Prospects for rapid diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease in the field using reverse transcriptase-pcr

RAPID and accurate diagnosis is necessary for the effective control of foot-and-mouth disease (fmd). Some laboratory-based methods are rapid, generating a result within a few hours, but the time taken to transport suspect clinical material to the laboratory can be lengthy, and this delay can preclude laboratory confirmation of disease. Notably, the implementation of the control strategy adopted by the uk government in the 2001 fmd epizootic — to slaughter animals on infected premises within 24 hours — meant that in the majority of cases, diagnosis based on clinical signs was not substantiated by laboratory investigation. Retrospective analyses have indicated that the reliance upon clinical diagnosis alone resulted in over-reporting of fmd, since the presence of fmd virus (fmdv) on 23 per cent of farms designated as infected premises was not confirmed by laboratory methods (Ferris and others 2006). These factors have given rise to the idea that the reliability of diagnosis may be improved by using rapid and sensitive tests that can be used in situ or close to a suspect premises, without transferring the samples to a central laboratory. The use of rapid diagnostic assays was recommended in …