New Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs)
Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is one of the most important livestock diseases known to man due to its high infection rate (ease of spread) and its effect on the limitation of livestock movement and trade. In areas endemically infected
(most of Africa and Asia and many countries in Latin America) the impact of the disease is not only associated with loss of trading opportunities but also the direct effect on the productivity of the animals through losses associated with
milk yield, abortion, death in young animals and loss of traction power. This CRP proposes to develop guidelines and protocols for the more effective quality control of FMD vaccines and their application in endemic countries as part of the
FAO program for the global progressive control and eventual eradication of FMD in domesticated animal reservoirs. Read More » [pdf]
The Use of Irradiated Vaccines in the Control of Infectious Transboundary Diseases of Livestock.
Vaccination has been one of the greatest achievements of humanity in enabling the eradication of serious, life-threatening diseases of man and his domesticated livestock. Many of the vaccines used today rely on technologies developed
over 100 years ago involving some form of attenuation, i.e. the use of an alternative or mutant strain of a pathogenic organism that has reduced virulence whilst maintaining immunogenicity, or inactivation, where chemical or physical methods
are used to kill virulent pathogenic strains. This CRP proposes to develop protocols for the attenuation of animal pathogens and to define parameters for their use as vaccines against the causative agents of transboundary parasitic and other
infectious diseases.
Read More » [pdf]
Genetic Variation on the Control of Resistance to Infectious Diseases in Small Ruminants for Improving Animal Productivity.
Small ruminants, mainly sheep and goats, constitute an important livestock resource in most developing countries and are essential for the livelihood of millions of small-scale farmers. Infectious diseases, such as gastrointestinal nematodes impose severe constraints to their production.
Genetic disease resistance is particularly relevant in developing countries, as indigenous breeds usually display enhanced resistance to local diseases compared to exotic ones reared in the same environment. The rapid and growing knowledge on genes and genomes in livestock
such as the assessment of a large number of DNA markers in phenotypic recorded populations could be used to localize and further characterize candidate genes of economic interest. However, there is insufficient research on ways to select breeds or individuals carrying the
most advantageous traits. The objective of the CRP is to improve productivity in smallholder livestock systems using gene based and related technologies. Read More » [pdf]