and finally provides an examples hypothetical resource requirements for implementing mass dog vaccination at scale in Indian cities, with a view to supporting the planning of pilot campaigns from which expanded efforts can grow.

Development of a Non-Meat-Based, Mass Producible and Effective Bait for Oral Vaccination of Dogs against Rabies in Goa State, India.

Introduction: To achieve the global goal of canine-mediated human rabies elimination by 2030 there is an urgent need to scale-up mass dog vaccination activities in regions with large dog populations that are difficult to access; a common situation in much of India. Oral rabies vaccination may enable the vaccination of free-roaming dogs that are inaccessible to parenteral vaccination, and is considered a promising complementary measure to parenteral mass dog vaccination campaigns. WHO and OIE have published detailed minimum requirements for rabies vaccines and baits to be used for this purpose, requiring that baits must not only be well-accepted by the target population but must also efficiently release the vaccine in the oral cavity. For oral rabies vaccination approaches to be successful, it is necessary to develop baits which have a high uptake by the target population, are culturally accepted and amenable to mass production. The aim of this study was to compare the interest and uptake rates of meat-based and an egg-based prototype bait constructs by free roaming dogs in Goa, India. Methods: Three teams randomly distributed two prototype baits; an egg-flavoured bait and a commercial meat dog food (gravy) flavoured bait. The outcomes of consumption were recorded and compared between baits and dog variables. Results: A total of 209 egg-bait and 195 gravy-bait distributions were recorded and analysed. No difference (p = 0.99) was found in the percentage of dogs interested in the baits when offered. However, significantly more dogs consumed the egg-bait than the gravy-bait; 77.5% versus 68.7% (p = 0.04). The release of the blue-dyed water inside the sachet in the oral cavity of the animals was significant higher in the dogs consuming an egg-bait compared to the gravy-bait (73.4% versus 56.7%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The egg-based bait had a high uptake amongst free roaming dogs and also enabled efficient release of the vaccine in the oral cavity, whilst also avoiding culturally relevant materials of bovine or porcine meat products.

Waves of endemic foot-and-mouth disease in eastern Africa suggest feasibility of proactive vaccination approaches.

Livestock production in Africa is key to national economies, food security and rural livelihoods, and > 85% of livestock keepers live in extreme poverty. With poverty elimination central to the Sustainable Development Goals, livestock keepers are therefore critically important. Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious livestock disease widespread in Africa that contributes to this poverty. Despite its US$2.3 billion impact, control of the disease is not prioritized: standard vaccination regimens are too costly, its impact on the poorest is underestimated, and its epidemiology is too weakly understood. Our integrated analysis in Tanzania shows that the disease is of high concern, reduces household budgets for human health, and has major impacts on milk production and draft power for crop production. Critically, foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in cattle are driven by livestock-related factors with a pattern of changing serotype dominance over time. Contrary to findings in southern Africa, we find no evidence of frequent infection from wildlife, with outbreaks in cattle sweeping slowly across the region through a sequence of dominant serotypes. This regularity suggests that timely identification of the epidemic serotype could allow proactive vaccination ahead of the wave of infection, mitigating impacts, and our preliminary matching work has identified potential vaccine candidates. This strategy is more realistic than wildlife-livestock separation or conventional foot-and-mouth disease vaccination approaches. Overall, we provide strong evidence for the feasibility of coordinated foot-and-mouth disease control as part of livestock development policies in eastern Africa, and our integrated socioeconomic, epidemiological, laboratory and modelling approach provides a framework for the study of other disease systems.

Impact of community-delivered SMS alerts on dog-owner participation during a mass rabies vaccination campaign, Haiti 2017.

Haiti has historically vaccinated between 100,000 and 300,000 dogs annually against rabies, however national authorities have not been able to reach and maintain the 70% coverage required to eliminate the canine rabies virus variant. Haiti conducts massive dog vaccination campaigns on an annual basis and utilizes both central point and door-to-door methods. These methods require that dog owners are aware of the dates and locations of the campaign. To improve this awareness among dog owners, 600,000 text messages were sent to phones in two Haitian communes (Gonaives and Saint-Marc) to remind dog owners to attend the campaign. Text messages were delivered on the second day and at the mid-point of the campaign. A post-campaign household survey was conducted to assess dog owner's perception of the text messages and the impact on their participation in the vaccination campaign. Overall, 147 of 160 (91.9%) text-receiving dog owners indicated the text was helpful, and 162 of 187 (86.6%) responding dog owners said they would like to receive text reminders during future rabies vaccination campaigns. In areas hosting one-day central point campaigns, dog owners who received the text were 2.0 (95% CI 1.1, 3.6) times more likely to have participated in the campaign (73.1% attendance among those who received the text vs 36.4% among those who did not). In areas incorporating door-to-door vaccination over multiple days there was no significant difference in participation between dog owners who did and did not receive a text. Text message reminders were well-received and significantly improved campaign attendance, indicating that short message service (SMS) alerts may be a successful strategy in low resource areas with large free roaming dog populations.

Rationale and support for a One Health program for canine vaccination as the most cost-effective means of controlling zoonotic rabies in endemic settings.

Although dog vaccination has been demonstrated to reduce and eliminate rabies in humans, during meetings there are often calls for further pilot studies. The assembled data proves that a widespread approach is now required. While zoonotic rabies has a minimal presence in developed nations, it is endemic throughout most of Asia and Africa, where it is considered to be a neglected tropical disease. In these areas, rabies causes an estimated annual mortality of at least 55,000 human deaths. Worldwide rabid dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies exposures. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) advocate a collaborative One Health approach involving human public health and veterinary agencies, with mass canine vaccination programs in endemic areas being the mainstay of strategies to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies. While post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is effective in preventing deaths in people exposed to rabies, it is comparatively expensive and has little impact on the canine reservoir that is the primary source of zoonotic rabies. Indiscriminate culling of the dog population is expensive and there is little evidence that it is effective in controlling rabies in non-island locations. Mass canine vaccination programs using a One Health framework that achieves a minimum 70% vaccination coverage during annual campaigns have proven to be cost-effective in controlling zoonotic rabies in endemic, resource-poor regions. Case studies, such as in Tanzania and Bhutan, illustrate how an approach based on mass canine rabies vaccination has effectively reduced both canine and human rabies to minimal levels. The multiple benefits of mass canine rabies vaccination in these cases included eliminating rabies in the domestic dog reservoirs, eliminating human rabies cases, and decreasing the rabies economic burden by reducing expenditures on PEP.

Complete Genome Sequences of the Neethling-Like Lumpy Skin Disease Virus Strains Obtained Directly from Three Commercial Live Attenuated Vaccines.

Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) causes an economically important disease in cattle. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of three LSDV strains obtained directly from the live attenuated vaccines: Lumpyvax (MSD Animal Health), Herbivac LS (Deltamune) and Lumpy Skin Disease Vaccine (Onderstepoort Biological Products).