OIE Reference Laboratory Reports
Activities in 2011
Name of disease (or topic) for
which you are a designated OIE
Reference Laboratory:
Address of laboratory:
Swine vesicular disease
Pirbright Laboratory
Institute for Animal health
Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0NF
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel.:
Tel.: +44 1483 231211,
Fax:
Fax: +44 1483 232621
e-mail address:
website:
Name (including Title and
Position) of Head of Laboratory
(Responsible Official):
Name(including Title and
Position) of OIE Reference
Expert:
jef.hammond@iah.ac.uk
http//www.iah.ac.uk
Dr Michael Johnson
Head of Laboratory
Dr Jef Hammond
Head Reference Laboratories for
FMD and SVD
Name (including Title and
Position) of writer of this report
(if different from above):
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011
1
Swine vesicular disease
Part I: Summary of general activities related to the disease
1.
Test(s) in use/or available for the specified disease/topic at your laboratory
Agent identification is carried out using: a) Virus isolation in an IB-RS-2 cell line; b) Antigen detection ELISA; c)
5' nuclease probe-based real time RT-PCR. Agent characterisation is by sequencing of the VP1 gene. Serology for
diagnosis and certification is by means of ELISA and virus neutralisation test.
Approximate numbers of tests carried out in 2011 (including validation studies and external requests):
2.
Test
For
Specificity
Total
ELISA
Antibody
SVD all strains
574
ELISA
Antigen
SVD all strains
1
VN
Antibody
SVD all strains
91
IB-RS-2 cell culture
Virus isolation
SVD all strains
1
RT-PCR
Virus genome
SVD all strains
1
Production and distribution of diagnostic reagents
Reference sera, inactivated antigens or live virus have been produced and sent to Belgium and Switzerland. Rabbit
and guinea pig sera for SVD antigen detection were provided for use nationally (20ml). FMDV/SVDV antigen
ELISA kits sent to Japan, Brazil and Taiwan.
Part II: Activities specifically related to the mandate
of OIE Reference Laboratories
3.
International harmonisation and standardisation of methods for diagnostic testing or the
production and testing of vaccines
a)
Establishment and maintenance of a network with other OIE Reference Laboratories
designated for the same pathogen or disease and organisation of regular inter-laboratory
proficiency testing to ensure comparability of results
Combined FMD/SVD Proficiency Testing 2011
Eighty labs from seventy six countries were invited to take part in this study supported by the EC and the
EUFMD. Of the 58 labs that agreed to participate, 26 labs were from EU member countries; 32 labs from
Non-EU countries. Participants were sent a package containing uniquely coded and labelled samples as
described below. The aim of the exercise was to complete a proficiency testing study for virology and
serology diagnosis for FMD and SVD during 2011. Particular tests were not specified, but labs were invited
to select tests and interpret results based upon:
a.
b.
Virus detection – as if samples were from suspect outbreaks.
Serology - as if serum samples were from FMD /SVD endemic countries with vaccination (for FMD
samples) or non-vaccination (for SVD samples) history for importation screening.
Participants were asked to give results for individual tests on each sample and where multiple tests were
used, an overall result for each sample. Overall interpretation for each suspect case under investigation for
panel 1 was also requested. Participants were also asked to provide information on national surveillance for
FMD and/or SVD. This was to enable a clear picture of the scale of activities, the state of QA accreditation
and the tests actually being used by participants during 2010/2011 to be compiled.
Results of this study will be presented at the joint meeting of FMD/SVD national reference laboratories in
Brussels, Belgium in April/May 2012 and a feedback letter including the overall results from all participants
for each panel including comments and recommendations on each test will be prepared and sent to each
laboratory.
2
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011
Swine vesicular disease
Details of Panels
Panel 1: infectious material from 2 cases of suspected vesicular disease for virus detection
Case 1a: 2 epithelial and 1 faecal suspension samples from pigs in a herd affected with a vesicular condition.
Case 1b: 2 epithelial and 1 faecal suspension samples from pigs in a herd affected with a vesicular condition.
Panel 2: non-infectious material1 from cattle or pigs for virus genome/antigen detection by RT-PCR
and/or Ag-ELISA
6 samples from pigs, with each originating from a different case of a herd with a vesicular condition.
Panel 3: non-infectious material2 for FMD serology
6 sera from suspected FMD in sheep for serology diagnosis. Some of the animals were vaccinated with O1
Manisa vaccine.
Panel 4: non-infectious material2 for SVD serology
6 sera from pigs for SVD post outbreak surveillance..
1
Samples were inactivated using Binary ethyleneimine and inocuity tested by two passages in primary bovine thyroid
cells (for FMDV) or RS cells (for SVDV) with negative results. 2 Sera were inocuity tested by two passages in primary
bovine thyroid cells (for FMDV) or RS cells (for SVDV) with negative results and then inactivated using Binary
ethyleneimine to kill any live virus not detected by inocuity testing.
b)
Organisation of inter-laboratory proficiency testing with laboratories other than OIE
Reference Laboratories for the same pathogens and diseases to ensure equivalence of
results
None to report
4.
Preparation and supply of international reference standards for diagnostic tests or vaccines
The laboratory acts as European Community Reference Laboratory for SVD. In this capacity, European reference
standards for serology and for virus detection by ELISA, cell culture isolation and RT-PCR are maintained and
supplied to Member States of the European Union.
5.
Research and development of new procedures for diagnosis and control
The laboratory is engaged in a wide range of research of this type including the development and validation of
virological and serological diagnostic tests.
6.

2011 saw continued discussions with Svanova following the development of the SVANODIP® Antigen
based penside tests enabling early detection of FMD and SVD viruses. The tests were developed in cooperation with the OIE Community Reference Laboratory for FMD, Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright
Laboratory, UK and Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell´Emilia Romagna
(IZSLER), Italy, as part of the EU project Lab-On-Site, a project on new and emerging technologies for
detection of important diseases in animals and animal products.

A collaborative project “Development and laboratory validation of novel serological methods for
identification of swine that are genuinely positive for swine vesicular disease (SVD) from false-positive
reactors, so-called singleton reactors (CFIA Project ID # WIN-A-1103)” between The NCFAD, Canadian
Food Inspection Agency and the SVD Reference Laboratory at the Institute for Animal Health has been
granted and started in 2011.
Collection, analysis and dissemination of epizootiological data relevant to international disease
control

There were no isolates submitted this reporting year specifically for SVDV isolation or VP1 sequencing. No
positive SVDV samples were obtained from testing all pig samples received in 2011see table 1 below.
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011
3
Swine vesicular disease
7.
Maintenance of a system of quality assurance, biosafety and biosecurity relevant to the
pathogen and the disease concerned
The IAH maintains a strict policy of Quality assurance and accreditation with all aspects of Institute processes
being subject to internal audit and external UKAS review.
The following FMD, SVD and VS tests are ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited:
WRL 002 Processing field samples for diagnosis and growth of vesicular diseases WRL 006 FMDV and SVDV
antigen detection by ELISA WRL 033 Svanova 1F10 lateral flow device for FMDV antigen detection WRL 026*
One step TaqMan® RT-PCR for diagnosis of FMDV and related vesicular diseases (*plus supporting documents)
SAU 004 Detection of antibodies against vesicular and related viruses by the virus neutralisation test (VNT) SAU
005 Liquid Phase Blocking ELISA (LPBE) for detection of antibodies against Foot-and-Mouth disease virus
(FMDV) SAU 010 Detection of Antibodies against the Non Structural Protein of Foot-and-Mouth disease virus
(FMDV) using Ceditest® FMDV-NS (PrioCHECK® FMDV –NS) kits SAU 011 Detection of Antibodies against
the Structural Protein of Foot-and-Mouth disease virus (FMDV) by solid-phase competition ELISA (SPCE) SAU
012 Detection of Antibodies against Foot and Mouth disease virus (FMDV) using PrioCHECK® FMDV type O
kits SVD 008 5B7-Monoclonal Antibody Competition (MAC) ELISA for the detection of antibodies against SVD
virus
The groups performing diagnostic testing are also externally registered to ISO 9001:2008. The IAH is working
towards achieving Institute-wide ISO 9001 registration, with additional ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation where
appropriate. Internal audits to ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 are performed on an annual basis.
8.
Provision of consultant expertise to OIE or to OIE Member Countries
Dr Hammond acted as an expert consultant and participated in a Working Group on Swine Vesicular Disease and
Vesicular Stomatitis for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Via Carlo Magno 1 A, Parma, Italy. He has
participated in several meetings of this expert group which are ongoing at time of writing.
9.
Provision of scientific and technical training to personnel from other OIE Member Countries
A number of IAH Pirbright staff played key roles in the annual 2-week FMDV diagnostics training course held at
Pirbright laboratory for overseas scientists between 16/5/11-27/5/11
Diagnostic Course Attendees:






Martin ESAU
Hanan MOHAMED AHMED
Yiltawe Simwal WUNGAK
Daniel AFONIA
Inas HABIBALLA
David PULFORD

A number of IAH Pirbright staff also gave key lectures in the Defra Notifiable Diseases Course held at IAH
Pirbright on the 30th June and 1st July. Notifiable Diseases Attendees: Approx 30 animal health officers
attended.
National Animal Disease Diagnostics & Epidem Centre Uganda
Ministry of Animal Resources - Sudan
FMD National Veterinary Research Centre - Nigeria
ARRIAH, Russia
Central Vet Research Laboratory - Sudan
Investigation and Diagnostic Centre - New Zealand
10. Provision of diagnostic testing facilities to other OIE Member Countries
All samples received for testing from suspect cases of vesicular disease in pigs are tested for both FMD and SVD.
Details of the tests carried out for SVD can be found in the report of the OIE FMD Reference Laboratory at
Pirbright.
In total the IAH reference laboratory for FMD received 1041 samples from 27 countries in 2011, 574 were
collected in 2011 and 467 were collected in 2010. Details of the results obtained can be found at:
http://www.wrlfmd.org/.
4
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011
Swine vesicular disease
Table 1. Summary of samples received to IAH FMD/SVD Reference Laboratory in 2011
Country
No.
Virus isolation in cell culture/ELISA
of
samples
O
A
C
FMD virus serotypes
SAT
SAT
SAT
1
2
3
RT-PCR for FMD (or SVD)
SVD
Asia
1
virus
NVD
NT
virus (where appropriate)
Positive
Negative
NT
64
181
47
64
-
9
7
3
-
-
5
-
-
30
-
32
15
-
-
-
2
4
-
-
-
9
-
19
1
-
-
-
30
-
1
30
-
AFGHANISTANa
292
109
22
-
-
-
-
7
-
92
BAHRAIN
19
2
1
-
-
-
-
4
-
12
BOTSWANA
5
-
-
-
-
5
-
-
-
BULGARIA
47
17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
CAMBODIAb
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
CONGO
20
4
7
-
-
-
-
-
DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLES' REPUBLIC
OF KOREA
31
1
-
-
-
-
-
ESTONIA
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
1
-
ETHIOPIA
28
14
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14
-
15
13
-
HONG KONG
9
9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9
-
-
IRAN
91
13
24
-
-
-
-
7
-
9
38
47
6
38
IRAQ
17
6
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
10
-
14
3
-
ISRAEL
26
21
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
-
24
2
-
KENYA
22
9
-
-
4
-
-
-
-
9
-
20
2
-
KUWAIT
2
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
-
LAOS
4
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4
-
-
LIBYA
52
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
50
-
14
29
9
MALAYSIAc
52
2
6
-
-
-
-
-
-
6
38
44
8
-
MONGOLIA
4
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
-
2
2
-
PAKISTANd
130
50
1
-
-
-
-
48
-
33
-
124
6
-
PARAGUAY
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
SOUTH AFRICA
24
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24
-
-
24
-
SOUTH KOREA
17
9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8
-
15
2
-
SRI LANKA
2
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
-
THAILAND
17
6
11
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
17
-
-
TURKEYe
68
11
37
-
-
-
-
3
-
18
-
67
1
-
UNITED KINGDOM
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
-
-
5
-
VIETNAM
47
41
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
-
46
-
1
ZAMBIA
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
2
-
-
ZIMBABWE
2
-
-
-
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
-
1041
338
111
-
4
7
-
69
-
375
142
722
204
115
TOTAL
VI/ELISA
FMD (or SVD) virus serotype identified following virus isolation in cell culture and antigen detection ELISA
FMD
foot-and-mouth disease
SVD
swine vesicular disease
NVD
no FMD, SVD or vesicular stomatitis virus detected
RT-PCR
reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for FMD (or SVD) viral genome
NT
not tested
a
1 sample from Afghanistan contained a mixture of FMDVs of types O and A and another of A and Asia 1
b
2 samples from Cambodia were RNA for PCR analysis
c
38 samples from Malaysia were supplied in Trizol for PCR analysis
d
2 samples from Pakistan contained a mixture of FMDVs of types O and Asia 1
e
1 sample from Turkey contained a mixture of FMDVs of types O and A
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011
5
Swine vesicular disease
11. Organisation of international scientific meetings on behalf of OIE or other international bodies


Drs Hammond and Li organised and Dr Hammond chaired the annual meeting of the European FMD/SVD
National Reference Laboratories in Brussels, Belgium in May 2011.
Dr Hammond and Dr Li organised, hosted and chaired the OIE/FAO FMD Reference Laboratories Network
Meeting held at the IAH ,Pirbright, UK. 14th-16th November 2011.
12. Participation in international scientific collaborative studies
Nothing to report
13. Publication and dissemination of information relevant to the work of OIE (including list of
scientific publications, internet publishing activities, presentations at international conferences)

Presentations at international conferences and meetings
Dr Jef Hammond - Head World Reference Laboratory for FMD (WRLFMD), Head Vesicular Disease Reference
Laboratories, Head EU Community Reference Laboratories for FMD and SVD and Head OIE Reference
Laboratory for FMD.

3/5/11-5/5/11 Organised and chaired the EU National FMD and SVD Reference Laboratories meeting in
Brussels with Dr Yanmin Li. Gave a presentation entitled ‘ FMD situation overview’
Presentations were also given by Drs Li and Mioulet from WRLFMD entitled







‘Combined Proficiency Test Studies for SVD and FMD 2010 (Yanmin Li/Valerie Mioulet)’
‘Activities of the Community Reference Laboratory for FMD and SVD 2010 and priorities for 2011’
(Yanmin Li)
21/5/11-26/5/11 Invited to attend the OIE general session in Paris as part of the British CVO’s delegation.
6/12/11 Attended European CVOs meeting, Brussels. Presented a personal profile on my suitability to be
elected as UK representative for SCAD.
14/12/11 Hosted visit by Australian CVO
16/12/11attended EU Commission reference laboratory meeting in Brussels.
Scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals
1: Ferris NP, Clavijo A, Yang M, Velazquez-Salinas L, Nordengrahn A, Hutchings GH, Kristersson T, Merza M.
Development and laboratory evaluation of two lateral flow devices for the detection of vesicular stomatitis virus in
clinical samples. J Virol Methods. 2011 Dec 29. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22230813.
2: McMenamy MJ, McKillen J, Reid SM, Hjertner B, King DP, Adair B, Allan G. Development of a minor groove
binder assay for real-time one-step RT-PCR detection of swine vesicular disease virus. J Virol Methods. 2011
Jan;171(1):219-24. Epub 2010 Nov 10. PubMed PMID: 21073902.

Other communications
Nothing to report
_______________
6
Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011