African horse sickness (AHS), peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) are three priority animal diseases included in the list of notifiable animal diseases of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
AHS is a devastating disease of equids caused by an arbovirus transmitted by haematophagous Culicoides midges. The virus is endemic to tropical and subtropical areas of Africa but it has repeatedly spread to Europe and Asia as well, causing severe outbreaks. The infection of horses with AHSV leads to acute disease characterized by severe respiratory and circulatory impairment and is often fatal.
PPR is extremely contagious and has a case fatality rate of up to 90%. The disease is endemic to most of Africa, the Near East and Asia, now extending as far as China. This rapid expansion is threatening more than 80% of the total sheep and goat population in the world. The causative agent is the PPR virus (PPRV), a virus that is related to rinderpest, canine distemper and measles viruses. Following the lead of the successful rinderpest eradication campaign, the global eradication of PPR is targeted for 2030.
FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals. Three quarters of the global livestock population live in areas affected by FMD, primarily in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Recent outbreaks in Bulgaria and Israel illustrated the relevance of wild boar in FMD epidemiology and this will get worse as the populations of wild boar and feral pigs are expanding in the EU and around the globe.
Current vaccines for AHS, PPR and FMD have critical shortcomings that leave the European Union vulnerable to these category A transboundary animal diseases. Control strategies that rely on culling alone are increasingly rejected by the public. At the same time, the risk of an introduction of AHS, PPR or FMD into Europe is growing, driven by climate change, global trade and long-distance travel. Innovative vaccines and companion diagnostics grounded in increased knowledge of pathogenesis and immunity are urgently required to improve the capacity to prevent introductions from endemic countries outside the EU and contain outbreaks, which are a major threat to European agriculture. The SPIDVAC (Safe Priority Infectious Diseases VACcines) consortium will develop innovative vaccines against AHS, PPR and FMD and evaluate their capabilities in vitro, demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the candidate vaccines in small-animal models and in the target species and develop companion diagnostic to reliably differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). In addition, the project will increase knowledge on the mechanisms of infection, virulence and immunity and study the acceptability of vaccines for stakeholders in endemic areas. The consortium includes industry partners for veterinary vaccines and diagnostic tools, who will ensure the technological readiness and market relevance of the newly developed tools, which will help policy makers, veterinary services and business operators reduce the burden of infectious animal diseases, contribute to a sustainable livestock industry and promote public and animal health from farm to fork.
