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

A novel multiplex qPCR‑HRM assay for the simultaneous detection of four abortive zoonotic agents in cattle, sheep, and goats

Abstract Abortifacient pathogens induce substantial economic losses in the livestock industry worldwide, and many of these pathogens are zoonotic, impacting human health. As Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Leptospira spp., and Listeria monocytogenes cause abortion, rapid differential molecular diagnostic tests are needed to facilitate early and accurate detection of abortion to establish effective control measures. However, the available molecular methods are laborious, time-consuming, or costly. Therefore, we developed and validated a novel multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method based on high-resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis to simultaneously detect and differentiate four zoonotic abortifacient agents in cattle, goats, and sheep. Our HRM assay generated four well-separated melting peaks allowing the differentiation between the four zoonotic abortifacients. Out of 216 DNA samples tested, Brucella spp. was detected in 45 samples, Coxiella burnetii in 57 samples, Leptospira spp. in 12 samples, and Listeria monocytogenes in 19 samples, co-infection with Brucella spp. and Coxiella burnetii in 41 samples, and 42 samples were negative. This assay demonstrated good analytical sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility. This is a valuable rapid, cost-saving, and reliable diagnostic tool for detecting individual and co-infections for zoonotic abortifacient agents in ruminants

The first detection of a serotype O foot-and-mouth disease virus in Namibia

This report describes the molecular characterization of a serotype O foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) recovered from a field outbreak in the Zambezi region, Namibia during July 2021. Sequence analysis demonstrates that this FMDV belongs to the O/EA-2 topotype sharing closest nucleotide identity (99.5%) to FMD viruses collected since 2018 in Zambia. This is the first detection of serotype O in Namibia, and together with the cases that have been recently detected in southern Zambia, represent the first time that this serotype has been detected in the Southern African FMD endemic pool since 2000, when a virus of Asian origin (O/ME-SA/PanAsia) caused an outbreak in South Africa. This incursion poses a new threat for the region and the potential onward spread of O/EA-2 will now need to be closely monitored since serotype O vaccines are not widely used in Namibia, nor in neighbouring countries.Work in Zambia was funded by the Government of Zambia and the Directorate of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Work at WRLFMD was funded by the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra SE2944) and the European Union. The Pirbright Institute receives grant-aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the United Kingdom.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tbedam2023Veterinary Tropical Disease