http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/aaas-fam032101.html
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 22
MARCH 2001 AT 14:00 ET US
Contact: Ginger Pinholster
gpinhols@aaas.org
202-326-6421
American Association for the Advancement of
Science
Foot-and-Mouth
disease: Can research offer solutions? Science feature examines
prevention and detection efforts
When it strikes cows, pigs and
other livestock, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) rapidly threatens financial
disaster for farmers and, potentially, for entire economies. Effective vaccines
have been available for decades, but practical concerns have limited their use.
A news article in the 23 March,
2001, issue of the journal, Science, examines current prevention and
detection--as well as research efforts to make FMD vaccines more practical.
The European Union banned the
vaccines in 1992 because vaccinated animals produce the same antibodies as
infected livestock, making it impossible to determine when animals are sick.
Since immediate detection is crucial to contain the spread of FMD, countries
such as the United States and Japan had banned vaccinated animals, which put
pressure on the European Union.
Now, some farmers and politicians
argue that vaccinating should begin anew.
"One of the things that
could end the current impasse," the Science news report states,
"is a test that would separate vaccinated from infected animals." At
least one such test is being developed by United Biomedical Inc., a U.S. firm
in Hauppauge, New York. The test detects antibodies against proteins involved
in viral replication, produced by the virus, but not by vaccines.
Another strategy is to develop a
better vaccine, capable of fighting many strains of FMD, not just one, reports
Science journalist Martin Enserink. Existing vaccines fight all seven FMD
viruses. But, each vaccine targets a specific strain, and periodic booster
shots are required. A number of vaccine-development efforts are underway,
including projects by Fred Brown and by Marvin Grubman at the Plum Island
Animal Disease Center in New York state, in the United States.
The United States and other
countries are stepping up efforts to block FMD's spread. Such measures reflect
the economic consequences of FMD. A 1998 study by Javier Ekboir, then with the
School of Veterinary at the University of California, Davis, estimated that the
direct costs of FMD in a single California county could run between $0.5
billion and $1.5 billion. Two-year losses could run about $1.9 billion, if
other countries shunned California meat, Ekboir found.
###
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