Les savoirs partags - PDF document

"Les savoirs partagés Foot-and-mouth I Foot-and-mouth The point of view of the livestock farmer in adeveloping country  The point of view of theveterinarian in a developing country  view of the livestock farmer in a developed The point of view of the veterinarian inadeveloped country  The point of view of thecow before 1961  The point of view of the cowbetween 1961 and 1991  The point of view of thecow after 1991  The point of view of the wild The point of view of the sick person  The point of view of the virus  The point ofview of the vaccine  The point of view of thejournalist The point of view of the economist. Authors: Georgette CHARBONNIER, Michel LAUNOIS, with special contributions from: Alexandre BOUCHOT, Emmanuel CAMUS, Alexandre CARON,Marc-Henri CASSAGNE, Stéphane CLUSEAU, Eric COLLIN,Eric ETTER, Abdoulaye GOURO, Ferran JORI, KhalidKHALLAAYOUNE, Yves LEFORBAN, Dominique MARTINEZ,Christian MEYER, Evaristo Eduardo de MIRANDA, Paul-PierrePASTORET, Thierry PINEAU, François ROGER, Marc SIGWALT, and the support of: Rianatou Bada ALAMBEDJI, Myriam ALCAIN, Véronique BAISSE,Abdelhak BEN YOUNES, Marie-Gabrielle BODART, ChristopheBRARD, Alain CANTALOUBE, Fabienne COURNARIE, MarieDROUET, Xavier GOURAUD, Philippe DUBOURGET, MarjorieGAUTRET, Flavie GOUTARD, Djamila HADJ AMAR, Jean-LouisHUNAULT, Mohamed Habib JEMLI

, Jérôme LANGUILLE, ThanhMinh LUONG, Gérard MATHERON, Jenessi MATTURI, NafaaOUBAKOUK, Jacques PAGES, Vincent PORPHYRE, Jean-JacquesPRAVIEUX, Charlotte SANDRET, Carolin SCHUMACHER, PhilippeSTEINMETZ, Imed TURKI, Bernard VALLAT, Murielle VANDRECK. Original drawings: Géraldine LAVEISSIERE, Michel LAUNOIS. Photographs: Camille BELLET, Raymonde BLONDEL, Alexandre CARON,Marc-Henri CASSAGNE, Georgette CHARBONNIER, Graphics and Layout: Géraldine LAVEISSIERE. Translation into English: II All rights reserved for all countries (adaptation, translation, and reproduction byany process, including photocopying and microfilm). The opinions expressed in this educational handbook are those of the authorsalone and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of partner institutions. Based on an original idea of: Service dAppui à la Valorisation Opérationnelle de lInformation sur la Recherche Scientifique(SAVOIRS)Published with the financial support ofseveral institutional partners, thisdisease is not meant for sale. It is meantto be distributed among diverseaudiences with the aim of contributing tothe dissemination of scientific knowledgeand to supporting teaching projectsreaching the greatest number of people IV pastoral, silvicultural, andveterinarian research aiming tosupport developing countries,which is the heart of Cirads

work,is constantly confronted withenvironments. When research outputs need to be converted intodevelopment actions, our researchers and theircounterparts in developed and developing countries rely onmultifactorial approaches to collect field study data andtake into account local conditions. Aware of the need to transfer scientific culture to diverseaudiences, we have chosen to develop knowledge vectorsusing innovative scientific mediation processes that aim tobe appreciated by both thematic experts and readers fromvery different backgrounds. The focus of this handbook is foot-and-mouth disease, anextremely contagious viral animal disease affecting cattle,pigs, sheep and goats, which continues to be a healthpriority. Although a number of European countries consider it to bea relic of the past, foot-and-mouth disease is endemic insome one hundred countries around the world. Countriesrecognized as being disease-free consequently face aconstant threat, and their sanitary status could be calledinto question at any moment, with catastrophicconsequences for international trade in animals and animalproducts. The topic is addressed through a "multi-actorŽ or points ofviewŽ narrative method. The central idea of the SAVOIRS(Service dappui à la valorisation opérationnelle delinformation sur la recherche scientifique)at CIRAD is tohave eac

h actor express his or her own perception of thescourge, which naturally varies depending on their position:livestock farmers and veterinarians in developing anddeveloped countries, domestic and wild animal hosts, thevirus, the vaccine, a journalist, and an economist. Following a well-received French edition, this educationalhandbook now is being proposed in English to transmitknowledge about this re-emerging disease on aninternational scale. Over the course of 2011, designated asthe World Veterinary Year, there have been numerousoutbreaks of foot…and-mouth disease in North and SouthKorea, China, Vietnam, Japan, eastern Russia, Mongolia,South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Israel, Bulgaria andmost recently in Paraguay, Tibet, and Malawi. Confronted with this situation, the publication of thehandbook is particularly significant because in 2012initiatives will be taken to control this disease at a globallevel. The SEAFMD (South East Asia Foot-and-MouthDisease) regional programme, which aims to eradicatefoot-and-mouth disease from South East Asia by 2020,bases its activities on awareness building andcommunication campaigns for local populations. The English version of this pedagogic contribution,supported by sixteen partner institutions, offers aninnovative approach, one that I hope is convincing, tolearning about the sciences and opens

new pedagogicalways to understanding and making understood emergingand re-emerging diseases involved in contemporary globalhealth scourges. Gérard MATHERONFrench Agricultural Research Centrefor International Development (CIRAD) VI Partner institutions French Development Agency (Agence Française deDéveloppement)is a public development finance institution that hasworked to fight poverty and support economic growth in developingcountries and the French Overseas Provinces for 70 years. AFD executesthe French governments development aid policies. Through offices in morethan fifty countries and nine French Overseas Provinces, AFD providesfinancing and support for projects that improve peoples living conditions,promote economic growth and protect the planet: schooling, maternalhealthcare, help for farmers and small business owners, clean watersupply, tropical forest preservation, and fighting climate change, amongother concerns. In 2010, AFD approved more than 6.8 billion for financingaid activities in developing countries and the French Overseas Provinces.The funds will help 13 million children go to school, improve drinking wateraccess for 33 million people and provide 428 million in microloansbenefiting more than 700,000 people. Energy efficiency projects financedby AFD in 2010 will save nearly 5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissi

onsannually.French Agricultural Research Centre for International(Centre de coopération internationale enrecherche agronomique pour le développement)is a French scientificorganization specialized in agricultural research in developing countriesand overseas departments of France. It works throughout the tropics andsubtropics. Its mission is to contribute to the sustainable development ofthese regions through research, experiments, training, communication,innovation, and the provision of expertise. Its skills in life, social andengineering sciences are applied to food and agriculture, the managementof natural resources, and social issues. Operating under the Languedoc-Roussillon regional office, the mission of SAVOIRS (Service dappui à lavalorisation opérationnelle de linformation sur la recherche scientifique) isto bring educational value to scientific, technical, and practical knowledgethrough innovative means.International Centre for Research and Development ofAnimal Husbandry in the Sub-humid Zone (Centre international deRecherche-Développement sur lElevage en zone Subhumide)is a regional,interstate body born out of the political will of seven member West Africancountries (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger,Togo). Its mandate is to conduct research aiming to improve the health andproductivity of domest

ic animals to satisfy growing demand, notably formeat and milk, and increase incomes. CIRDES also aims to reduce povertyin member countries in such a way as to respect ecological equilibriums. Inclose collaboration with the national agriculture research systems of eachmember country, it conducts research, training, and output disseminationactivities in the following fields: improved animal health and production,genetic conservation of species, environmental preservation, training, and VII Partner institutions CTA, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation,(Centre technique de cooperation agricole et rurale) is a joint internationalinstitution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States andthe European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritionalsecurity, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resourcemanagement in ACP countries. It provides access to information andknowledge, facilitates policy dialogue and strengthens the capacity ofagricultural and rural development institutions and communities. CTAoperates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded byEISMV, Interstate School of Veterinary Science and Medicine(Ecole Inter-Etats des Sciences et Médecine Vétérinaires)Dakar, founded in 1968, now groups together fourteen member states ofsub-Saharan Africa: Benin, Bu

rkina Faso, Cameroon, Central AfricanRepublic, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda,Senegal, Chad and Togo. The first task of EISMV was to provide training toveterinarian doctors that took into account actual conditions in Africa.Since 1994, it has expanded its teaching and research areas of expertise.In addition to its first task, the school provides continuing professionaleducation, post-graduate training (Masters degree in veterinary publichealth, human food quality, and animal production/sustainabledevelopment), PhD training programmes (animal health andbiotechnologies, animal production and biotechnologies, pastoralism)through the graduate school (life, health, and environmental sciences) ofCheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. Furthermore, EISMV has defined fourpriority research avenues: aviculture, food security and safety, veterinarianmedicines, and the development of local breeds. This institution, which hasa regional vocation, thus puts its skills at the service of member States andpartners through multiple forms of expertise. European Federation for Animal Health and Sanitary(Fédération Européenne pour la Santé Animale et la Sécurité, created in 2001, currently brings together national and regionalprofessional federations responsible for animal health and the quality ofanimal products. The organizati

ons aim therefore is to gather together allbovine, pig, sheep and goat producers in Europe, not forgetting otherspecies like poultry, bees or fish. The primary objective of FESASS is thedefense and the improvement of the European livestocks health status aswell as its promotion among consumers in the European Union. As atechnical organization, the FESASS acts first and foremost in the area ofanimal health. Thanks to the experience of its members, it contributes tothe European discussion on regulated and unregulated diseases and takespart in devising action to fight these. VIII Partner institutions also keeps watch on the expectations of the sector andconsumers. It contributes to the discussion on the health quality ofproducts and is active in creating guidelines for food safety, the use ofveterinary medicines and for animal welfare. FESASS acts in conjunctionwith the EU Institutions and other European professional organizations. Itcontributes in partnership with other stakeholders in the animal healthsector, to the devising and implementing of European animal health policy.At the international level, it participates in the discussions of the OIE, theWorld Organization for Animal Health.National Federation of Livestock Health Protection Groups(Fédération Nationale des Groupements de Défense Sanitaire)ensure the overall national an

d international representation of HealthDefense Groups (HDG), which are farmer organizations focused on healthissues recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture. Its role is to promote thesanitary actions of HDG member farmers; defend and represent theircollective interests and, in collaboration with the HDG involved, theirindividual interests with regard to quality, security and safety of food forand derived from animals; facilitate and coordinate efforts and actions ofHDG members; serve as a permanent liasion for HDG members andpromote their development; organize, coordinate, and implement all kindsof actions allowing these objectives to be achieved and notably toorganize, coordinate, and implement all forms of professional solidaritymechanisms through the HDGs and for their members. IAV Hassan II, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary(Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II)center in charge of training and research in the fields of agriculture,livestock husbandry, agro-industry, fisheries and the environment. Underthe Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing of Morocco, IAV Hassan IIprovides specialized training in life and earth sciences and technologies(engineers, veterinarian doctors, and Phd in agronomy). Alongside itstraining programmes, IAV Hassan II actively particpates in themodernization of agriculture

through innovative research programmes anddevelopment actions focussed on professional training and upgrading ofbusinesses, technology transfers, and the sustainable management ofnatural resources. Research activities cover life and earth sciences,agricultural engineering, agro-food, topography, and management fields.IFAH, International Federation for Animal Health (FédérationInternationale pour la Santé Animale)is the global representative body ofcompanies engaged in research, development, manufacturing andcommercialisation of veterinary medicines, vaccines and other animalhealth products in both developed and developing countries across the five IX Partner institutions IFAH represents both animal health companies (11) and national/regionalanimal health associations (26). These associations comprise both localsmall and medium-sized enterprises and international companies. Overall,these companies represent approximately 80% of the global market foranimal health products. IFAH is an international non-profit organisationregistered under Belgian law based in Brussels, Belgium.INMV, National Institute of Veterinary Medicine (Institut National dela Médecine Vétérinaire)is a public administrative establishment created in1976 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. INMV aimsto provide technical and scientific support to n

ational veterinarian services.This support provided by the technical and scientific departments takes the(the LCV) and six regional ones (the LVRs). It is focussed on monitoring thequality and safety of animal products and foods derived from animals, theexperimental diagnosis of animal diseases, carrying out surveys andparticipating in the development of a national epidemiological map in orderto design plans to fight important animal diseases. In addition to thesetasks, INMV also trains students, veterinarians, and para-veterinariantechnicians and contributes to information, awareness raising, and healtheducation activities for livestock farmers and the general public regardinganimal health, veterinarian medicine, and veterinary public health. National Institute for Agricultural Research(Institut Nationalde la Recherche Agronomique)is a mission-oriented scientific researchorganisation jointly managed by the French Ministry of Higher Educationand Research and the French Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Fishing.INRA defines and conducts research in the fields of agriculture, food, andthe environment following an agro-ecological approach that aims to meetglobal food demand. Established in 1946, it is today the leading Europeanagronomic research center with 9 000 collaborators and 4 100 researchers.It includes 14 research departments

and 19 regional centers located acrossmainland France and in the Caribbean. The Animal HealthŽ departmentcoordinates INRAs research on infectivity, epidemiology, toxicology andanimal therapeutics. Its 700 collaborators and 100 PhD students strive togain in-depth knowledge of pathogenic agents infecting animals, a betterunderstanding of how animals defend themselves, recognize how animaldiseases spread and design innovations allowing the simultaneousconservation of livestock and public health. X Partner institutions Institute of Agricultural Research and Higher Education(Institution de la Recherche et de lEnseignement Supérieur Agricole)public administrative body endowed with civil personality and financialautonomy operating under the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resourcesand Fishing. IRESA aims to develop and find funding for national researchprogrammes, monitor and evaluate activities, facilitate coordination andcomplementarity between research and higher education institutions in thefield of agriculture, and to ensure that these institutions contribute toagriculture production and development. MAAPRAT, French Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fishing, RuralAffairs and Spatial Planning(Ministère de lagriculture, de lalimentation,de la pèche, de la ruralité et de laménagement du territoire)prepares andimplements governme

nt policy on agriculture, rural affairs, maritime fishingand maritime crops, forests and wood. Responsible for agricultureeducation and professional training policy, it helps define agronomic,biotechnical, and veterinary research policy; plant and animal health policyand the promotion of quality agricultural and food products; social policyconcerning farm heads and salaried workers; agrofood industry policy;policies regulating monitoring quality and safety of agricultural and foodproducts and policies promoting the countryside, as well as participating inEuropean and international negotiations involving its fields of competence.is an innovative world leader in animal health, offering acomplete range of medicines and vaccines to improve the health, welfare,and performance of a large number of animal species. With a long historyof working with governments to control infectious animal diseases,MERIAL provides vaccines, services and solutions for numerous seriousdiseases, on the top of the list being foot-and-mouth disease, for whichMERIAL is the world leader in manufacturing vaccines. Recognized bygovernments, international organizations (OIE, FAO), and other sectorpartners for its expertise, experience in vaccine production development,and the assistance it gives to countries faced with the disease, MERIAL isconsidered to be a major a

ctor in the fight against foot-and-mouth disease. World Organization for Animal Health la santé animale), established in 1924, is the oldest intergovernmentalorganisation and, with 178 member countries, the most representative. Inaddition to its historic tasks of guaranteeing transparency with regard tothe animal health situation around the world (managing an animal healthsurveillance and early-warning system), and of collecting, analyzing, anddisseminating new scientific information concerning the fight againstanimal disease (through a network of 190 reference laboratories ofexcellence and 37 collaborating centers), OIE also is, under the terms ofthe WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, the reference organizationcharged with developing international standards for the sanitary safety ofinternational trade in animals and animal products and helps determine thesanitary status of member countries with regard to certain diseases. XI Partner institutions OIE is a major actor in political and financial mechanisms of internationalcooperation assisting developing countries and those in transition. OIEactively seeks to reinforce the capacity of national veterinarian services andcontributes to the development of animal health, veterinary public health,and animal welfare policies and to the structure of governance by investingsignifica

ntly in new fields such as veterinarian education, relations betweenanimal husbandry methods and climate and environmental change,research, and new technologies. OIE also is actively engaged in promotinginitiatives at the global, regional, and national level for the development oflaboratories to improve diagnostic and health data analysis capacitiesaround the world, particularly in developing countries, through twinningprograms with reference laboratories that have scientific expertise in therequired field. SIMV, Veterinary Medicines and Reagents Industry Syndicate(Syndicat de lindustrie du médicament vétérinaire et réactif) is the Frenchunion representing pharmaceutical enterprises manufacturing medicinesand reagents for pets and livestock. Veterinarian medicine exports are theequivalent of twice the French market, or 1.4 billion euros. SIMV is amember of France Vétérinaire International (FVI). SIMV aims to contributeto the ethical development of veterinarian medicines in France and forexport to better meet demand for products satisfying international quality,effectiveness and safety standards.SNGTV, National Society of Veterinary Technical Associations(Société Nationale des Groupements Techniques Vétérinaires) is atechnical veterinarian organisation regrouping nearly 80% of animalproduction practitioners. It contributes to the de

velopment and promotionof their skills. Its main tasks, carried out by its 15 specialized technicalcommissions are: - professional training (organization of conventions andtraining sessions; publishing a journal : the Bulletin des GTV); - creation anddeployment of services, tools, and intervention methodologies on livestockfarms (computer software, veterinarian medicine good practices guides,farm visit protocols); - involvement of practitioners in collective actionsregarding animal health and veterinary public health; - technicalrepresentation of its members before the government, scientificorganizations, and professional organizations. XII be transmitted by a filtrableinfectious agent, before thissame property had even beendemonstrated for the agent ofpoliomyelitis in humans. This infection thus has played anexceptional role in the history ofbiomedical sciences in general, and in veterinarianmedicine in particular, for a very long time. Since the establishment of the World Organization forAnimal Health, previously named the Office Internationaldes Epizooties (OIE), foot-and-mouth disease has beenthe focus of much attention, particularly due to itsexceptional transmission capacity, by direct and indirectroutes, which makes it one of the most formidable cross-border diseases. In addition, the virus responsible occursas numerous sero

types/topotypes and certain wildspecies, such as the African buffalo, are a reservoir formany of them, for example the SAT (South AfricanTerritories) strains. Some countries, through considerable efforts combininganimal health measures and vaccination, have succeededin eliminating the disease from their territory and try toblock it from reintroducing itself because this livestockdisease is economically devastating and can dramaticallyupset international trade, which our organization seeks tosafeguard through internationally recognized standards(Terrestrial Animal Health Code). Unfortunately, foot-and-mouth disease still presents amosaic of infection/disease situations at the international Since May 1994, the OIE has put into place an officialprocedure to recognize the status of member states thatare free of foot-and-mouth disease. Among the 178 OIEmember states, only sixty can be officially recognized asbeing free of foot-and-mouth disease with or withoutPerceptions of foot-and-mouth disease vary according towhether a country is developed, developing, or intransition, whether it is disease-free or contaminated, andto the field actors: livestock farmers and veterinarians. This handbook is a perfect illustration. It takes an originalapproach by presenting different points of view, from thoseof livestock farmers and veterinarians in de

veloped anddeveloping countries, to a journalist and an economist,while including with a light touch of humour those of cows,the virus, and the vaccine. This timely work is intended for a very broad audience andwill allow a wider understanding of the most importantconcepts regarding this disease. One of the roles of our Organization is to guarantee thehealth safety of the international trade in foods of animalorigin between countries with different sanitary statuswhile trying to avoid unjustified trade barriers by importingcountries. We do so through the scientific contributions ofa network of collaborating centers and referencelaboratories and the unflagging support of all 178 membercountries. I hope this handbook is distributed widely. Bernard VALLATDirector General World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) XIV XV Table of Contents Introduction to the theme Foreword by the President-Director General of CIRAD IV-VPartner institutions Prefaceby the Director General of OIE The points of view The livestock farmer in a developing country The veterinarian in a developing country The livestock farmer in a developed countryThe veterinarian in a developed country The cow before 1961 The cow between 1961 and 1991 The cow after 1991The wild animal The sick person The journalist For further information Les savoirs partagés 1I The

livestock farmer in a developing country The livestock farmer in a developing country I2 he point of view of the livestock farmer in a developingSomewhere in Africa As usual, I wait until the cows of the large herd owners haveleft the well before I lead our small herd of sheep and goatsover to drink. It is the end of the dry season and there islittle water left, so we can go to the well only once a day. Myfather entrusted this job to me because I do not go to thevillage school in the afternoon. After filling the watering trough dug into a tree trunk, I noticethat some of the animals are not drinking the way theyusually do. One of the sheep stands with his head loweredand his muzzle hanging over the water, but he doesntbother to open his lips. He usually pushes the others asideto be the first to drink. I pull him aside. He seems to have aproblem with his feet. Could there be an acacia thorn stuckthe sheep starts. And yet I did not press very hard with myfingers. I find a wound on one of his legs just above thehoof. Could he have been hurt by a rock? Puzzled, I studyhim more closely. His skin is hot and his nostrils are dirty.I open his mouth and hold him firmly between my legs buthe hardly struggles at all. His tongue is covered with smallwhite spots, his gums too. When I release him, he limpsgingerly back to the herd as if he was

walking over coals. Back in the village I bring the herd back to an enclosure surrounded by wallswoven out of thorny branches where the animals will besafe for the night. Along the way, I study the animals verycarefully in order to report back to my father. I find himsitting outside our hut waiting for dinner. I tell him that asheep has trouble walking, seems subdued and feverish,and has little white spots in his mouth that seem to botherhim when he tries to chew cud. I also tell him that a goat does not want to nurse her kidand that she pushes him away as soon as he tries tosuckle. My father listens to my story attentively. My brothers and sisters quickly sense that somethingimportant has happened. They approach, worried. Onewife stops pounding the millet, another stops tending thefire where the evening porridge is cooking. Everyone waitsfor the head of the family to speak. After a long moment of silence, he glances around to makesure that the neighbours are busy, and then he says heIt is not a serious disease for sheep and goats, most of theaffected animals will get better on their own after a fewdays, but some of the females might lose their babies andsome newborns might die because of it. It was very likely that all of the animals in the village andthe surrounding area would become infected. It wasalmost certain that they w

ould have to go to aneighbouring province to find a healthy animal for the feastWhat is slightly reassuring is that although survivors do notrecover completely and remain thinner than they oncewere, they will resist another attack of the disease. Wetherefore should be left in peace for a few months! Andthen if there is plentiful rainfall, green pastures will allowthem to regain their health. All of this reminded a visiting cousin of problems that ricefarmers encountered in the plains two months before whenthe same disease affected draught cattle just when theirlabour was needed. Since all of the animals fell ill at thesame time, they had to go very far away to find otheranimals that were very expensive to rent, which took alarge chunk out of the income they had hoped to earn from The livestock farmer in a developing country The livestock farmer in a developing country I4 The decision For this disease, my father says the tradition is to isolateinfected animals to avoid contaminating other animals inthe herd and other herds. For the time being, he decides tosort the animals and send those which are visibly infectedto a distant nephew who lives deeper in the bush. Theymust avoid having the rest of the herd, which look healthy,to be forbidden access to pastures and the well. My older brother who is studying in the city then speaks.He he

ard that livestock animals should not be sent into thebush because the disease could be transmitted to wildanimals. His opinion is not heeded. The protection of wildanimals is not a priority when it is hard to fill our own bowlsWhen his first wife asks my father to sacrifice one of theinfected sheep so that we all may eat a little better, heanswers that it is not possible because the neighbourswould invite themselves over and the more curious oneswould quickly notice the grey-red and yellow spots on themuscles and heart. The clans reputation had to beprotected. When the last fire went out in the village, I gather togetherthe sick animals and lead them by the light of the moon tothe place where they could convalesce. On the way, I hadtime to think and the memory of a meeting came back tome which had been organized by the district veterinarianthree months before. He had spoken about a governmentprogramme to protect animals. My father had not wantedto participate in this vaccination campaign. I also wonderif the buffaloes in the photographs that the teacher hadshowed us, and which work in rice fields in Asia, couldcatch this disease. When I returned home early the next morning, I had earnedthe right to a café au laitin the place of my usual bowl of 5I The veterinarian in a developing country The veterinarian in a developing country I

6 The point of view of the veterinarian in a developing To become a veterinarian, I left my home country to attendthe Interstate School of Veterinarian Science and Medicinelocated in the capital of a country in the Sahel sub-region.Over the years I was there, the inter-African andinternational character of the school, where students andteachers of many different nationalities rubbed shoulders,led me to realize that many animal health problems areshared across borders and that to fight them, cross-bordercooperation often is crucial. Internships and specializationcourses at laboratories in several developed countriesfamiliarized me with the most appropriate diagnostic andtreatment methods for different health situations. A regionaltraining course conducted by an international organizationhelped me understand how national epidemio-surveillancenetworks functioned and their importance in controllinganimal diseases. private, are distributed correctly over a territory, and arewell organized and competent, it is possible to control andeven eradicate contagious diseases with major socio-economic consequences for livestock in Africa. And nowhere I am, ready to test this approach -- which for me is stilltheoretical -- with the reality of the field. I could have goneto work in an international, bilateral, non-governmental orprivate organization

like many of my classmates, but mydeepest wish was to work with the livestock farmers of myown country. My first assignment Alumni from classes of veterinarians who graduated beforeme helped develop the national animal health system.I went to meet these older veterinarians who, sincegraduating, have occupied high positions. 7I The veterinarian in a developing country I explained to them my desire to enter into public serviceand become a mobile veterinarian. They received me withwarmth and listened carefully to my story. They did not tryto hide from me the fact that there were very few mobileveterinarians in the country, but they reassured me thatthey would be available to provide advice wheneverNevertheless, I knew that sending myself out into thecountryside would be a kind of initiation ordeal, and aninexhaustible source of questions. My first assignment is to open a Regional VeterinarianServices office (RVS) in a medium size town in the heart ofan extensive livestock region. I go to meet the chiefveterinarian officer as soon as I am assigned and hereminds me that the creation of these regional units, onedozen throughout the country, is essential for the animaldisease epidemiological surveillance network to functioncorrectly. These units were part of an overall strategy forpublic health, notably to fight zoonoses, or diseasess

hared between animals and people, and to achieve foodsecurity, that was orchestrated under the auspices of theOIE (World Animal Health Organization), and with the helpof the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations). Within this mechanism, the regional office acts as anintermediary level to disseminate health information to thefield and, inversely, for the centralization and validation ofinformation coming from the field that is sent to the HeadVeterinarian Services office at the Ministry of Agriculture,Livestock and Sustainable Rural Development in thecapital. The effectiveness of the regional office is judgedby the speed by which data are transmitted and the qualityof the data collected.As an example, he refers to the epidemio-surveillance The veterinarian in a developing country This highly contagious disease is feared by large farmerswho raise improved cattle breeds because the diseaseheavily impacts the zootechnical performance of animals,in terms of milk and meat, and closes the door to exports. The economic consequences of this disease are real,although certainly under-estimated, for small livestockfarmers, who remain numerous in our country, but it is notfatal for hardy breeds even if every animal in the herd isHe mentions the first world conference on foot-and-mouthdisease held in Paraguay in 2009, which

deemed that thelong term control of the disease was a realistic objective.To persuade me, he cites the example of bovine rinderpestwhose global eradication, announced in 2011, is a sourceof inspiration for the fight against other diseases. An assignment is called in I hardly had moved into the office provided by localauthorities when a telephone call from the prefectureinforms me that a veterinary nurse at a distant post hasnoted worrying clinical signs in a zebu herd owned by aSome of the animals are no longer eating and are drooling,are having trouble moving about, and are making oddnoises with their tongues. The number affected isincreasing every day. The herdsmen are worried and theowner is alarmed by the economic consequences of thedisease: weight loss, drop in milk production, andabortions. The nurse asks for help. Not yet one day on the job and already I must jump intoaction! I have strong suspicions: foot-and-mouth disease?I remember what the government service veterinarianswhom I had met over the course of my studies told me:The sooner you intervene, the sooner you will check the 9I The veterinarian in a developing country I ask the prefecture to inform the veterinary nurse that I willbe visiting so that he can take the following steps: informlocal officials and livestock farmers, and gather theanimals together in suc

h a way that sick animals do notmingle with healthy ones. For my part, I take care of theadministrative formalities required for my departure:obtaining a mission order, booking a car and driver,packing veterinarian equipment, and arranging logistics.To facilitate similar emergency departures in the future,I will need to have crates ready to go and a pre-authorization system in place! Two days later, I take my seat in a van that has officiallicense plates but no spare tire, and set out with a driverfamiliar with the potholes and undulating lines of red dirtroads. After an entire day of dust, a night spent under the light ofthe moon, a plate of rice and chicken and two on the roadside, we arrive in the hamlet and are greetedwith the cheerful cries of children who have taken up postson the outskirts of the village. The clinical situation group of village notables gathered under the palaver tree.I explain who I am, where I come from, and what I came todo and the types of help that I need. The head of thevillage extends his welcome, presents the peoplesurrounding us, and offers me his hospitality for the lengthof my stay. Being able to speak the local dialect withoutthe need of an interpreter facilitates our conversation andmutual understanding. After sealing our relationship with aglass of millet beer, I put on my white coat and a pa

ir ofpurple gloves, and accompany the veterinary nurse to seethe sick animals. Herdsmen had just isolated a zebu who seems to beinfected by the disease and were stopping it from runningaway with a rope tied around its head. The veterinarian in a developing country One herdsman grabs the animals sensitive nostrils so thatit is immobilized by the pain while two others rapidly tie thefeet and a fourth grips the tail and roughly pulls it towardshim. The animal is drooling profusely and serous dischargesoils his nostrils. Once the animal has calmed down, I take hold of itstongue, which is very protractile, and pull it out of its mouthin a lateral direction. There are numerous, large lesions onthe tongue. That confirmed the diagnosis that I mentallymade when the telephone call first came through. Thisdefinitely was foot-and-mouth disease, known in the local"saffa", or tongue burns. The livestock farmernods his head when I pronounce this name. I turn towards the veterinary nurse. He is wearing a greenlab coat with several pens stuck in his chest pocket andhas a stethoscope that is missing an earpiece hung aroundhis neck. To boost his status in the eyes of the peoplewatching, I let him examine the animal with hisstethoscope, which must hurt one of his ears. He listensfor a moment, then stands up and says: The pulse ispounding.Ž Everyo

ne approves with a nod of their heads.On my request, he gives me a vacuum tube so that I cantake a blood sample from the jugular vein. Once thevacutainer is full, he puts it into the cooler that I broughtwith me, but which has no ice because there is no way ofmaking it in this village. When I get back, I will send thesesamples to the animal disease diagnostic laboratorylocated in the capital for analysis. If the samples still canbe used despite the way they were stored and transported,they probably will confirm the diagnosis and provideinformation on the virus serotype. After waving back the children who had gathered close toobserve the scene, I tell the herdsmen to set the zebu free.The animal snorts, spaying the ground with the droolflowing from his mouth, and limps over to rejoin his fellows.I decide to extend the blood sampling to other prostratecattle and to complement this with the collection ofsamples from lesions in their mouths. 11 The veterinarian in a developing country An on-site investigation Over the course of two hours, I inspect the sick animals.I note fever, weight loss, sialorrhea, limps, mouth andpodal ulcers, congested udders, and the presence ofvesicles. I listen to livestock farmers talking about theviolent reactions of cows when their calves suckle andwhen they are milked, abortions in pregnant females, and

the death of a young, unweaned calf. I wonder how thedisease could have arrived in the village. My driver, whohad negotiated our evening meal and lodging, assured methat there were no pigs in the village. This reassured mebecause pigs are a virus reservoir.However, there are goats, some gathered in herds, otherswandering about. I send the veterinary nurse to interviewtheir owners in order to find out if they had noticed limping,abnormal mortality among kids or other characteristicsigns of the disease, even if they were very slight. I watchhim stride off, conscious of the importance of his missionand followed closely by a group of on-lookers of all ages.I see him adjust his cap, which has a long visor and mustbe envied by many people. I continue my own investigation: when did the problemsappear? Have there been movements of animals? Somemurmur that the troubles started when the animals cameback from a large cattle market. Others suspect a herdmigrating south that stopped at the watering hole.I know that it sometimes is difficult to determine the originof the disease. I do not insist on this point to avoid creatingtension. At present, the most urgent task is to establishcontrol measures to limit the spread of the disease. I mustbe very persuasive to convince livestock farmers to acceptisolating their animals and limiting their movemen

ts.However, I learn that small livestock farmers in aneighbouring village, fearing contagion, already sent theirherds to family members in a far off area. The veterinarian in a developing country I will try to find the right words to cover all of this during theclosing meeting. Women join into the conversation,mentioning that milk is lacking and the gossip of othervillages that had heard the news. The men discuss whetherthe animals market value would drop and whether theanimals would be able to work in the fields. Vultures perchedin the palaver tree cock their heads, following our meetingwith interest. Some already have feasted on the corpse of ayoung calf abandoned in the bush.Regarding the goats, nothing of note is reported. Theveterinary nurse even was offered a gourd of fresh milk.I decide it is unnecessary to tell him that the foot-and-mouthdisease virus is happy to infect humans, and although this israre, he might find some sores in his mouth if the milk wascontaminated. These lesions are not serious. Rereading my notes in the hut loaned for the night by atailor, I note that a mild form of foot-and-mouthdisease is involved, one which infects sturdy breeds. Theanimals probably will be able to deal with the virus anddefend themselves.According to people in the village, the disease emergesfrom time to time but disappears withou

t their even havingto call upon the services of the witch doctor. It oftenappears at the end of the rainy season or at the end of theharvest when the herds are put together to graze the fields.The infected animals recover in one or two weeks,remaining a little tired and thinner than the others, but theyresist the disease better the next time it comes around.They become self-immunized or self-vaccinated. In preparation for my departure the next day, I ask theveterinary nurse to reassure the large livestock owner, whohad sent a message with a bush-bus driver that he hadbeen retained at the border over a customs issue which hethought would be resolved rapidly. 13 The veterinarian in a developing country Beneath a glowing evening sky, my driver sits outside thehut and breathes in the scents of village life while cleaninghis teeth with a stick. Required notification Foot-and-mouth disease is a very contagious animaldisease that is on the list of diseases that must be reportedto the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The information that I will send in a well documentedreport to my hierarchical superior, the national director ofveterinary services, must be sufficient to fill in the OIEszoosanitary information system known as WAHIS (WorldAs the disease has become enzootic in this region, it is noturgent to declare a new outbreak

unless lab results or theevolution of the disease in the field demonstrate a majorepidemiological change, such as, for example, theemergence of a new serotype or a sharp increase in thepercentage of animals that die after contracting theI will keep a copy of the complete file in the regional officeand indicate on a map the sanitary situation encounteredwith the observation date. The data from myŽ outbreakshould be on the internet within six months, available toeveryone with authorized access, in the form of a reportthat can be downloaded. This epidemiological monitoringis necessary to keep track of the spread of the disease. I remember that during my training, an experiencedveterinarian told us that in the past, traditional sedentaryand nomadic livestock farmers overlooked this disease intheir local breeds of cattle because they said: This is nota disease that kills.Ž The veterinarian in a developing country Mortality, particularly among young animals, is nothingcompared to that of the other contagious animal diseases,such as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, rinderpest,trypanosomiasis, and even anthrax, which they had facedand which could decimate their entire herd. They defined itas the only disease that can infect a herd without causingthe owner sleepless nights.ŽToday, although contagious bovine pleuropneumoniaremains a p

reoccupying health problem in numerouscountries of Africa, rinderpest has been eradicated, theimpact of trypanosomiasis has diminished and cases ofanthrax are spaced further and further apart.Consequently, it has become possible to focus efforts andresources on diseases that, due to their less visibleeconomic impact, have appeared to be less important toboth cross-border traders and small livestock farmers. This holds especially true since the status of foot-and-mouthdisease has changed. Once not a priority for cattle farmingin Sahelian Africa, it has become a health constraint thatabsolutely must be taken into account in zootechnicalcattle farming milk and meat production improvementprogrammes which rely on selected foreign breeds. I alsoremind myself that one must resist a false sense of securitywhen major animal diseases seem to have disappeared,and that one must always remain wary of their latentthreat.In Southern Africa, where the cattle industry representsimportant economic stakes through intercontinental meatexports, I read that the regional epidemiologicalsurveillance system for foot-and-mouth disease is basedon sanitary zones: infected zones, vaccinated zones, anddisease-free zones from which exports are possible. Thesemeasures match the commercial impact and financiallosses that an epizootic of foot-and-mouth diseasegener

ates in countries of this region. Prevention is betterthan a cure! 15 The veterinarian in a developing country I tell myself that I should review my course materials tolearn more about diseases, animals infected in the bush,and the legislation underway to know how to obtainagreements from owners, whether provisions have beenmade for compensations and in what form, how infectedanimals should be slaughtered, what should be done withthe meat and carcasses, and above all, how to get rid ofthe bodies in the bush. Could vultures be a possibility? Vaccinate or not vaccinate? I know that foot-and-mouth disease vaccines exist butthey are thousands of kilometres away from the sickanimals that I am taking care of. Furthermore, we wouldhave to wait for the results of the antigenic characterisationof the virus to know which serotype and subtype areinvolved to choose the right vaccine. Ideally, one shouldwait for the lab results before taking any kind of decision,have a budget to order the correct vaccine if it exists, havethe vaccines delivered by air, get them through customswhile ensuring that they are stored at the correcttemperature, and keep them cool when bringing them intoFurthermore, how can one identify the animals that need tobe vaccinated from those that already have been sincenone wear an identification tag? The notches in the ears

are not enough to recognize individual animals, particularlyowners who each added their marks to those made bytheir predecessors.The vaccine also cannot help the animals that are sickeven if it is meant to protect those at risk, at least for a fewmonths. Considering that about fifteen days are neededfor the antibody count to become high enough to ensuresustainable protection, most of the animals involved willhave had the time to recover on their own if they have been The veterinarian in a developing country The handful of deaths that could occur might have takenplace for other reasons in the context of extensivelivestock farming in an arid tropical region. And it is notimpossible for antibodies discovered in the blood ofvaccinated animals to be confused with antibodiesresulting from a natural infection, which would suffice tostop cross-border trade. After considering every angle, I decide this time torenounce the idea of vaccinating the herd I had inspectedor those around it. This seemed like the wisest choice inthe absence of a national or regional strategy such as theSEACFMD (South-East Asia and China Foot and MouthDisease) programme underway in Southeast Asia thatI heard about during my studies and which aims toeradicate foot-and-mouth disease in that region by 2020,including on small livestock farms. Faced with the realities of

the field, I realize that a sporadicintervention such as mine was not likely to vanquish thedisease. To have some hope of success, questions ofidentifying animals, selecting vaccines, their availability,and many others, such as political will and communicationtools, had to be addressed. Before leaving While the driver checks the water, oil, fuel, and condition ofthe chickens he was offered, and two kids pump the tireswith a foot pump in the hope of a small recompense, weall sit in a circle, village leaders, livestock farmers, children,and curious on-lookers, and I give an on-the-spot report ofthe visit. I know very well that I cannot forbid themovement of the animals, so I provide recommendationsthat I know are feasible and which can slow the spread ofthe disease: go fetch water for the animals that have notyet been infected instead of bringing them to the wateringtrough, do not let sick animals graze alongside the rest ofthe herd, do not go the market in the neighbouring villagebefore the clinical signs have disappeared. 17 The veterinarian in a developing country I also recommend that they give the sick animals somerelief by making them more comfortable with betterbedding until they stop dancing on their painful hooves.I speak especially to the children and make sure that theyunderstand what I say because they will be shoulderin

gmost of responsibility of caring for the animals. And theyare the future! Of course, I know that traditional remedies are used bysome herdsmen communities to speed the developmentof the sores such as rubbing them with honey, salt orsugar, or to relieve the pain and speed up the healing ofwounds by applying a paste of cattle urine, dried bark, andcarefully chosen plant leaves. As I do not know whetherthis knowledge is known to the elders of the village, I leavethe veterinary nurse one bottle of tincture of iodine and oneof methylene blue, as well as a large brush to daub thetongues and feet of the sick animals to speed the closureof wounds and to prevent secondary infections. When henotices that the first is yellow and the second blue, he asksif he may mix the two for certain cases. I do not encouragethis but I guess he would like to have a green potion thatmight be more impressive in the eyes of the livestockThe veterinary nurse listens to these last instructions witha serious air, taking notes in a small, worn notebook, untilI compliment him for having called me in and thank him forall of his help. His face suddenly lights up with a childlikesmile. He then follows me when I get up to bid farewell toall of the village notables, punctuating each of my remarkswith a sound of audible approval. I shake everyoneshands, brush everyones

fingers, caress some palms andwish everyone the best. When our car kicks up the orangedust of the road, I extend my hand to give one more wavethrough the open window. I feel like I am leaving friends. The veterinarian in a developing country I Young cattle in the Zimbabwe Lowveld. The ear tag indicates that theanimal is part of a research protocol on the effectiveness of vaccinationagainst foot-and-mouth disease.Zimbabwe, 2008. - © Alexandre Caron, Cirad. 19 The livestock farmer in a developed country The livestock farmer in a developed country I The point of view ofthe livestock farmer in a developedAn unpleasant feeling That morning, as I let the cows out of the stable, I had abad feeling. They usually walk briskly over to the pasture.But today, many cows are slow to get moving and appearuncomfortable on their feet. Usually feisty, they seemreluctant to walk. Once inside the enclosure, some chew grass, but othersstand still, as if they already were exhausted. When I runmy hands over them, I have the impression their bodies arefeverish. I return at midday with my father and my paternalgrandfather who help me run the family farm. Silently, weobserve the animals. Two of the cows are chewing withempty mouths, making a kind of smacking sound. Threadsof saliva hang from their mouths. After a moment, my grandfather clicks his tongue t

oo andannounces: Its la cocotteŽ. In response to myinterrogative silence, he adds: In the old days, we use tocall it that because the pain in their hooves made cowstotter about like callgirls in high heels.Ž My father adds:Yes, its the hoof disease.Ž That was easier for me toI am stunned. Memories of animal production lessons atmy agriculture highschool come back to me. It is a highlyIf confirmed, I was going to have to deal with a healthproblem with serious consequences for the first time sinceI took over the farm. And I recall the trauma that farmsfaced during the mad cow crisis, the memory of which wasstill fresh. 21 The livestock farmer in a developed countryThe collective memory of the elder generation We gather around the long kitchen table in front of cups ofcoffee that slowly turn cold, swinging betweendiscouragement and anger. Before calling the veterinarian,I question the old folk to better understand what to expect.Grandfather remembers that his own father tried to treatthe animals infected. He used vinegar, lemon juice whenhe could find it, or trypaflavine to clean tongues coveredwith blisters. For the feet, some farmers tried disinfectantsolutions and wood tar. Owners of cows cut off thediseased parts of the hooves and forced their cows toingest cod liver oil. Others used salts of arsenic, copper,bismuth, or even

gold that were sold by peddlers, as wellas other oddly named products: resorcine, emetine,gaiacol. Bonesetters also were involved. Nothing hadDuring the 1937 panzootic, he read in a newspaper thatGermany had over 700 different drugs to diminish theclinical signs of foot-and-mouth disease. Meaning thatnone did much except to make the venders rich. He addedthat even sulfa drugs and antibiotics were tried withouthaving any effect on the virus. He had lived back in the time when, in the absence ofvaccines, farmers made sure that sick cows infected therest of the herd because tradition held that the diseasewould run out of steam on its own if it was helped tospread. Some veterinarians even recommended artificiallytransmitting the virus from a sick animal to a healthy onethrough aphtisation, or using swabs dipped in lesions toaccelerate its spread and the contamination of animals. He also remembered 1952. That year, the epizootic causedthousands of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.Preventive disease control measures did not exist. Not allof the outbreaks were declared. Some farmers tried todiscretely manage the problem by hiding sick animals. The livestock farmer in a developed country My father then spoke up, and explained that vaccinationgradually was imposed on farmers. First recommendedbut optional, annual vaccination became obliga

tory forcattle in 1961. The result was that over time, the diseasebecame increasingly rare. And then in 1991, everyonesuddenly had to stop vaccinations without anyone reallyunderstanding why.The only thing that remained unchanged was therequirement to declare this health problem the moment itemerged.He remembers farmers who were obliged to pay heavyfines or who were sent to prison for having delayedcontacting a veterinarian because they knew that whenthere was a suspicion of foot-and-mouth disease, all oftheir animals would be slaughtered. At that thought, I gotknots in my stomach. I remember the media images ofhuge piles of cadavers being incinerated during the lastepizootic of foot-and-mouth disease in the United The call for help Without waiting a moment longer, I call my public healthveterinarian. As soon as I describe the situation, he sayshe will arrive as quickly as possible. Questions circle around in my mind: How could this havehappened? How much compensation will there be? Howmuch time will it take me to select a new herd with thesame level of breeding?Ž 23 The veterinarian in a developed country The veterinarian in a developed country I The point of view of the veterinarian in a developedA strange atmosphere I am uneasy approaching the farm. Despite my experienceas a public health veterinarian, I always dread what I a

mgoing to discover and the farmers reaction when hispreliminary diagnosis is confirmed. Like all of my countryŽcolleagues, I am on the frontline when an epidemicoutbreak occurs. I hope it will be a false alarm, but as aprecaution, I park my car at the farm entrance, change intoa pair of boots, put on disposable overalls and gloves, andtake the black foot-and-mouth diseaseŽ kit holding thematerials needed to take samples and authorized Compulsory measures After questioning the farmer and examining the cattle,I confirm his suspicion. Several cows show typical signs ofthe disease. I had thought, indeed hoped, I would find otherpathologies such as the bovine viral diarrhea, infectiousbovine rhinotracheitis, actinobacillosis, or various otherdisorders of the tongue and mouth mucosa. But it probablyis foot-and-mouth disease. This highly contagious disease is a listed WorldOrganisation for Animal Health (OIE) disease because it fallsin the category of transmissible diseases that have thepotential for very serious and rapid spread, irrespective ofnational borders, that are of serious socio-economic orpublic health consequence and that are of majorimportance in the international trade of animals and animalproducts.Ž I immediately notify the director of veterinarian services(DDSV) who informs the Directorate General for Food 25 The veter

inarian in a developed country I am delegated to sign an administrative act to put thefarm under surveillance (named in France the Préfectoral de Mise sous Surveillance, or APMS) whilewaiting for the diagnosis to be either confirmed orinvalidated. It is a rude shock for these three generations of farmers.The farm is quarantined. All animals, susceptible or not,must be kept inside the buildings. No unauthorizedpersons or vehicles may enter or leave the farm.Disinfection facilities are put in place at all entry and exitpoints (wheel dips for tires, foot baths for shoes). Withoutsaying a word, the grandfather withdraws to read the listof safety rules that must be followed. The father calls thedairy to cancel the milk collection. This herd is the legacyof many years of work involving the entire family. It is asource of pride. Agriculture competition prizes nailed to abeam are evidence. The young farmer copes. To identify the source of theproblem and evaluate the risk of virus spread, I inventorywith him all of the animals on the farm whether or not theyare susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease. I note theanimals movements and where they graze, themovements of people, the entries and exits of vehiclesproducts (hay, cattle feed...). In sum, there is animpressive number of ways by which the virus can spread! To complete the epidemiolog

ical survey questionnaire asprecisely as possible, one must look at records, askquestions about everything that has happened recently,particularly during the 14 days before the probablecontamination date, because 95% of the time theincubation period is no longer than two weeks. Beforeleaving, I take samples from several animals: a swab ofthe lesions and a blood sample. I put them into airtightcontainers to be sent to the national reference laboratoryAgence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaireand viral vesicular diseases. The veterinarian in a developed country I disinfect the material that is not disposable and puteverything that is disposable in a plastic bag that I leaveon-site along with my overalls and gloves. I disinfect myboots, cancel my other visits, and go straight home to takea shower and wash my workclothes. Starting tomorrow,I will install a foot bath at the entrance of my veterinarianclinic to avoid contamination. I know that the news will spread quickly. Doubts will bevoiced: is this veterinarian really sure of his diagnosis?Hypotheses will be formulated to identify the suspectsresponsible. Rumors will circulate. Old arguments willresurface. I prepare answers to the coming bombardmentof questions. Confirmation of the diagnosis After a 48 hour wait, the DGAL receives the lab results andconfirms the clinical diagnosis. The

test results of samplestaken from the sick cattle are positive. The laboratoryformally identifies the viral type responsible: it is serotype O. While foot-and-mouth disease can ruin a small farmer, italso can ruin the economy of a country." This phrasecrosses my mind as the fight against the virus begins.From this time on, I become part of a network of diverseactors, all involved at the departmental level in theapplication of a control campaign under the authority ofthe prefect: public services (prefecture, veterinarianservices, DGAL, mayors office), regional authorities(general council), professional representatives (healthprotection group, Chamber of Agriculture), privatestakeholders (renderers, disinfectant companies), etc. The DDSV signs by delegation a declaration of infectionknown in France as an Arrêté Préfectoral de DéclarationdInfection(APDI), resulting in the definition of a restrictedzone around the outbreak: a protection zone with aminimum radius of 3 km around the infected farm and a10 km surveillance zone around the protected zone. 27 The veterinarian in a developed country This is communicated to all of the services and actorsinvolved and to the local media which will quickly leap tocover the event. Several dozen farms located within the perimeter now alsoare under quarantine as a precautionary measure. Accessroa

ds are sealed off and signs are put up to signal that thearea is restricted. Animals and people are in quarantine.The public health machine is in operation. Other regulatorymeasures will be applied to avoid a spread of the outbreak: - on-site euthanasia of all susceptible animals on thecontaminated farm to avoid all risk of the virus beingspread during the transport and disposal of the cadavers; - collection of samples from condemned animals for a preand post-mortem epidemiological survey; - destruction of infected animal products and the litter,straw and hay stocks suspected of being contaminated; - disinfection of buildings and livestock-related equipment; -census, visit, and screening by public healthveteriniarians of all farms holding susceptible species inthe protection zone. The simulation exercise conducted last year is still fresh inmy mind, but the actual reality of this alert makes thesituation dramatic. While re-reading the latest updates ofthe DGAL memorandum of 10 March 2003 concerning thefoot-and-mouth emergency plan, I prepare myself for themost difficult task: telling the farmer as gently as possiblethat the diagnosis was confirmed and his herd must beslaughtered. Since the information came out, my telephone has notstopped ringing. Cattle farmers as well as sheep and pigfarmers worried by the occurence of an outbrea

k fearseeing their animals drooling or limping. The veterinarian in a developed country They know that despite all of the precautions taken, theyremain at the mercy of the spread of the virus simply if thewind blows in the wrong direction. They ask: Why werepreventive vaccinations stopped? Why must perfectlyhealthy animals be slaughtered?Ž I must explain the situation to each one, describe thesanitary measures, confirm that in adherence with theMinisterial Order of 22 May 2006, automatic ringvaccinations will not be conducted because for economicand trade reasons, this emergency vaccination is onlyplanned if the disease spreads and cannot be controlledby sanitary measures and slaughter alone. Like my colleagues, I also find myself on the frontlinefacing questions posed by journalists seeking juicyinformation: How many farms are involved? Can peoplebe contaminated? Are you going to slaughter all of theanimals? What will happen to the dead bodies? Whatabout pollution? Is contaminated meat already incirculation? How did the disease enter the country? Arelivestock farmers compensated for their losses? Do youreally believe that the compensation level is sufficient?" Based on my past experience with avian influenza andbluetongue, I also expect that the Mayors office will askme to conduct a public information meeting with otherreprese

ntatives of the crisis cell. That is an invitation thatmust be accepted despite my busy schedule. All this because of a viral entity 100 million times smaller A strange atmosphere When I arrive on the farm, accompanied by the director ofthe veterinarian services department, a veterinarianinspector and a farmer representing the health safetygroup, I have the impression that I am entering a fortifiedcamp. A warning sign, Restricted AccessŽ is displayedprominently at the head of the road. 29 The veterinarian in a developed country At the wheel dip, police check entry and exitSitting in the family kitchen in front of a cold cup of coffee,I review the situation. The epidemiological survey carriedout by the DDSV is looking at imported lambs that wereshipped the week before by a sheep trading companysituated several kilometers away. The weather conditionscould have helped spread the virus through the air. I realize how cruel this information must be, and hard forthe farmers to accept. I then force myself to explain insimple terms what would happen next: the slaughter oftheir dairy cow herd and the disinfection of the farm. I tried to minimize the psychological impact of thesemeasures by insisting on the fact that the animals welfarewould be respected throughout. I will use a curare-basedinjection (T61). Everything would be over by th

e end of theafternoon. The bodies will be transported in a covered,decontaminated truck to the rendering plant where theywill be incinerated. The GDS representative (Health Protection Group)explained the compensation provisions designed to offsetthe economic losses and their implementation schedule. I also answer other practical questions that reflect how thisvirus will turn the daily life of this family upside down: Andhow will the farm get supplies? How will the children get toschool? What about our plans to attend the nextAnd contracts with the cooperative? And the postman?And the bills? When will everything return to normal?Ž When we leave, I tell myself that in times of crisis, onemust pay attention to the human factor. The veterinarian in a developed country I Upper gum lesion of an adult water buffaloe (with foot-and-mouth disease. - Cambodia, Svay Rieng province, July2010. - © Timothée Vergne, Cirad 31 The cow before 1961 The cow before 1961 I The point of view ofFull of health My life as a dairy cow is well organized: milking, delicatelyif possible, in the morning, leaving the stable for thepasture, without stress, following the herds pace, pursuingmy favorite pastimes (grazing grass, chewing the cudstanding up or lying down, sunning myself or staying in theshade, depending on the weather, drinking alot, licking asalt ro

ck), then heading back to the stable at sunset formore milking and a night divided between chewing cudand sleeping in the company of my fellow cows. The beginning of discomfort But this evening, I feel feverish. Shivers going down myspine are causing the hair in my coat to bristle. I must havea temperature of 40°C or more. Added to my generaldiscomfort are aching joints and a real migraine just likehumans feel, and for the same reasons: congestedsinuses, abnormally high blood pressure, engorgedventricles, diffuse inflammation. I shake my head from timeto time but it doesnt help. Although I usually have areputation of being a delicate cow to milk, tonight I let thejob be done without saying a word. I realize that I am notthe only one feeling strange and some other cows seemeven worse off. Head lowered, they drool profusely overthe hay they are given, which they ignore. Two days later, just when I notice a slight improvement inmy general state, my mouth is invaded by painful vesiclesof different sizes, from a few millimeters to a fewcentimetres wide, in the gingival crevice, on the dentalpads, the soft palate, inside the cheeks, and even on thetongue, on which only the sides are spared. 33 The cow before 1961 Like my sisters, discharge flows unimpeded from mymouth and nostrils. The lesions burst, liberating a clear,yellow-coloured l

iquid, which smells bad even to me. Theyform scabs that split open. I breath through my nostrils,passing through is very painful on the bared mucosa.When I have to drink, unsticking my tongue makes acharacteristic sucking noise that alerts the farmer. Thediagnosis is given: like the other cows, I have foot-and-Over the days that follow, I drool more and more, andshake my head to clear the mucus clogging my muzzle,even if it means contaminating everyone around me withthe spray. The vesicules spread to the nostrils and thepharynx. Each time I blow my nose to clear out the mucus,I liberate thousands of virus particles. It is hard to swallowor feed myself. I chew with nothing in my mouth, mystomach completely empty. Yet the farmer is giving ustender hay and lukewarm water. Lesions on the feet Gradually, the lesions in my mouth heal naturally. But thevirus that multiplied in my mouth lesions were transportedby the lymph and blood to my lymph nodes and theepithelial tissues of my feet and teats. The pain in mymouth becomes a pain in my feet. Lesions open on myhooves in the interdigital space and on the coronary bandon the edge between the horn and the skin. After bursting,they open the door to bacteria, resulting in secondaryinfections. I refuse to move. When it becomes too painful,I lift one foot after another to relieve the pain. Somet

imes,I assume an odd position by gathering together my fourfeet and arching my back. The cow before 1961 I lie down often to relieve the pressure on my openwounds. When some of my fellow cows move about, theywalk, the children say, as if they are wearing sandles.Others say they are walking on needles. I hope to be spared the deformations of the hooves thatsometimes appear and persist after recovery. Milk strike Obviously, since I am no longer eating, my milk productionhas dropped considerably. But the main reason I refuse togive milk is the lesions on my teats. It is no differentwhether it is to suckle a calf or to be milked. I am no morecooperative with my calf than with the farmer. I know thatI might develop mastitis, but milking is too painful. I willwait until my teats have healed. Transmission of foot-and-mouth disease by virus inoculation in thelingual epithelium of a cow in order to obtain infected lesions that canserve to produce vaccines. - France, 1952. - © Marc-Henri Cassagne, 35 The cow before 1961 By the end of ten days or so, I am skinny, probablyanaemic, and my tongue is pealing due to the burstaphthous vesicules, but I feel a bit better. My appetitewith my usual efficiency, and it does not makes me feelgood the way it use to, but my milk production has startedagain, to the satisfaction of the farmer. My sturdy ch

aracter allows me to survive, but at a certainprice: a slight limp, a lesser quantity and quality of milk,scars on the teats. Everyone did not have the same luck. Even if the disease is not itself mortal, its consequencescan be. Some cows died because they could not eat,others aborted dead calves. Young calves were struckdown by a heart condition called myocarditis or tiger-heartŽ syndrome. At the autopsy, their hearts were a palecolour with grey, red or yellow streaks. I know that I also escaped the lesions on the inside of mythighs and on the vulva and anus that required others tofuriously shake their tails to try to relieve the pain. I alsocould have developed lesions on the liver, the marrow, andsome nerve and respiratory forms of the disease. The bull was not spared. His stride, walking with stiff hindfeet, suggest his testicles are engorged and painful. I now am immune for a few months against a new attackfrom the same strain of the virus. The farmer probably willkeep me to reproduce because he knows I will transmit tomy calf the antibodies I produced to fight the virus. During my convalescence, I hear the farmer mention thatthe sow had shown clinical signs of foot-and-mouthdisease. They are similar to ours with the distinguishingfeature of developing enormous lesions on the groin. Thefarmer cared for her like us with a thic

k pile of straw andattentive care until the disease passed. The cow before 1961 I Cover page of an edition of the magazine, Vie à la campagneLife) with pictures of two signboards posted in the hall of IFFA (Français de la Fièvre Aphteuse) in the 1950s meant to inform farmersabout foot-and-mouth disease. One shows the ravages caused by thedisease and the other the means to fight it.France, 1952. - © Marc-Henri Cassagne, FNGDS. 37 The cow between 1961 and 1991 The cow between 1961 and 1991 I The point of view ofthe cow between 1961 and 1991 I am the senior cow in a herd of 60 selectively bred dairycows. I wear a plastic tag on each of my ears that identifiesme because since 1978 we no longer are allowed toremain anonymous or travel incognito. With my fellowcows, I live outside in summer, savouring the best grass,and stay cosy inside during the winter. It would seem thatintensive livestock husbandry conditions suit me wellbecause I will soon be 10 years old and I am still producingplenty of milk. An annual requirement At the beginning of every year, we must bow to our healthobligations and the ritual of a routine vaccination againstfoot-and-mouth disease. It has been obligatory in Francefor cattle of all ages since 1961, at first starting from 6months of age, then from 4 months of age after 1980. Wereceive a dose of trivalent inactiv

ated vaccine against thethree most common serotypes (AOC) of the virus. InEurope, with the exception of cross-border andtranshumant sheep, we are the only species susceptible tofoot-and-mouth disease that must respect this preventionmeasure. Thanks to the vaccine, the annual number ofoutbreaks in France, which numbered over 7000 in 1960,fell close to zero in the 1970s, save for two mini-accidentsin 1974 and 1981 that were controlled rapidly byslaughtering measures. Without undue modesty, I thus do not hesitate to say thatit is thanks to us, cattle, that foot-and-mouth disease nolonger is epizootic in Western European countries, to thegreat relief of farmers. But everyone knows that if a newepizootic occurs, all susceptible species in the infectedoutbreak -- sick and healthy -- will be slaughtered. We alsopaid a heavy price for the production of the vaccine in the1950s and many of my ancestors died for science. 39 The cow between 1961 and 1991 I remember my first vaccination in 1970. I was a youngheifer and the injection provoked an allergic rash. A lumpformed on my dewlap where the injection had been given.The amount of liquid injected interdermally at the time wasmuch greater than the doses that are used today. Tomorrow, I might have a bit of a fever and someaches and pains, but in a few days, my immune systemwill be reinforced wi

th a higher antibody count againstfoot-and-mouth disease. I can lead the herd into thesummer pastures with confidence. Inoculation of cattle with the foot-and-mouth disease virus to producea vaccine against the disease.France, 1952. - © Marc-Henri Cassagne, FNGDS. The cow between 1961 and 1991 I Transhumance festival in Aubrac before going up to the summertimemountain pastures. - France, August 2010. - 41 The cow after 1991 The cow after 1991 I The point of view ofAll hope is lost The sanitary authorities have made their decision: my lifemust end in the name of safety. A few days ago, foot-and-mouth disease invited itself intoa pig farm a few kilometres from the pasture. All of the pigswere slaughtered and our farm was declared at riskbecause we are in a high density livestock region. And yetnone of us show any clinical signs of the disease ordemonstrate the slightest danger for humans or otherAnother option could have been a ring vaccination aroundthe infected outbreak, but cost-benefit analyses anddecision support scenarios have ruled that the mostcost-effective control strategy is pre-emptive collectiveslaughter, a concept developed in April 2001 during thefoot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain. This evening, the farmer lingers next to each of us, strokingour backs, remembering the years weve shared together,calling

some of us by our nicknames. Up until 1991, we received a preventive injection meant toprotect us. Tomorrow, we will receive a lethal injection thatwill erase us as hypothetical hosts of the foot-and-mouthdisease virus. Silence will take the place of our mooing.After the statutory time period, another herd will take ourplace and a new story will begin. One of my last thoughts is to wonder whether indicators ofthe farmer's feelings and emotions figure in the 43 The wild animal The wild animal I The point of view ofthe wild animal A buffalo as a reservoir I am a handsome African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, admiredby ecotourists who visit this nature reserve in a SouthernAfrican country. For many years, I have lived in an areamarked out by humans to keep us away from cattle herdsbecause they have know since the 1970s that we arehost-reservoirs of the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Veterinarians actually believe we play an active role in thepersistence of foot-and-mouth disease in Africa. They saywe are natural carriers of one or several of the three exoticSAT virus types, SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3, with a preference In this season, which is cool and dry, many watering holesdry up. Like every evening, we head over to drink from amuddy pool that attracts all of the animals in the area likea magnet. This is the period when young buffaloes born

afew months earlier lose the protection of maternalantibodies and take turns falling ill with foot-and-mouthdisease. The disease circulates within the herd somewhatlike a childhood disease. During the acute phase of theinfection, which lasts from 5 to 15 days, the buffalo calvesare contagious and excrete the virus in all of theirsecretions without showing any visible clinical signs. Theytransmit the virus by touching their muzzles to the muzzlesof the impalas and greater kudus which crowd in with us toveterinarian would not be able to detect the infectedanimal among them! If there is a fever, it passes unnoticed.And who would have the courage to check for thepresence of lesions in their mouths? 45 The wild animal At the end of two weeks, the young buffaloes become, likeus, silent carriers of the virus which persists in the area oftheir esophagus. When they are one year old, they developantibodies against the 3 circulating SAT virus types. Multiple suspects Veterinarians counted nearly 70 mammal speciesbelonging to over 20 different families as being ones likelyto harbour the foot-and-mouth disease virus with varyingdegrees of susceptibility. Like me, the gnu (taurinus)rarely shows clinical signs of the disease, but thegreater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), impalaAepyceros melampus), and two wild suids, wart hogsPhacochoerus aethio

picus) and bushpigs (Potamochoerus), contract the severe clinical form of the disease,comparable to that of susceptible and infected domesticThe virus persists for a very long time in the pharynx of myAsian cousin, the water buffalo (Bubalis bubalisgreater kudu and domestic cattle. But I hold the record,being able to carry and transmit the virus for up to fiveyears during which I do not show any clinical signs ofdisease, although in reality, it is mostly young buffalowhich take care of transmission. This long carrier periodenables the virus to maintain itself within the herd for over20 years. The occassional sexual transmission of the viruswithin the herd could be possible but has not been proven;the same is true of mating between infected malebuffaloes and female domestic cattle. Livestock farmers fear us in particular because we infect theherds of impala that mingle with their cattle. These Africanantilopes are very susceptible to the foot-and-mouth virusand are telling indicators of the presence of foot-and-mouthwhich is a sign of fever, and they suffer from locomotivedisorders. The wild animal Although they only carry the disease for a short period,their high population density makes them formidable virustransmitters among us and the domestic ruminants withwhom they share pasture lands. Different stakes Although foot-and-mouth

disease is endemic in mostcountries of sub-Saharan Africa, it is not always due to ourpresence. It is true that in Southern Africa, we are the mainreason that the disease has not been eradicated. This doesnot hold true for West Africa, where our population isscattered and has little impact on the disease whichmaintains itself among domestic cattle without anyintervention on our part. In East Africa, two transmissioncycles, wild and domestic, probably co-exist. The economic stakes of controlling the disease are lessimportant in West African countries, where livestocksystems mostly are extensive and supply domesticmarkets. In contrast, the stakes are high in SouthernAfrican countries which have developed intensive, export-oriented cattle livestock systems. For them, the challengeis to conciliate our presence with the maintenance ofdisease-free zones. Health safety To contain the threat we represent -- which is exaggeratedin my view -- these countries have erected electrifiedfences over thousands of kilometres to keep us safelyinside reserves, thereby preventing us from having anycontact with cattle. These fences consist of a either asingle barrier or a double barrier separated by a dozenmeter gap. They are at least 2.4 meters high, whichprevents antilopes, greater kudus, and impalas, all quiteimpressive jumpers, to leap over them.

These artificial barriers impede our traditional seasonalmigrations, and that of other large herbivores, towardspasture lands that have become livestock areas, causingimportant ecological and sociological disruptions. 47 The wild animal When the fences block our access to water, they leave us-- and all other wild hoofed species -- no chance ofThis is how in the past herds of several thousand gnushave died of thirst and exhaustion after running hundredsof miles down the fence without finding an opening toreach the water and pasture lands on the Okavango delta. Despite a foot-and-mouth disease control policy based onregionalisation measures that keep us away from zonesrecognized as being disease-free, health officials stillconsider us to be a potential threat to domestic ruminantsthat live on the periphery of the nature reserves. And yet those animals are given preventive vaccinationstwice a year in this frontier area referred to by specialistsas the "buffer zone". To tell the full story The country-level application of measures to managecross-border diseases that circulate from wildlife to cattleis a complex task. A balance needs to be found betweenthe traditional livestock practices of local communities andthe commercial interests of farmers, the protection ofClosely supervised attempts to reintroduce farm-bredbuffaloes that a

re not infected by foot-and-mouth diseaseinto zones recognized as being disease-free could offer ussome hope in the future. In Europe, cases of foot-and-mouth disease found amongwildlife such as deer, wild boar, roe deer, chamois, andibex probably were caused by the transmission of the virusby cattle during an epizootic outbreak. At last an examplewhere wild ungulates have more reason to fear from cattlethan the reverse! The wild animal I Cattle waiting to pass through a tick bath in avillage close to Kruger park, an African buffaloreserve. - Zimbabwe, Sengwe Communal Land,2008. - © Alexandre Caron, Cirad.A male African buffalo (Syncerus caffernational park during the rainy season. - Botswana,2007. - © Alexandre Caron, Cirad.Male greater kudus in Hwange national park.Zimbabwe, 2009. - © Alexandre Caron, Cirad. 49 The sick person The sick person I The point of view ofthe sick personSlightly ill For the past two days, I have felt feverish, with a slightheadache and a sore throat. But this is not a good time tobe sick. During this foot-and-mouth disease crisis, myworking days are long. The rendering company whereI work was requisitioned to destroy and bury the bodies ofcattle that had been slaughtered on two contaminatedfarms in the canton. But when I woke up this morning, my hands and feet weretingling, and I felt like my skin was b

urning, especially onthe palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. During thenight, sores several millimeters wide appeared in mymouth on the inside of my cheeks, my palate, and even onmy tongue. I have lost my appetite and I threw up thespoonful of soup that I managed to swallow last night. I willhave to call the doctor. The clinical meaning The doctor arrives quickly. Luckily for me, I live outside therestricted perimeter set up around the infected outbreaks.After listening to me, he scrutinizes my hands and feet,particularly the base of my nails and between my toes. Thepresence of vesicles makes him suspicious. He listenscarefully to my heartbeat and is concerned about possiblesymptoms of tachycardia, which I luckily do not have.Then he firmly announces his diagnosis: You have caughtfoot-and-mouth disease.Ž I am speechless! But he rapidlyreassures me: You are not contagious.Ž He predicts thatthe symptoms will clear up on their own and I would returnto normal in a week or two, unless there are digestive orrespiratory complications, but these are extremely rare.For the required treatment, he prescribes rest, antibioticsto avoid the risk of secondary bacterial infections, and an 51 The sick person To be completely certain, he takes a sample of theepithelial tissue from the sores on my tongue and a bloodsample for serological

testing. Recovery After a 48 hour wait, as the infection subsides, thelaboratory test results confirm that foot-and-mouthdisease indeed was involved. The tests identified serotypeO of the virus, the same that was behind the epizooticoutbreak on the neighbouring cattle farms. On the telephone, the doctor explains to me that foot-and-mouth disease is rare in humans and that clinically it canbe confused with other vesicular disease such as vesicularstomatitis caused by the Coxsackie A16 virus orEnterovirus 71, or even a vesicular rash such as Herpessimplex. Turning to science Some time later, my neighbour, a retired epidemiologist,explains to me that foot-and-mouth disease is known as azoonosis and, more precisely, as an anthropozoonosis. Seeing that I have not understood, he explains: This is adisease, like avian influenza and West Nile fever, that istransmitted from animals to humans. However, humancases of foot-and-mouth disease are rare. Only 37 caseshave been documented in the world. That does not meanthat there have not been more because the humaninfection can pass unnoticed or may not be diagnosed,particularly in developing countries.Ž Encouraged by my rapt attention, he continues: The firstknown human case dates back to 1695, and in 1834,veterinarians succeeded in infecting themselves byvoluntarily drinking contaminated m

ilk four times a dayover the course of four days!Ž Seeing a worried expressioncross my face, he adds that there is no risk ofcontamination when milk has been boiled. The same is trueof infected meat that has been cooked and consumedbecause the virus is inactivated by the heat. The sick person And he adds: It was at the beginning of the 20that the risk of foot-and-mouth disease was especiallycattle in order to prepare vaccines. Today, with the strictsecurity measures that now are in place, it is extremely rarefor anyone to be a victim of an accident like yours, and getsplashed in the face by infected liquid while handling thecarcasses. Your case definitely will be remembered.Ž I am not particularly delighted. The production of the first foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. Harvestingthe infected lymph from the epithelium of the tongues of cattle infectedwith foot-and-mouth disease. - France, 1952. - 53 The virus The virus I The point of view of the virusA little lonely The only known representative of the family PicornaviridaeAphthovirus, I am a very small virus, never anybigger than 20 to 28 nm (nanometers), while some of myfellow viruses attain over 100 nm. If you consider that ananometer is one billion times smaller than a meter, yourealize that I am one of the smallest inhabitants of theI am the same size as the polio virus, a c

ousin from theEnterovirus. Humans fear us both in equal measure,but for different reasons. A multi-faceted structure I am a non-enveloped virus, or a nakedŽ virus. This doesnot mean, however, that my architecture is not carefullydesigned. Although humans using state-of-the-artelectronic microscopes only can see me as a berry-like,more or less spherical form, my protective shell, or capsid,is structured like an icosahedral. It has 60 faces, 30 edgesand 12 vertices. My heart is a single strand of ribonucleic acid, the famousRNA. According to scientists, who are one hundred milliontimes bigger than I am, this single strand of RNA iscomposed of approximately 8 500 bases, or nucleotides.This macromolecule, which represents about 30% of myweight, is the central command unit of my pathogenicpower. Thanks to it, I can infect the cells of cloven-hoofedmammals, otherwise known as even-toed ungulates orAfter infiltrating my RNA into their cytoplasm, I modify thecellular instructions in order to orient their metabolismtowards producing numerous copies of me and toorganize the release of my clonesŽ into their blood and 55 The virus The remaining 70% of my weight is made up of proteins.I therefore am immune to products that attack sugars and External and internal proteins My capsid is formed by the assembly of 60 identical sub-units called cap

somers or protomers that are about7nm large, each constituted by a sample of my fourstructural proteins named VP1, VP2, VP3 and VP4 (VPstanding for Viral ProteinŽ). My protomers associatethemselves into groups of five to form a pentamer. The first three proteins are exposed on the surface of mycapsid. They have a remarkably identical three-partstructure that is found in all picornaviruses. As for thefourth protein, it is buried inside, attached to the vertex ofeach of my 12 pentamers and in contact with my geneticWhile thousands of copies of my RNA are being replicated,I also synthesize 7 non-structural, enzymatic actionproteins. Virologists have established a nomenclature of numbers andletters to identify my different proteins: 1A to 1D for mycapsid proteins, 2A to 2C and 3A to 3D for my enzymaticproteins. Among the latter, protein 3B, otherwise known asprotein VPg, and protein 3D, also known as RNA-dependentRNA polymerase, play a major role in expressing mygenome and/or its replication. My VP1 structural protein, five copies of which are boundaround each vertex of my capsid, form a loop thatprotrudes from the surface. This carries a triplet of aminoacids that serves as a key to bind me to transmembraneprotein receptors named integrins located on the surfaceof the cells that I infect. The virus Its structure and composition give

me a double antigenicand immunogenic power. The major antigenic determinantthat it carries, and which is the favorite target ofneutralizing antibodies, is endowed with a wide antigenicvariability that allows me to escape the acquired immunityof my host and renders me particularly fearsome. I thussuccessively or simultaneously, by appearing in differentmolecular forms. I consequently am unique in my structure and diverse froman antigenic and immunogenic perspective. This posesreal problems for people in laboratories trying to developvaccines. In 2010, I was recognized in the form of 7 serotypes, 64 subtypes, and some thousand variants. A diplomatic entry, an explosive exit Like all viruses, I ensure my reproduction at the expense ofWhen I am in the company of ruminants and suids whosetissue cells and pharyngeal mucuous membranes aresusceptible to my presence, I attach myself to one of theirmembrane receptors thanks to the well researchedmolecular complementarity of my VP1 protein. I thentrigger an invagination reaction in the cytoplasmicmembrane, a little as if the cell would like to swallow me.This form of endocytosis is followed by an uncoating andinjection of my RNA into the interior of the cell. Thecapsid/genome separation is critical. My genome must befree to express itself. Like nearly all RNA viruses, I replicate myself in t

hecytoplasm of the host cell by taking control of itsmetabolism and diverting it to my own advantage tosynthesize my own proteins. Starting from this moment,I become undetectable. Scientists call this step the eclipse 57 The virus My RNA is of positive polarity because it behaves like aRNA messenger. The message that it carries is recognizedand translated directly into viral amino acids by theribosomes of the cell that I infect without a preliminarytranscription. This is why it also is called infectious RNA. I am a genetically thrifty virus. I synthesize my differentfunctional proteins using the sole gene carried by my RNAmolecule, in other words, with a minimal geneticconfiguration of regulatory elements. The coding region of my gene is flanked by two non-coding regulatory regions that control my replication.The one situated on my 5-end, with about 1 300nucleotides, contains a secondary structure named theInternal Ribosomal Entry Site (IRES) which ends in a VPg(Viral genome linked Protein), a small viral protein of 24amino acids. In a first step, I requisition a cellular protease in order tohave it separate the VPg protein from the 5'-end of mymolecule. This condition allows the cellular ribosomes tobind onto the site dedicated to them (IRES) and start thetranslation of my genetic message into amino acids.The decoding gives birth

to a non-functional polyprotein,said to be immature, of 2 332 amino acids. Unstable, itrapidly fragments into 3 primary polypeptides, P1, P2 andP3, each of which will undergo cascading divisions thatultimately generate the 4 structural proteins of my capsid(derived from P1) and the 7 enzymatic proteins (derivedfrom P2 and P3) which I need to reproduce myself. In a second step, I orchestrate in parallel the replication ofmy genome and the construction of a capsid, the twoelements of my future clones. To replicate my positivepolarity RNA molecule, I first synthesize a negative polaritymirror molecule. The virus To do so, I call upon the regulatory region of about 90nucleotides located on its 3-end. I use it as a matrix toproduce several thousand more or less perfect copies ofthe positive RNA molecules of my future clones. Unlike the translation process, this duplication requires thepresence of the VPg protein at the 5-end of my moleculebecause it serves as a primer to the polymerase-replicaseThe positive RNA that I produce has three roles to play: - to serve as a matrix for the synthesis of negative polarityRNA strands that will become in turn matrixes for thesynthesis of positive polarity RNA strands; - to act like a RNA messenger for the production of newpolyproteins and the initiation of a new replication cycle; - to be encapsi

dated and to constitute the genome offuture viruses. The capsid proteins of my future clones are synthesizedusing the polypeptide P1. It first is divided into 3 proteinsVP0, VP3 and VP1. They self-assemble into sub-units,gather together into pentamers, form an instableprocapsid around one of the numerous strands of newlysynthesized prositive RNA, and give birth to a provirion.This assembly marks the end of the eclipse phase. TheVP0 protein divides itself into VP2 and VP4. The procapsidbecomes a stable capsid and the provirion becomes amature virion. My offspring accumulate in the cytoplasm ofthe infected cell, ready to emerge as soon as the cell dies,probably by apoptosis, a kind of cellular suicide inducedby complex mechanisms to which I contribute.After the cells burst, my liberated virions circulate in theblood and lymph of my host and go on to contaminatereceptive organs such as the animals heart. This is howI reproduce myself, piece by piece and at the expense ofmetabolic machinery outside my body without whichI cannot continue. 59 The virus But the process is not perfect. I admit that errors takeplace with each intracellular replication. Evidence of theseerrors may be found when the walls of my host cells burst.Alongside complete viruses that are correctly shaped andinfectious, one finds viral particules that appear complet

ebut have no RNA in the center, immature virions, freecapsomers, and unused viral proteins. In practice, only 5% of the virions produced becomeinfectious viruses matching my expectations. The rest areabandoned like production waste. As I play the highnumbers card, enough offspring usually remain to ensuremy continued existence. However, I must seize everypossible opportunity to reproduce myself in very largeIn the end, I am satisfied when I succeed in compelling amammals cell to provide 200 to 300 reproductions ofmyself. Like all viruses, I of course depend on foreignorganisms to survive, but my power to take them over anddivert their metabolic commands to serve my owninterests is excellent revenge. Virus typing I probably have been present on Earth since theemergence of Artiodactyla, the branch of mammals withtwo toes on each foot, between 5 and 25 million years ago.I lived at the expense of wild animals well before theinvention of livestock husbandry by humans some 6 000 toThe description of the clinical signs of my presence goesback to 1546 but it took another 300 years for me to beidentified. In 1897, I was the first animal virus isolated incattle by two German researchers, Friedrich Löffler andPaul Frosch, but for many years, I intrigued scientists bythe inconstancy of the immunity acquired by animals thathad hosted me. Som

e seemed to definitively resist mypresence, others relapsed. The virus It was not until 1922 that two research scientists, HenriVallée and Henri Carré, found the explanation andvalidated the principle of my antigenic and immunogenicdiversity. They introduced the concept of viral type bystudying animals infected with foot-and-mouth disease inwas sampled in Oise) from type A (coming from Ardennes).Four years later, in 1926, a third type was recognized inGermany by D. Waldmann and K. Trautwein. As it was thethird type to be discovered, it was given the third letter ofthe alphabet, C. Ten years later, in 1936, samples fromSouth African territories required three new types of thevirus to be recognized that were named after theirgeographic origin by the acronyms SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3(SAT signifies South African Territories). The seventh type,found in Asia in 1956, is called Asia1.At the dawn of the third millennium, I thus am knownbased on serological tests under 7 different types. The firstthree are found nearly everywhere in the world, the lastfour seem to limit themselves to tropical countries.Researchers now are comparing the exotic types with theubiquitous types. All of my 7 serotypes display a relativeantigenic stability despite my particularly high mutationAfter nearly 50 years of study, scientists have dismissedthe idea that I coul

d give birth to an eighth serotype. Theirconviction rests on the fact that changes in the tertiaryconfiguration of my structural proteins are restrained bythe maintenance of their functions. In their view, I havereached the physical limits of deformations compatiblewith my molecular integrity. Any new major proteinmodifications would endanger the physical architecture ofmy capsid and that of my antigenic site located on VP1. 61 The virus Schematic representation of the exterior and interior of the capsid ofthe foot-and-mouth disease virus: the three external structural proteins
VP2 and
VP3 and the sole internal structural protein
… 2011. -© Michel Launois, Cirad. Nevertheless, they know that I can accommodate minorgenetic reshuffling, which obliges them to invent the ideaof subtypes to capture my antigenic diversity, even if theyremain unaware of the interactions between my differentstrains within the same host population. By 2010, over a century after we first met, scientistshad inventoried 32 subtypes for type A, 11 subtypes fortype O, 5 subtypes for type C, 6 subtypes for typeSAT1, 3 subtypes for type SAT2, 4 subtypes for typeSAT3 and 3 subtypes for type Asia1. My tremendous genetic flexibility separates me into over1 000 distinct variants, each with a unique immunogenicpower and infectious character. Who said that a s

mall virus like me would be easy to A unique virusƒ The virus I Between comfort and discomfort I like a neutral environment, one that is not too acidic, tooalkaline, too dry, too hot or too exposed to ultraviolet light.In addition, I have the curious ability to stick to diverseinert elements such as aluminium hydroxide. Thischaracteristic is used by humans who manufacturevaccines, the weapons they use against me. ƒa diverse virus. Serotype OSerotype SAT1Serotype Asia 1A breakdown of the foot-and-mouth disease virus in multipleserotypes, subtypes and topotypes. - 2011. - © Michel Launois, Cirad.Source of inspiration: « Knowles N. - Global diversity of foot and mouth disease virus. Symposium:« Tracking the Emergence and Global Spread of FMD, Royal Society of London, 13th may 2008 ». Serotype ASerotype SAT2Sub-types and topotypes Serotype CSerotype SAT3 63 The virus I am fine with relatively cold environments even thoughI really only am active when inside the feverish body of myanimal hosts. However, when the surrounding temperature goes past56°C, my chemical and physical integrity do not survivemore than 30 minutes. I remain active 10 days at 37°C,70 days at 22°C, and over a year at 4°C, especially if I amplaced in a glycerol medium that stops the formation of iceFat and sugar solvents leave me indifferent for the simplereason that

my capsid basically is made exclusively ofprotein. In contrast, I do not like household bleach, N-acetyl-ethylene-imine, azaridine, glycidaldehyde, caustic soda,even when highly diluted with water, and formaldehyde.Scientists have used this last weakness to procure aninactivated vaccine from me. I can withstand relative humidity above 55%, indirectdaylight, darkeness and time passing. In this way, I remainpotentially active for 3 days in the ground during thesummer, 14 days in dry cattle manure, 28 days in theground during the winter, 39 days in urine, and 180 days inslurry. I am not interested in anything that falls outside a pH(hydrogen point) range of 7.2 to 7.6. The simple andnatural acidification of muscles in an infected, deceasedanimal is enough to displease me, which is one way ofsaying that the meat no longer is a refuge for me, unless itis put somewhere cool for longer conservation. The fact that I easily accommodate neutral environments,resist both dry and humid heat, and both the cold andheat tolerated by my hosts, means that overall, myrequirements present more advantages thandisadvantages. The virus I Carried towards hosts Livestock animals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigsensure my spread. Today, there are more opportunities forme to multiply and create epizootics than in centuries past.There are more animals,

they travel extensively around theworld, people selectively have bred livestock to performwell in terms of meat and milk production and growth, butthe animals are more susceptible from a healthperspective. This facilitates my activities, particularlybecause these new livestock breeds are raised intensively,and crowded conditions are ideal for me to spread fromneighbour to neighbour. Animal markets, fairs, rural competitions and even familyreunions in the countryside are other opportunities thatI exploit to spread. Even if numerous countries have taken radical measures tomake my life difficult, especially beginning in the secondhalf of the 20th century, I persist in an enzootic form inmore than half of the countries in the world. When peoplesometimes unexpected outbreaks of foot-and-mouthdisease. It helps that numerous wild Artiodactyla species,such as the African buffalo, sometimes host me verydiscretely. To boost my chances of coming into contact with a host,I follow a two-pronged strategy, direct transmission andindirect transmission. By direct transmission, I mean passing from one animal toanother through simple contact, which is not difficult inintensive livestock systems. I make the most of licking,skin contact with a fellow beast, and suckling offspring, topass from one individual to another, particularly when viralexcretion

is abundant. 65 The virus I also use a silent carriage technique of taking refuge in thesanctuary of the tonsils and pharynx of animals thatappear absolutely healthy to both farmers andveterinarians. Not a single clinical sign betrays mypresence. This silent spread often is overlooked. My indirect transmission is ensured first by humansthemselves. Veterinarians, inseminators, rural technicians,policemen, postmen, itinerant traders, and agriculturalproduct suppliers all involuntarily have enabled my spreadin the past. With only very rare exceptions, I have no effecton this five-toed mammal. To me, humans are merelymobile supports that harbor me in their nasal cavities, ontheir hands -- with or without gloves -- shoes, work andleisure clothes, and transmit me to all of the tools andequipment that they use. Animals such as cats, dogs, and horses also can serve aspassive transmission vectors. Contaminated milk collection trucks once were excellentvectors for my dispersion between dairy farms becausethe overpressure in the tanks created very powerfulaerosols. Sadly for me, humans now have equipped thetrucks with special filters. A lost opportunity! Luckily, I stillhave many others. I can survive in meat and in animal by-products such asoffal, endocrine glands, bones and marrow. I sometimescan be found in uncooked cured products and i

n hams,even six months after they were made. This is how in 2001I found myself in catering waste (swill) meant for pig feedand, as it had not undergone the officially required heattreatment that could have killed me, I contaminated theWind also contributes to my long-distance spread,especially with the right weather conditions: a relativelylow speed, without gusts, in a constant direction, relativehumidity over 60% but without heavy rain, and moderate The virus In 1981, scientists established that I passively travelled250 km over the Channel from contaminated pig farms inthe French department of Côtes-dArmor in Brittany tocattle farms on the Island of Wight. I understand the fear inspired by my ability to createsecondary and even tertiary outbreaks from a firstoutbreak that people thought had been contained, withoutanyone really understanding how! Experts have spokenabout aberrant saltatory outbreaks. I savour the salt of theexpression. However, my air travels are five times lessefficient above land and less effective in tropical regionsthan in temperate areas. It is up to biometeorologists toconfirm my other modes of circulation! They have not yetproven my capacity to cover several thousand kilometres,at several thousand feet in altitude, either alone as a viralparticle mixed with sand or ionized clay, or by using carrierbirds o

r migratory insects. My infectious potential revealed Sick animals exhale me in veritable aerosols. Cattle canexcrete 10 000 viral particles per day. By breathing,pigs can eject me into the environment in amounts thatare 1 000 to 10 000 times higher than cattle. When oneknows that only 10 of my particles are enough to infecta susceptible bovine, it is easy to imagine my infectiouspotential. Some have calculated that in one minute, asick pig is able to disseminate a sufficient quantity ofme to contaminate 60 000 cattle.I am happy in saliva, tears, urine and all leaking bodilyfluids, as well as blood and lymph. Lesions are a kind of incubator for me. After the vesiclesburst, some of my fellow viral particles find themselves inthe circulatory systems within the body and then in theexcrement of mammals while conserving their infectious 67 The virus Slurry and manure therefore are major sources ofcontamination. In male hosts, I am present in the sperm,and in females, in milk and embryonic envelopes. I caneven infiltrate the wool of sheep. In other words, I ameverywhere. I do not only infect healthy animals. Some already arecarrying other pathogenic agents. Scientists still do notunderstand how we cohabitate. The expression of my pathogenic power depends onnumerous factors: my serotype and topotype, theenvironment in which I find myself,

the receptivity of hoststhat I encounter, their general condition beforecontamination, and the tissues that I infect, my preferencebeing mouth epithelium and heart muscle. Some of my strains cause gastrointestinal, respiratory, andeye lesions. Cattle and sheep are more susceptible thanpigs to respiratory infections linked to my presence. I often use sheep and goats, which are very goodreservoirs, to discretely introduce myself into new areas.Pigs are marvellous hosts in terms of helping me tomultiply and spread. And cattle on livestock farms aregood at revealing my presence. For a virus, living with others is not a weakness, it is ametabolic requirement. An ambiguous status Am I living or dead? Virologists and philosophers are hotlydebating this question. Some classify me as a structuredbiological entity, reactive but not alive, under the pretext thatI am incapable of metabolic autonomy. It is true that I do notbreathe, eat, excrete any waste, or have a personal energysystem, and I can only reproduce myself by hijacking areceptive host cell. I therefore am not a cell according to thedefinition of biologists but an obligate parasite. The virus However, my virus status has been evolving ever sincesome of my cousins drew attention to themselves due totheir huge size, with a genome two times larger than thatof a bacterium, and thei

r capacity to infect other membersof our family. To be the virus of a virus is something eventhose who consider us to be merely primitive and harmfulhave to admire! My evolution follows the law of natural selectiondiscovered by Darwin. I adapt myself to newenvironments through mechanisms that are identical tothose of other living beings. Furthermore, I only am activewhen my physical-chemical integrity is scrupulouslyrespected. When I consider my place and role in the history ofevolution, my answer to the question, living or dead?Žleans towards livingŽ. I am made up of the same baseprotein molecules and I use the same genetic alphabet asliving organisms. This probably allowed some of myancestors to sustainably introduce themselves into thegenome of other single and multi-celled organisms. Ahypothesis that they were the origin of the nucleus ofeukaryotic cells even has been advanced. In addition, although I compensate for the absence ofmetabolic machinery by borrowing the enzymatic know-how of my hosts, some scientists think that I was anessential actor in the organization of the living world andits evolution by bringing about crucial gene transfersbetween ancestral animal and plant hosts. Up untilrecently, humans were interested in us in a limited manner,focussing only on how to fight us. In the future, they willhave to accept us a

s key actors in the maintenance of theplanets biological equilibrium. 69 The vaccine The vaccine I The point of view of the vaccineBefore there was science, there were local In the past, farmers understood the contagious characterof the disease and knew by observing clinical signs thatnaturally infected animals could recover spontaneouslyand develop resistance to new infection. Some were inspired to hasten the natural contamination oftheir cattle herds. They would introduce an animal infectedwith foot-and-mouth disease into a group of healthyanimals gathered together in a stable and practiceaphtisation by rubbing the muzzles or lips of healthyanimals with virulent saliva taken from the lesions of thesick animal. A maximum number of animals consequentlyfell ill at the same time and the quarantine of the farm couldbe lifted more quickly. Farmers also knew that whentriggered in this way, the disease was similar tospontaneous infection but it was expressed in a lesssevere form, leading to fewer losses. Doctors recommended similar empirical processes toprevent certain highly contagious childhood diseases suchas smallpox. Prior to my birth Around 1900, before I was invented, numerousresearchers, including F. Löffler, the co-discoverer of thefoot-and-mouth disease virus, tested different methods toimmunize herds against foot-and-mouth d

isease by usingthe immunogenic power of viruses. These methods were based on the principle that everyhost organism reacts to the presence of a pathogenicagent, which plays the role of an antigen, with theproduction of antibodies, large defensive proteins calledimmunoglobulins, which confer protection or immunitythat lasts for a certain period of time depending on thequantity produced. 71 The vaccine In theory, transferring antibodies produced by an animalthat recovered naturally from a disease to a healthy animalrenders the healthy animal more resistant to the disease.Serotherapy, otherwise know as seroprevention, confers apassive immunisation to the recipient. Practitioners tookblood from convalescent animals that had contracted thedisease some twenty days earlier. The blood then wastreated and subcutaneous injections of the serumobtained were given to animals that were still disease free. The immune serum was used widely in numerousEuropean countries between 1920 and 1930 despiteerratic results, a high cost price, and often imperfect andshort-lived effectiveness. In Denmark, 112 000 litres of immune serum fromconvalescent animals were used between 1925 and 1933.During the same period in France, up to 13 000 cattle weretreated by serotherapy in one year. A combination ofimmune serum and virulent lymph even was marketed bya pharma

ceutical laboratory under the name seraphtineŽ. A triple association In 1926, I appear as a vaccine in the form of a formalindecoction developed by three French researchers, H. Vallée,H. Carré and P. Rinjard. The task of the formalin, also knownas formaldehyde, is to inactivate the virus by chemicallydestroying its RNA molecule. Stripped of its steering unit, the virus loses its infectiouspower and its capacity to reproduce. However, the virusretains its antigenic and immunogenic power, which is heldby its capsids VP1 protein. The animal that receives methus can produce antibodies specific to the viral type thatI contain without the risk that the disease will be triggered.I was authorized by international authorities with this formof an inactivated virus. The vaccine However, until only recently, countries alwaysmanufactured me with attenuated viruses. These are livingviruses whose virulence has been reduced by successivepassages in hosts that are not very susceptible, such asrabbits. My immunogenic efficiency with an inactivatedvirus is less than what I can express with an attenuatedvirus; however, there is no risk of a reverse mutation thatcould return the infectious and pathogenic power to thevirus. It would not be appropriate if I triggered or revivedthis disease instead of fighting it! To compensate for the lesser immunog

enic power of myviral component and to stimulate the production of specificantibodies in the animal to be protected, researchers addedBeginning in 1932, a Danish scientist, S. Schmidt,experimented with aluminium hydroxide and discoveredthat the foot-and-mouth disease virus fixes itself easily tothis material through adsorption. This would be my onlyimmunity adjuvant for over twenty years. In 1937 inGermany, Professor D. Waldmanns team demonstrated thedetermining role of certain physical-chemical parameters(pH, temperature, concentration of formaldehyde) in theinactivation of the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Theirmethod was adopted and used with almost no modificationuntil the 1970s. These successive developments made me the firstfoot-and-mouth disease vaccine to be made with aformalin-treated virus, known in France as the VSWvaccine, short for Vallée-Schmidt-WaldmannŽ. The multiplication of the virus In order to be used to control foot-and-mouth disease,I had to be produced on an industrial scale. In the 1930s,the main difficulty was obtaining an abundant source ofthe virus. D. Waldmann developed a first method that wasinspired by the aphtisation technique. 73 The vaccine It consisted of inoculating the virus in the lingual epitheliumof live cattle free of the disease to obtain lesions and thento harvest the infected epitheliu

m and lymph tomanufacture me. After the animals were slaughtered, 40 to 50 dosescontaining about 60 ml of vaccine could be fabricated fromeach tongue. Of course, I was only monovalent becauseI was prepared from a single viral type, the oneencountered most often in the field. In parallel, during the 1930s a Dutch researcher namedH.S. Frenckel developed a method to grow the virus onfragments of cattle tongue epithelia, the cells of whichwere kept alive in a nutrient medium. This technique, which was presented in 1947, wasrevolutionary at the time. By 1950 it had replaced othermethods thanks to: its independence from the immunestatus of the animal, regular production of the virus, andhigh yield that was 100 times greater than withWaldmanns method. The manufacturing and bottling of the first foot-and-mouth disease© Marc-Henri Cassagne, FNGDS. The vaccine Begining in 1970, the multiplication of the virus on cellculture lines in suspension, such as the BHK 21 line, anacronym for Baby Hamster Kidney (meaning the kidneycells of a newborn hamster, clone 21), was carried out incontained environments inside veritable biologicalreactors. This technique allows every step of my production process,from the growth of cells for my multiplication to myinactivation, formulation and packaging in ready-to-usedoses, to be carried out under maximum b

iosecurityconditions. This has made undesirable virus escapes,which occurred up to the 1980s, to become extremely rare. Over the course of discoveries My formulation and design evolved with scientific andtechnological advances. In keeping with European safetyrules regarding the manufacture of veterinary medecines,great care now is taken to ensure that I am harmless. Formalin, the first generation inactivant which was knownsince the 1950s to have an incomplete neutralizing effecton targeted viruses, has been replaced by secondgeneration inactivants such as Binary-Ethylene-Imine(BEI), whose chemical activity and manner of applicationguarantees a complete inactivation of the infectivity of myTo avoid all risk, a large pharmaceutical laboratory even isgoing to double the dose of the inactivant and double itsapplication time. In ten years, it has produced over3.5 billion doses from inactivated viruses using this 75 The vaccine I have come a long way since my first semi-industrialproduction in 1937 as a monovalent vaccine, meaning avaccine directed against only one virus serotype. New adjuvants have been introduced into my preparation.They allow a concentration of my active material, in thisinstance my viral antigens, to stimulate a more powerfuland precocious immunity in the recipient in order to reducethe volume of my dose. Around 19

55, thanks to saponin, a molecule of plant origin,the dose of my trivalent version, which allows cattle to bevaccinated against three viral serotypes with a singleinjection, was reduced from 45 to 15 ml. This helped toreduce nodules, edema, and difficult to absorb indurationsat the site of the injection of the animal being vaccinated! The use of oil adjuvants, first in a simple emulsion likeoil-in-water or water-in-oil in the 1970s, then a doubleemulsion, such as water-in-oil-in-water, in the 1990s,brought my dose down to 10 ml, then 5 ml, and finally to2 ml, much to the satisfaction of the vaccinated and thevaccinators, furthermore offering the advantage of aunique vaccine formula tolerated by both pigs andruminants equally well. When all is going well, I am injected in cattle at the age of2 months and then at 6 months. The production ofantibodies starts 4 days after I am injected and increasesover 2 to 3 weeks to reach a plateau where it is maintainedbefore gradually decreasing. A simple annual booster shotprolongs the protection for one year. However, I admit thatI have been the cause of several vaccine-relatedIn the old days, when I contained attenuated viruses orviral particles that were not completely inactivated, myinjection actually provoked infectious outbreaks of The vaccine My adjuvants, such as aluminium hydroxide or sap

onin,and my imperfect purification also could trigger allergicreactions that could at times be as bad as mortalSome cattle expressed an immediate hypersensitivity withfever, respiratory and cardiac problems and a drop in milkproduction. Others reacted many days later with eczemarashes and gestational disorders that could lead toabortion. Allergic reactions linked to my preparation on cell cultureswere reported in 1984-1985. This must have had anegative impact on farmers who had been encouraged tovaccinate their herds. At the beginning of the 21st century, my industrialproduction is accompanied by very strict safety controls. The careful purification of my antigens using ultrafiltrationand chromatography methods enable all undesirableproteins to be eliminated with the exception of those of thevirus capsid in charge of immunity. The undesirableproteins in question are the allergenic cellular proteinsproduced by my culture medium and non-structural viralproteins (NSP) that are synthesized when the virusreproduces both in vivo during an infection and in vitro oncell cultures. When these are removed from my composition,vaccinated animals no longer develop antibodies againstthe virus NSPs. Consequently, one now can serologicallydistinguish a vaccinated animal that does not developanti-NSP antibodies from an infected animal that doe

s 77 The necessary specificity My goal is to allow animals susceptible to the foot-and-mouthdisease virus, starting with the most valuable cattle, tosafely acquire strong and lasting immunity by powerfullystimulating their immune systems to increase theproduction of neutralizing anti-bodies circulating in theirMy first monovalent preparations were targeted againstserotype O of the foot-and-mouth disease virus. I thenbecame bivalent against the two most common virustypes, O and A, before becoming trivalent against O, A andC. Today, type C is no longer included in my preparationbecause it is on its way to being eradicated in the world.Each country can obtain a personalized vaccine cocktaildepending on the strains circulating. When I am used inTurkey, Iran, and the Caucases, I am multivalent with atleast 4 valences (type O, 2 sub-types A, and type Asia1).In Africa and the Middle East, type SAT2 often isintroduced into my composition. Since 1966, my foot-and-mouth disease antigens have been associated with arabies vaccine to produce a combined vaccine able toprotect cattle from these two diseases with just oneI realized early on that there were limits to my impact andI fascinated scientists by my drops in efficacy, which theyrefer to as immunity breaksŽ, where an animal that isvaccinated nonetheless manifests signs of the disease.They

discovered that the genetic instability of thefoot-and-mouth disease virus and the antigenic variabilityof its VP1 protein produced within the same serotypenumerous variants (subtypes and topotypes) with differentimmunogenic and antigenic powers. No viral strain therefore is exactly identical to another. Thisplurality complicates both their job and mine. In addition, anew variant can appear from one year to the next. Theproblem is that I only am effective when my antigens areclosely related to the infectious strain that is circulating. The vaccine If my index of similarity with the field strain is less than 0.6,scientists consider that I offer imperfect protection. Like allhuman influenza vaccines, I must be updated periodicallythrough the preparation of a new vaccine cocktail that isadjusted to the viral strains circulating. Legal obligations The history of my adoption in the fight to control foot-and-mouth disease is linked closely to the evolution ofbiological and virological technologies and the creation inmany countries of industrial vaccine productionAfter the important foot-and-mouth disease panzootics of1937 in Germany and 1952 in France, where over 350 000outbreaks were declared, health officials made stoppingthe spread and the eradiction of the disease a priority, withplans to implement preventive medical measures. In

Lyon, the work of the Institut Français de la Fièvre(IFFA), created in 1947 by Dr. Charles Mérieux,enabled the mass production of vaccines. The voluntaryvaccination approach, which had been necessary whenI was not available in large quantities, was replaced by acollective vaccination strategy. In most continental European countries, I became the key4 months old on a yearly basis. In France, my preparationand inspections of my safety and effectiveness wereregulated by a ministerial decree in 1965. This was the beginning of a 30 years fight against the foot-and-mouth disease virus that coincided with a periodknown in France as the trente glorieusesŽ, or thirtyglorious yearsŽ because it was a period of economicprosperity which no doubt had little to do with myprophylactic contribution. 79 The vaccine I am quite proud of my work because this strategy,associated with the systematic slaughter of susceptiblecattle, sheep, goats, and pigs in contaminated outbreaks,allowed the number of foot-and-mouth disease cases todrop from several hundred thousand at the beginning ofthe 1950s to several thousand in the 1970s, and then tothe disappearance of the disease from Europe at the endof the 1980s. Forbidden to stay in Europe Thrilled with my vaccinal success, I was amazed to learnthat a European directive ordered me to the sidelines onJanua

ry 1, 1992. In preparation for the single market of1993, it became illegal to use my services throughout theEuropean community. Before presenting the argument that led from my beingrequired to my being forbidden, I should acknowledge thatoccasional episodes of foot-and-mouth disease in Francein 1981 and in Italy in 1984, as well as a fewpost-vaccination accidents and virus leaks between 1977and 1987, had weakened my credibility in favour of somecountries such as Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark,which had never adopted vaccination. Sign used in the 1950s to restrict access to a vaccine productionlaboratory. To avoid leaks, the foot-and-mouth disease virus is handledonly in confined, secured areas. - France. - © Marc-Henri Cassagne, The vaccine After five years of discussions between representatives ofEuropean member countries, the decision to end thepreventive vaccination policy was confirmed by theCommission and the Council on the basis of sanitary,commercial, and economic considerations. All the same,I doubt the good faith of certain arguments put forth by myThe special characteristics of the foot-and-mouth diseasevirus were played to my disadvantage. Its antigenicplurality, its absence of crossed immunity, the regularemergence of new strains and the possible introduction ofthe exotic SAT and Asia1 serotypes, associated with the

fact that I was used in most countries only on cattle, calledinto question the point of pursuing my prophylactic use inEurope. When I do not correspond to the antigenic profileof an invading strain, I face a high risk ofunderachievement as a vaccine. I also worried veterinarians when they discovered thatvaccinated cattle carrying the virus could, without showingany revealing signs, replicate the virus deep in their throatswith the risk of excreting the virus and contaminatingsusceptible species. Yet to date no case of foot-and-mouthdisease has been reported that could be traced toHowever, in the 1990s, the decisive factor was theeconomic interests related to the establishment of the freecirculation and trade of animals and animal products withinthe European Community. Three member countries did notvaccinate and nine others did. It was out of the question toengage in commercial trade while this difference remained.At the time, serological tests were unable to differentiatebetween antibodies caused by a vaccination and thosecaused by an infection in an animal. Only the cessation ofvaccination could resolve this issue, and vaccination alsowas hindering exports and the conquest of newinternational markets. 81 The vaccine To further complicate the situation, vaccinating Europeancountries applied different vaccination strategies forsusce

ptible animals other than cattle (pigs only werevaccinated in Spain and Portugal, sheep only in Spain,border areas of France and Italy) and some virus strainshad shown a preference for unusual hosts (pigs rather thanThe continuation of preventive vaccination therefore wouldhave required choices to be made regarding the animals tovaccinate: cattle -- like prior to 1991 -- due to their marketvalue? Pigs for their virus reproduction potential? Sheepand goats because they discretely introduce the viruswithout suffering much? Today, the situation has evolved and laboratories produceme in a highly purified form that does not containnon-structural proteins (NSP). I no longer induce theproduction of anti-NSP antibodies in vaccinated animals.The presence of these antibodies in an animal therefore isevidence of a viral infection. In endemic areas, serologicaltests can be used to identify infected herds and verify theabsence of virus circulation in a vaccinated herd. In the future, these tests may enable some countries topursue a foot-and-mouth disease control policy usingvaccination without penalizing their commercialtransactions and provide proof of the absence ofinfection, thereby justifying their status as countries "freeof foot-and-mouth disease with vaccinationŽ. The non-vaccination policy allowed European countries toconstitute livesto

ck free of foot-and-mouth disease butvulnerable if the virus is reintroduced because the animalsare not immunized. Heightened vigilance must bemaintained. This is made possible by the coordinatedimplementation of epidemiological surveillance networksand the development of antigen and vaccine banks. The vaccine I A protection mechanism Foot-and-mouth disease free countries manage antigenbanks that are strategic reserves for emergencyvaccination situations. My antigens are stored most oftenin a form concentrated 80 to 1 000 times and frozen innitrogen at very low temperatures, usually -130°C toguarantee a shelf-life of at least five years. Upon demand of client countries, millions of monovalentor multivalent doses of vaccine are manufactured within afew days under strict quality controls, with a potency andrange adapted to the situation on the ground. A 50 litrevolume of concentrated antigen can produce 15 milliondoses of cattle vaccine. I also am stored in the form ofready-to-use vaccines but my shelf-life at 4°C is only 12 toI am housed in three international banks: the InternationalVaccine Bank (IVB) established in 1985 and based inPirbright, United Kingdom on the site of the world FAO/OIEfoot-and-mouth disease reference laboratory; the NorthAmerican Vaccine Bank (NAVB) established in 1980 andbased in the United States; the Eu

ropean Union VaccineBank (EUVB) established in 1991 with offices in Italy(Brescia), France (Lyon) and United Kingdom (Pirbright). I also am held in national banks in numerous otherTo keep these antigen and vaccine banks up to date, fieldsurveillance is carried out by regular sampling campaignsaround the world. Samples are sent to national orinternational reference laboratories for characterization. Molecular biology techniques enable scientists toestablish the degree of their immunological relationshipwith vaccine strains already listed in order to detect theemergence of a new variant. Using this data, it is possibleto construct a phylogenetic tree (a dendrogram) of strainsof a same type and to monitor their evolution over time and 83 The vaccine Since I was abandoned by European countries, the fight toprevent foot-and-mouth disease has become one ofdisease control. It relies on an epidemiologicalsurveillance system that allows a rapid response to theintroduction of the virus to limit the spread of the disease.It is based on: - training and informing all actors involved (farmers,veterinarians, livestock professionals), development andestablishment of a national emergency plan and carryingout simulation exercises; - very strict surveillance of the movement of susceptibleanimal species within Europe and with countries outside ofEurop

e thanks to individual identification marks (tatoos orear tags) combined with identity documents thataccompany animals over their entire lives (per animal forcattle, per animal batch for pigs, sheep and goats). Theirmovements are recorded in a data bank that allows themand their derived products to be traced; - reinforced health controls on borders and goodknowledge of trade flows to limit the risk of cross-borderanimal products. An under-estimation and misunderstanding of risks, andpoorly applied surveillance measures are weaknesseswhich benefit the virus. The most striking example is the 2001 epizootic in GreatBritain, which experts had considered to be a country facinga very low risk of foot-and-mouth disease due to theprotection provided by being an island. However, aninadequate supervision of farms and the feeding of pigs withinsufficiently heated swill imported from Asia opened the doorto the virus. The result was the massive slaughter of animals(over 6 million heads, including 4.9 million sheep, 0.7 millioncattle, and 0.4 million pigs) and economic losses estimated atnearly 13 billion euros. The vaccine I Authorized elsewhere in different forms Despite endemic outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease incountries bordering on the European Union, themselvesfaced with a permanent threat from their own neighboursmore to the east (

Turkey) and south, and despite the riskslinked to the intensification of trade and the movement ofpeople, annual preventive vaccination has become anoutdated concept in Europe, one that has been replacedby prophylaxis based on health measures. If it was still followed, each year at least 80% of the 300 million animals concerned, of which 40 million are inFrance, would have to be vaccinated at great expense forme to ensure effective immunization coverage against theprogression of the virus and the spread of the disease. In epizootic outbreak situations, the recommended controlstrategy is slaughter in the infected zone, accompanied ornot by emergency vaccination. That choice is heavilyregulated and is only applied following authorization by theEuropean Commission. When the infected zone has a high density of animalsand/or the slaughtering capacities are insufficient, I amused as an emergency or suppressive vaccine. I am calledthat because the animals subsequently are slaughtered.If the epizootic is difficult to control through stamping outalone, I am used as an emergency protection vaccine tocreate a belt of vaccinated animals around the infectedoutbreak. The choice to use slaughter alone or slaughter combinedwith emergency vaccination is assessed in terms of theeconomic impact on export markets. To date, Europeancountries always have

favoured the first option (slaughteralone) with the exception of the Netherlands, whichresorted to suppressive vaccination during the 2001 85 The vaccine In 1994, OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) set upa procedure to recognize the foot-and-mouth diseasesanitary status of its members (178 countries andterritories in 2010). In 2010, 65 member countries were recognized as beingfree of foot-and-mouth disease, without vaccinationŽ.Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, USA, Canada, Chili,and countries of Central America and the European Unionare on the list. To avoid any introduction of the virus and retain theirstatus, these countries must respect very strict sanitarystandards covering their trade in animals and animalproducts. They therefore cannot import vaccinatedanimals. If an infection occurs, a country loses its statusand consequently its export markets. These only may beretrieved after a period of between 3 months to 2 yearswhen the country has demonstrated, through clinicalsurveillance and serological tests, the absence of viralcirculation. In countries where foot-and-mouth disease is endemic,the priorities are different and I still provide highlyappreciated services to rectify the sanitary situation inlivestock areas and keep the disease under control,particularly when socio-economic and cultural factorsexclude stampin

g out options. Only one South American country, Uruguay, is recognizedas being free of foot-and-mouth disease, withvaccinationŽ. In countries where the disease is endemic,OIE authorizes the application of zoning measures and themaintenance of disease-free zones from which animalproducts may be exported towards disease-free countriesof Europe and the USA. This is the case for the majority ofSouth American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,Colombia, Paraguay, Peru), and some African (SouthAfrica, Botswana, Namibia) and Asian countries (Malaysia, The vaccine But for some one hundred other developing and emergingcountries, the disease is a real scourge and is a majorpreoccupation for veterinarian authorities and farmers whoare increasingly well informed, but uncontrolled animalmovements and porous borders remain a reality. My future in question Today, the elimination of viral infection markers (NSP) in myhighly purified vaccine composition renders it possible torule out the circulation of the virus in animals that havereceived an emergency vaccination. This means there isnow an alternative to slaughtering healthy animals simplybecause they have received a vaccine injection. When slaughter must be carried out, the ordeal for farmerspast and the practice better accepted by public opinion. Although molecular biology experts envision

me as asynthetic peptide-based vaccine or as a recombinantvaccine, I continue to be obtained through biologicalmethods. Research -- already dated -- into producing methrough genetic engineering has not yet found practicalapplications. I do not know what the virus thinks of that! 87 The journalist The journalist I The point of view ofMy first professional internship I am completing the last year of journalism school and I amabout to have a two-month taste of work at a regional dailypaper whose director I know, which helped in getting methis placement. At the heart of the craft Today, I meet the chief-editor for the first time. The meetingtakes place just before the editorial conference: As youknow, this paper places a lot of importance on coveringlocal news. In a few months, the International LivestockShow will take place. We are going to use this event tointroduce the general public to the daily reality of livestockfarmers in the region. You must be aware that theprofession has become hostage to recurrent healthcrisises: mad cow, foot-and-mouth, bluetongue, which isputting the sector into a difficult economic situation. Sincethe end of 2010, foot-and-mouth disease is again in thenews. Epizootic outbreaks are spreading through Asia, thedisease is at our door in Bulgaria after a 12 year absence,and the latest AFP (Agence France

Pressereport that South Africa just suspended meat exports afterdiscovering cattle and sheep carrying the virus. I read inyour curriculum vitae that you studied science at youruniversity. You will be able to make the most of thattraining because I am expecting you to prepare a dossieron this disease. We will publish it when the InternationalLivestock Show takes place. Remember that our readersare not scientists. You should present us with someproposals next week during the editorial meeting. Give youimagination free rein!Ž The moment has come for me to put into practice whatI have learned and to show what I am capable of doing. First step: Research the topic. My first objective is to understand the basics of foot-and-mouth disease. Like many journalists, I use the Internet tobetter understand the topic. I rapidly identify a publicationin French and a vade mecum illustrated with strikingphotos of the clinical signs of the disease. Jumping fromlink to link, I gather together scientific articles, a Senatereport, and presentations made for livestock farmers byhealth protection groups. I am impressed by the number ofworks that have been written following the 2001 epizooticin Great Britain: first person accounts and on-the-spotinterviews, press releases, contradictory debates over thenon-vaccination and stamping out policy, and eve

n articlesfor the general public intended to be reassuring but whosetitles alone were enough to make one nervous.I become aware of the global character of this contagiousanimal disease by consulting the epizootic outbreakmapping system put in place by the OIE, and bydiscovering that the FAO devotes a large section of itsEMPRES (Emerging Prevention System) bulletin, whichfocuses on monitoring transboundary animal diseases, tofoot-and-mouth disease. After spending two days navigating the web, I knowenough about foot-and-mouth disease to outline a draftpaper organized around five questions: what? (the virusand the disease), who? (the susceptible animals), where?(worldwide), how? (the spread), why? (deficient healthcontrols, illegal movements, non-vaccination). Before proceding to the second step of my work, I set upa web tracking system to follow foot-and-mouth diseasenews on the Internet and I subscribe to the ProMEDsystem for monitoring emerging infectious diseasesmanaged by ISID (International Society for InfectiousDiseases). It would not make a good impression to becaught by surprise by a news release from a fellowjournalist. The journalist The journalist I Second step: Identify resource persons and conductinterviews. Through my reading, I discovered the magnitude of theeconomic consequences of an epizootic of foot-and-mouthdi

sease for an entire range of actors who often are quiteremoved from the world of agriculture and the agro-foodindustry. I also know that when there is a sanitary crisis,the media do not play a neutral role and can have a strongimpact on consumers with negative repercussions on themeat sector. To limit this risk, I put together a regional directory oforganisations and people to contact if needed. It includesrepresentatives of the livestock, animal health, and meatindustry sectors: Chamber of Agriculture, health protectiongroups, veterinarian technical groups, public healthveterinarians, departmental veterinarian services,renderers, slaughterhouses, cattle trading companies, andcattle, sheep, and pig farmers. I then prepare scenarios for a few mini-documentaries tofilm in the field to capture the daily reality of farmers andpublic health veterinarians. I will propose to the chief-editorto post these videos on the newspapers websiteaccompanied by my Q&A presentation on foot-and-mouthdisease. Internet readers will be able to respond directlywith their opinions. Third step: Vocation confirmed At the end of two months working on foot-and-mouthdisease, I sincerely wish to pursue a career in scientificjournalism writing for the general public. I would like to bea mediator who provides information in a form that can beunderstood by a bro

ad audience, allowing people to formtheir own opinions about current scientific issues,particular emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseasescoming from developing countries that regularly feature onthe front page of the news. 91 The economist The economist I The point of view ofBy way of introduction As a senior researcher, a position which reflects my longprofessional career in sociology and rural economics in theservice of animal production, I am a consultant advisingworking groups on health risks related to emerging andre-emerging animal diseases and their economic andsocial consequences for developed and developingIn 2001, while the mad cow crisis was still makingheadlines, foot-and-mouth disease re-emerged in theUnited Kingdom, with two secondary outbreaks in France.The event threw me several decades back to when, as achild in the Vendée countryside, I heard people discussingthe disease, which featured regularly in the localAfter the last epizootic in 1957 and the implementation ofthe obligatory cattle vaccination program in Europe in1961, the disease was largely forgotten even though it wasendemic in many developing countries. However, in 1967-1968, when I was a young studentfinishing my studies, it re-emerged in the United Kingdom,a country which never had accepted vaccination. Tocontain the epizootic and save the cattle s

ector, 430 000cattle were slaughtered in the space of six months. Thatwas when I really became aware of the economic stakesinvolved in a sanitary situation and decided to pursueresearch in the economics of epizootic animal diseases. My reason was that the gravity of an illness like foot-and-mouth disease is not assessed in terms of animal healthalone, but also in terms of economic and social impactsand barriers to international trade in animals and theirproducts. 93 An economic disease Today, in European countries where foot-and-mouthdisease control strategies favour the stamping-out ofherds, the direct economic and social consequences of anepizootic for livestock farmers are dramatic despite legalcompensations: loss of income, farms on the brink offailure, cessation of activities, change of professionaloccupation, psychological shock.For farms untouched by the disease but placed underquarantine, restrictions on animal movements incur extracosts and shortfalls. When infectious outbreaks are detected and rapidlycontrolled, the economic impact is limited in time andspace. In contrast, a lack of vigilance and late diseasedetection in a country without vaccination can lead to amajor epizootic such as that which took place in 2001 inGreat Britain, where the effects were devastating. Every single component of agricultural, economic,

social,industrial and political systems were affected, farmers andanimal production sector stakeholders first, some to thebutchering and meat processing companies down to retailbutchers, cattle trading companies whose trucks remainedin the parking lots. The domino effect did not spare other sectors: tourism,leisure, sports, labor, distribution, food, security. Daily lifewas disrupted at local, regional, and national levels:closing of roads, restrictions on movement, prohibition oflarge gatherings and sports and cultural events.Companies were closed. Thousands of jobs were lost.Considerable technical and human resources werediverted from their usual tasks to be mobilized by thecontrol plan: police, soldiers, veterinarians, government The economist And on top of all that you must add: the nation-wide tradeembargo on all susceptible species -- cattle, pigs, sheep,goats, whether live animals or animal products (meat, milk,sperm, embryos, hides) -- which destabilized internationalcattle markets and the meat sector; loss of confidence onthe part of importing countries and consumers, even in theabsence of documented risk for their health; and thenegative media images of mounds of sheep and cattleburning all over the English countryside that wereprojected around the world. The epizootic lasted 221 days between the first and lastconfirme

d case. According to the World Bank, the financialrepercussions amounted to 100 billion US dollars, half ofwhich was in the tourism and leisure industries. It is an excellent case study for university researchstudents working in laboratories because this Britishepisode had not been predicted by any simulationexercise. Experts considered the risk factor to be close tozero. And yet! A cross-border disease Like people, animals, their products and their viruses aretravelling around the world more and more. Producingcountries often are geographically quite distant fromconsuming countries. For economic reasons, livestockanimals may be transported from the country where theyare born to a country where they are fattened and finally toa country where they are slaughtered. All of these animal movements, legal and illegal, areincreasing in volume and intensity in response to thegrowing global demand for meat. They also are drasticallyincreasing the probability of an accidental introduction ofthe foot-and-mouth disease virus despite very strictsanitary controls in countries recognized by the OIE asbeing free of foot-and-mouth disease, without 95 The economist The path of the virus is charted by their movements, whichare pointed in the direction of increasing beef prices, fromcountries where foot-and-mouth disease is endemic suchas India an

d Pakistan, towards Iran, Turkey, and theborders of Europe. This explains how new viral strains fromthe East emerge in the West.In Turkish Thrace, bordering Greece and Bulgaria,European authorities have designated a buffer zone understrict surveillance, with prophylactic vaccination. Anothersanitary cordon was established on the borders of Turkeyand Iran by the Transcaucasian countries.However, conflicts and political instability in countries arelikely to modify the traditional direction of trade andrequires constant vigilance. Other risk factors also render foot-and-mouth disease athreat that is difficult to control with regard to Europeanlivestock. For example, economic difficulties in a countrymay lead to inexpensive meat being imported from aninfected country, or to cross-border exchanges within asingle ethnic group. Certain events, such as the Eid-el-Kebir Islamic religiousfestival, during which large groups of sheep from differentareas are gathered together, render it difficult to trace theorigins of animals, and favour the introduction of the virus. may be the one discovered by a study commissioned byAESA (European Food Safety Authority based in Parme,Italy). In 2006, 2 000 tons of meat arrived on the ground atinternational airports of 25 European Union membercountries in carry-on luggage. This is food for thoughtregarding

the opportunities available to the virus tointroduce itself in completely unexpected ways! The fragile equilibrium of markets non-vaccination policy adopted by European countries. The economist When there is an epizootic, how do authorities decidewhether or not to accompany stamping out (also refered toas slaughter) -- with emergency vaccination? I must explain that the sanitary status, free of foot-and-mouthdisease, without vaccinationŽ, gives a country access totop notch international markets where animals and animalproducts fetch the highest prices.An epizootic outbreak in such a country would lead to theimmediate closure of its borders to exports for severalmonths and the loss of markets. Given the complex gameof economic actors, this could result in: - a disturbance in the global balance of supply and demandwith instability in prices that can rise sharply or collapse; - a risk of oversupply on the domestic market of the countryunder embargo resulting in a drop in prices, which isnegative for producers but positive for consumers;- a collapse in demand if consumer confidence is lost andconsumers turn to another animal sector. Some countries may be able to take advantage of thesanitary embargo of the infected country if they have exportof the country affected, may continue to maintain anembargo even when the required waiting

period for a returnto normal has ended. Following two epizootic outbreaks in 2001, it took Francetwo years to recover markets in a number of countries inthe Pacific region even though France was recognized asbeing free of foot-and-mouth disease three months afterthe end of the second outbreak. 97 The economist In such a globalized trade environment, all economicsimulations demonstrate that for an exporting country,eradication by stamping out, without the use ofvaccination, remains the least expensive policy option. If adecision is taken to vaccinate, the embargo on exports isprolonged and the resumption of commercial activitiesconsequently is delayed. From my perspective as an economist, my analysis of thesituation is that for a European country, production losseshave less economic and social consequences than theloss of certain export markets and it is this point which isthe decisive factor. This is why European countries will not use vaccinationexcept when confronted with an extreme situation such asthe need to defend against a biological attack. Due to itshighly contagious nature and economic impact, thefoot-and-mouth disease virus effectively could be used asa biological weapon by terrorists or armies in order toweaken a country by ruining its livestock. This is not just a hypothesis! Recently, an individualclaimed he would

spread the foot-and-mouth diseasevirus over the British countryside if the British governmentdid not give him a ransom of several million US dollars. Thecase was taken very seriously by the South African police,the British secret service, and the American FBI. A suspectwas arrested after several months of investigations. A highly contagious, global disease Foot-and-mouth disease is a disease that might have beendescribed by Aristotle in the 3century BC. However, itwas in 1546 that a trustworthy description was made by anItalian doctor, Girolamo Frascatoro. In France, the diseaseis first mentioned in archived documents starting in 1776,but it probably was present well before. Since that time,foot-and-mouth disease epizootics, some devastating,such as those of 1812, 1920, 1938, 1952, 1957, havealternated with periods of respite that lull people intobelieving that the disease has disappeared. The economist From 1961, the required preventive vaccination of cattle inEurope interrupted this cycle. In my view, it allowed at leastthree major crises to be avoided. Some countries and regions continue to be deemed free offoot-and-mouth disease: Canada, USA, Central America,Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Ocean islands. OutsideEurope, foot-and-mouth disease is endemic in numerouscountries of Africa, Asia, and South America. Since the start

of 2010, the type O foot-and-mouth diseasevirus has been spreading in numerous Asian countries.Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have been recordedfor the first time in eastern regions of Russia and Mongolia.Others have been reported in China, Taiwan, Japan, SouthKorea and in 2011 in Vietnam, with at times unexpectedIn Japan, the presence of the virus is threatening theexistence of the Miyazaki cattle breed raised on the islandof Kyushu in the south of the country. These cattle, a sourceof pride in Japan, are well known for the gastronomicquality of their meat, which is the most expensive in theworld. The animals are pampered by their farmers, whomassage them with sake, give them beer to drink, andprovide a relaxing environment with classical music. In South Korea, the virus led to the resignation of theMinister of Agriculture following the magnitude of theepizootic and its impacts. Africa Foot-and-mouth disease is endemic in Africa and six ofseven serotypes circulate on the continent eitherpermantly or periodically. The types circulating in each region varies: East Africa(A, C, O, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3), Southern Africa (SAT2,SAT1, SAT3), Central Africa (O, A, SAT1, SAT2), WestAfrica (SAT2, O, A, SAT1), North Africa (A, O, SAT2). 99 The economist On the level of the continent, my economics approach toanalysing and understanding

the disease takes intoaccount three situations on the ground. In North Africa, three countries of the Arab Maghreb Union(AMU), Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, successfully carriedout a campaign to prevent and control foot-and-mouthdisease, which led to its eradication. The last epizooticoutbreaks date back to 1999. In 2011, they wererecognized by the OIE as countries free of foot-and-mouthdisease with or without vaccinationŽ. This status opens thedoor to international markets, notably for sheep exports toEuropean Union countries. In West and Central Africa, pastoralism, transhumance,and markets facilitate the circulation of the foot-and-mouth disease virus in livestock. This is true of largeseasonal gatherings, such as the salt cure festival held inIngall in Niger, a meeting point of goat, sheep, cattle, andcamel herds of Fulani and Touareg livestock farmers, whotravel through the Sahelian countries in the direction ofcountries on the coast or towards the outskirts of Mopti inMali. Epidemiological data on the disease remains difficult toobtain in the countries of West and Central Africa andgenerally are underestimated. When the livestock affectedare rustic breeds, foot-and-mouth disease often isperceived as being a disease with limited impacts, onethat returns regularly and that can be lived with. Reportingit risks penalties: bei

ng barred from pasture lands, waterpoints, access to markets. Nonetheless, there is an economic impact for these smalllivestock farmers. In pastoral systems, it can affect themobility of animals. On dairy farms, abortions in femalesresult in reductions of up to 50% in milk production duringthe year following the epizootic. There also are negativeimpacts when animals are used for draught power. The economist In this context, there are numerous obstacles toimplementing epidemiological surveillance and a controlstrategy despite the support of international agencies: - insufficient funding for organizing public and privateveterinarian services, which results in a lack ofveterinarians, who often have little or poor training andlimited resources to visit herds in the field; - lack of schooling for most livestock farmers, whichcomplicates their perception of the purpose of fighting thedisease, although this situation has been improving overthe past few years; - absence of a compensation policy for farmers when theiranimals must be slaughtered; - weak diagnostic capacity in national laboratories, amultiplicity of serotypes circulating, communicationdifficulties between countries, unavailability of vaccineswhen they exist and difficulty keeping them at correcttemperatures while transporting them to where they needto be used; - sometimes

it is impossible to slaughter herds during anepidemic due to religious or cultural taboos. In Southern Africa and East Africa, the situation is a littledifferent. It is wildlife, which are a reservoir for the foot-and-mouth disease virus, particularly African buffalo,which have a major impact on cattle farming. Despite- construction of sanitary cordons allowing wildlife to bemaintained in conservation areas far from livestock; - vaccination of herds and sanitary controls; - implementation of an animal tracability system and ameat production chain that respects internationalstandards and requirements regarding food safety; international export markets remain closed to smallfarmers in Southern African countries (Botswana,Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa) who live in areas wherefoot-and-mouth disease is rife. 101 The economist I read that sustainable development associations wouldlike to change the current international standards andestablish new standards that take into account the productitself, in other words, the meat production and processingsector rather than a products region of provenance. Thisproduct approach could offer livestock farmers access tonew markets and better prices for their products thanthose currently available on local markets. Brazil I often cite Brazil as an example to my students whendiscussing the fight t

o control foot-and-mouth disease.This immense country has the largest commercial cattleherd in the world with 190 million animals raised on overThanks to a half century spent fighting the disease, Brazilhas become the leading beef exporting country for 170countries in the world with over 2.2 million tons exportedannually. The country alone accounts for 30% of theinternational trade in meat. The first cases of foot-and-mouth disease appeared in thecountry in 1870 and originated from Europe. Starting in1926-1927, the State of São Paulo launched a regionaldisease control programme. With the creation of the Pan-American Foot and Mouth Disease Center(PANAFTOSA) in 1951, other federal states launchedpreventive vaccination programmes. These encounteredsome resistance from farmers owning cattle herds ofseveral hundred thousand heads raised in extensivesystems whose production losses caused by foot-and-mouth disease were insignificant compared to theconstraints of vaccination. Starting in 1971, the federal government of Brazil re-launched a national foot-and-mouth disease controlprogramme (PNCFA) that today has become the NationalProgramme for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease(PNEFA). The economist Under the coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture, allpublic and private stakeholders in each Brazilian federalstate contribute to a

n action plan to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease through on-going surveillance, vaccination,and training. Included are agricultural federations, Brazilianfarmers associations such as the National AgricultureConfederation (CNA), the National Animal Health ProductIndustry Syndicate (SINDAN), and the National BeefFarming Council (CNPC), an association of beef exportingOver 500 million doses of vaccine are manufactured eachyear and the Ministry of Agriculture requires themaintenance of a strategic reserve of 50 million doses foremergency situations. The cattle sector was reorganized completely throughconsiderable technological and financial investments. In2002, in order to meet the requirements of the internationalmarket, a traceability system known as SISBOV wasimplemented to cover the entire production chain, from thefarmer up to the shipper. It certifies the origins and qualityof animal products. Since 1999, Brazil has applied the concept of zoning withrecognition from the OIE of zones free of foot-and-mouthdisease, without vaccinationŽ and zones free of foot-and-mouth disease, with vaccinationŽ. Today, the latter coverhalf of the country and hold 75% of the cattle population. Brazil owes the excellent health status of its cattle herds tofoot-and-mouth disease, which allowed it to increase itsbeef exports. However, the mainten

ance of export levelsand access to new markets remain an on-going challenge. 103 The economist Epizootic outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease occurregularly in border areas. There was an epizootic outbreak in2005 in Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná states that spreadto other states. They lost their free of foot-and-mouthdisease, with vaccinationŽ zone status and their license toexport. It was not until 2008 that Mato Grosso do Sulregained its sanitary status.To help control these high surveillance border areas, aEuropean research programme is underway. It will allowthe risks of foot-and-mouth disease spread to be analysedby using the data of geographic information systems. Foot-and-mouth disease emerged in an endemic mannerin Southeast Asia in 1976. However, for many years thepolitical situation and armed conflict did not permitdisease prevention and control programmes to beThree virus serotypes circulate in the region: type O, themost common, and which includes the Pan-Asia topotypethat was at the origin of the 2001 epizootic in the UnitedKingdom, type A, and type Asia1. Indonesia succeeded in eradicating the foot-and-mouthdisease virus by 1986. In 1997, a coordinated preventionand control campaign against the disease wasimplemented in seven countries: Cambodia, Laos,Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam,with the pa

rticipation of Indonesia under the regionalSEAFMD (South-East Asia Foot and Mouth Disease)programme. In 2010, this allowed parts of Malaysia and the Philippinesto achieve the OIE status of zones free of foot-and-mouthdisease, without vaccinationŽ. The economist With this same progressive zoning approach,epidemiological surveillance, control of animalmovements, awareness raising campaigns and strategicvaccination, governments of other ASEAN (Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations) countries aim to move from anendemic situation to the eradication of foot-and-mouthdisease by 2020 with the objective of gaining access tohigh value-added Asian markets and internationalIn 2007, during surveys on the Mekong river basin in Laos,Cambodia, and Vietnam on cross-border livestock tradeinvolving mainly cattle, buffalo and pigs, I assessed howmuch work remains to be done. The spread of the foot-and-mouth disease virus over longdistances is linked to the illegal movement of animalswhich is done to avoid complex border controls anddissuasively high taxes. The majority of imports and exports of cattle and buffalofollow underground routes, often in several stages, withcollection points where the animals remain while in transit,sometimes serving as sorting stations for future buyersfrom destination countries. Herds also are confided tovillagers who tak

e them across the border on foot. Everymonth, approximately 15 000 buffalo and cattle cross theborder in this way from Thailand into Cambodia. These cross-border exchanges are dictated by risingprices and contribute to the upsurge of foot-and-mouthdisease outbreaks in areas where prices are high. This ishow serotype A of the foot-and-mouth disease virus wasintroduced into Vietnam from Cambodia for the first time in2004. 105 The economist Foot-and-mouth disease does not only have an economicimpact at the level of the country; it also has a directimpact on village communities. The consequences can bedramatic for impoverished families if the disease occurs inbuffalo during peak agricultural periods, or if cows andpigs, raised as a source of income, lose their market value. A villager told me that one year, following an attack offoot-and-mouth disease, he could not pay his childrensschool fees. In addition, he was forced into debt to buymedecines. And yet he had followed the advice of thevillage veterinary nurse to clean the sores on the tonguesand feet of his two infected cattle with a concoction ofboiled tamarind leaves to hasten healing and he had madeofferings to Buddha. But after having been sick withfoot-and-mouth disease, his animals were thin and lackedthe strength to pull a cart. No one wanted to buy from him.It was a bad

year! To conclude In some regions of the world, notably Asia, epizootics offoot-and-mouth disease co-exist with outbreaks of avianinfluenza. In these countries, it often is financiallyimpossible for the veterinarian services to combat thecombination of these two contagious animal diseases.Inevitably, choices are made based not on market values,but the zoonotic character of the two diseases, meaningtheir capacity to be transmitted to people. This is whyavian influenza is the sanitary priority. Despite its small size and discretion, the very aggressivefoot-and-mouth disease regulates international trade inanimals and animal products on a global scale through theconstraints that it imposes. This is yet another example ofhow we are ruled by an infinitely small, invisible world. The economist I Use of cattle to pull people and cargo in a village in the highlands ofVietnam. - Vietnam, Kontum, April 2003. - © Georgette Charbonnier, 107 For further informationƒA reference work La fièvre aphteuse, une maladie du passé toujours dactualité. Fédida M.- Lyon (FRA) : Editions Bellier, 2007, 381 p. and a selection of other information sources Impact des flambées dépizooties et des nouvelles pratiques de luttesur les marchés et les échanges agricoles. Le cas de la fièvre aphteuse.- OCDE - Paris (FRA), 2010, 82 p. Overview of FMD in Africa. P

erspectives from AU/IBAR - El Sawalhy A.… FMD technical workshop for Africa contributing to the FMD globalstrategy. AU/IBAR Nairobi, Kenya, 26-30 January 2009.Fièvre aphteuse : épidémiologie mondiale, nouveaux variants, menaceset risques pour lEurope. - Moutou F.-Bulletin des GTV, 2008, Horssérie, p. 71-78.Incursions of foot and mouth disease virus into Europe between 1985and 2006. - Valarcher J.F. et al. - Transboundary and EmergingDiseases , 2008, 55, p. 14-34..A brief history of vaccines and vaccination. - Lombard M., Pastoret P.P.,Moulin A.M. - Revue Scientifique et Technique de lOIE, 2007, 26 (1), p.Control of foot and mouth disease in Southeast Asia. - Abila R.C.,Foreman S. - Proceeding of the 11th International Symposium onVeterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Cairns, Australia, 06-11August 2006, p. 1103-1105.Etude rétrospective de la fièvre aphteuse en Afrique de lOuest de 1970à 2003. - Couacy-Hymann, et al. - Revue Scientifique et Technique,2006, 25 (3), p. 1013-1024.Fièvre aphteuse - Acha P.N., Szyfres B. … In : Zoonoses et maladiestransmissibles communes à lhomme et aux animaux. - Paris (FRA) :OIE, 2005, p. 151-163. Le système de surveillance de la fièvre aphteuse en France. -Gourreau J.M., et al. - Médecine et maladies infectieuses, 2005, 35,Virus topotypes and the role of wildlife in foot and mouth disease inAf

rica - Vosloo W. et al. - In : Ososfsky S.A. - Conservation anddevelopment interventions at wildlife/livesstock interface. Implicationsfor wildlife, livestock and human health. - IUCN Vth World ParksCongress, Durban, South Africa, 14-15 September 2003 - Cambridge(GBR) : IUCN, 2005, p. 67-73. For further informationƒ La lutte contre la fièvre aphteuse au Brésil : la participation du secteurprivé. - Dubois R., Moura J.A. - Revue Scientifique et Technique, 2004,Echanges internationaux et épizooties : le cas de la fièvre aphteuse.- Gourreau J.M., et . - Bulletin de lAcadémie Vétérinaire de France,2004, 157 (3), p.101-106.Fièvre aphteuse. - Leforban Y. …In : Lefèvre P.C., Blancou J., Chermette R.- Principales maladies infectieuses et parasitaires du bétail : Europe etrégions chaudes. - Vol. 1 - Paris (FRA), Lavoisier, 2003, p. 339-361.Foot and mouth disease in Brazil and its control. An overview of itshistory, present situation and perspectives for eradication. - Mayen F.L.- Veterinary Research Communications, 2003, 27, p. 137-148.De la cocotte à la menace de fièvre aphteuse. - Toma B. - Bulletin dela Société française dhistoire de la médecine et des sciencesvétérinaires, 2003, 2 (2), p.111-121.Fièvre aphteuse : les leçons de lexpérience française. - Chmitelin I.,Moutou F. - Revue Scientifique et Technique, 2002, 21 (3), p.723-730

.La vaccination comme outil de lutte contre la fièvre aphteuse. -De Clercq K. - Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire, 2002, 146, p. 155-160.The economics of foot and mouth disease. - James A.D., Rushton J.- Revue Scientifique et Technique, 2002, 21 (3), p. 637-644.Lépisode de fièvre aphteuse en Europe en 2001 était-il prévisible ? Lavaccination constitue-t-elle une solution ? - Leforban Y. - RevueScientifique et Technique, 2002, 21 (3), p. 539-547.Rapport dinformation sur la lutte contre lépizootie de fièvre aphteuse. - Emorine, J.P. - Paris (FRA) : Sénat, 2001 - Volume 1 : rapport, 162 p.- Volume 2 : auditions, 267 p. Une revue des développements récents des vaccins de la fièvreaphteuse. - Lombart M. - Bulletin de lAcadémie Vétérinaire de France,2001, 154, p. 381-394.Epidémiologie moléculaire de la fièvre aphteuse. - Thiry E., Baranowski E.,Domingo E. - Epidémiologie et Santé animale, 2001, 39, p. 59-67.Fièvre aphteuse - Blancou J. - In : Histoire de la surveillance et ducontrôle des maladies animales transmissibles. - Paris (FRA) : OIE,2000, p. 55-81.Le virus de la fièvre aphteuse. - Kim Y.J., Remond M. - Virologie, 2000, 109 The collection "Les savoirs partagés®" Pedagogic compilivres La planète des bactériesThe educational tsetse fly /La mouche tsé-tsé pédagogiqueLe dromadaire pédagogiqueLautruche pédagogique An educational comi

c book: Lautruche dans tous ses états Scientific animal tales: Journal intime dune mouche tsé-tsé Journal intime dun ornithorynque Educational handbooks: La fièvre aphteuseLa fièvre catarrhale ovineLe ver blanc au paradis vertLa grippe aviaire, linfluenza aviaire Impact studies: La grippe aviaire, linfluenza aviaire Journal intime dun ornithorynqueLautruche pédagogique Website: 5, rue Roland Barthes - 75012 Paris - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 53 44 33 99Fax: 33 (0)1 44 87 99 39Website: www.afd.fr 42, rue Scheffer - 75116 Paris - France Tel: 33 (0)1 53 70 20 00Fax: 33 (0)1 47 55 15 30Website: www.cirad.fr BP 454 - Bobo-Dioulasso - 01 Burkina-FasoTel: (00 226) 20 97 20 53 / (00 226) 20 97 22 87Fax: (00 226) 20 97 23 20 Website: www.cirdes.org CTAPostbus 380 - 6700 AJ Wageningen - NetherlandsTel: 31 (0) 317 467 100Website: www.cta.int Dakar - BP 5077 - Dakar-Fann - SenegalTel: (00 221) 33 865 10 08Fax: (00 221) 33 825 42 83Website: www.eismv.org 149 rue de Bercy - 75595 Paris Cedex 12 - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 40 04 51 24Fax: 33 (0)1 40 04 51 28Website: www.fesass.eu IAV Hassan IIBP 6202 - Rabat-Instituts - MoroccoTel: (00 212) (05) 37 77 17 85/59/45 Fax: (00 212) (05) 37 77 58 45Website: www.iav.ac.ma Maison nationale des éleveurs149, rue de Bercy - 75595 Paris Cedex 12 - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 40 04 51 24Fax: 33 (0)1 40 04 51 28Website: www.re

seaugds.com IFAHRue Defacqz, 1 - 1000 Brussels - BelgiumTel: 32 (0)2 541 0111Fax: 32 (0)2 541 0119Website: www.ifahsec.org Rue Ouled Sidi Cheikh - El Mohammadia - El HarrachTel/Fax: (00 213) 21 53 67 51 / 20 Département de Santé animaleBP 93173 - Toulouse Cedex 3 - FranceTel: 33 (0)5 61 28 53 95Fax: 33 (0)5 61 28 53 10Website: www.inra.fr/sante_animale 30, rue Alain Savary - 1002 Tunis Belvédère - TunisiaTel: (00 216) 71 798 244Fax: (00 216) 71 796 170Website: www.iresa.agrinet.tn MAAPRAT78, rue de Varenne - 75349 Paris 07 SP - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 49 55 49 55Websites: www.agriculture.gouv.fr www.alimentation.gouv.fr www.territoires.gouv.fr MERIAL SAS29, avenue Tony Garnier - 69007 Lyon - FranceTel: 33 (0)4 72 72 30 31Fax: 33 (0)4 72 72 31 81Website: www.merial.com 12, rue de Prony - 75017 Paris - France Tel: 33 (0)1 44 15 18 88Fax: 33 (0)1 42 67 09 87Website: www.oie.int 5, rue Moufle - 75011 Paris - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 49 29 58 58Fax: 33 (0)1 49 29 70 77Website: www.sngtv.org 50, rue de Paradis - 75010 Paris - FranceTel: 33 (0)1 53 34 43 42 Fax: 33 (0)1 53 34 43 44Websites: www.simv.org www.merci-les-medicaments-veterinaires.com Printed by SOULIÉImprimeur FrontignanLegal deposit: 4trimestre 2011 Foot-and-mouth disease Following the well-received French edition, which wassupported by thirteen partner institutions, this educationalha

ndbook is now being offered in English in order tocommunicate to a wider audience knowledge about this verycontagious viral disease that re-emerged in numerous countries An initiative supported by: the World Organization for Animal Health (France),the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperationthe French Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fishing, Rural Affairs andthe French Development Agency,the European Federation for Animal Health and Sanitary Securitythe National Federation of Livestock Health Protection Groupsthe National Society of Veterinary Technical Associations (France),the International Federation for Animal Health (Belgium),the Veterinary Medicines and Reagents Industry Syndicate (France),the National Institute for Agricultural Research (France),the International Centre for Research and Development of AnimalHusbandry in the Sub-humid Zone(Burkina-Faso),the Interstate School of Veterinary Science and Medicine (Senegal),the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine(Morocco),the National Institute of Veterinary Medicine (Algeria),the Institute of Agricultural Research and Higher Education(Tunisia),the French Agricultural Research Centre for International© CIRAD, 2011EAN: 9782876146822Number printed: 20 000 copies CIRAD-DRLR-SAVOIRSTA 178/05 Avenue Agropolis34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 - FranceE-mail: esp