Foot-and-Mouth Disease in African Buffalo Shows Persistence of Highly Infectious Pathogens

New research on foot-and-mouth disease among African buffalo by Oregon State University could help explain how some extremely infectious pathogens can continue and reach the prevalent stage in a population long after they have burned through their first pool of vulnerable hosts.

A report from Phys.org said the study findings are specifically significant as the human population of the world is closing in on the COVID-19 pandemic's two-year anniversary, and scientists and policymakers are encountering the reality that the virus is not vanishing anytime soon.

According to Anna Jolles, the study's lead author and an epidemiology professor at Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine of OSU, the research brings out the same question that many people are asking about this global health crisis.

Jolles, who also has a double appointment in the College of Science, then asked, "Is there any way" of actually restricting the infection after it turns pandemic.

Research in a laboratory cannot answer that, she said. This is because it is a question at the population measure. In the laboratory, there are no entire animal populations, and all the deviation among hosts, pathogens, or the environment, continued Jolles. Observing the wild hosts is one way of getting insights into the manner this can be playing out.

Wild Herd Specimens Studied

The study's co-authors published in Science include Brianna Beechler, an OSU assistant professor, and Jan Medlock, an associate professor.

Foot-and-mouth disease does not result in severe illness in buffalo, although when it gets transferred to cattle and other cloven-hoofed species, it can lead to painful sores on the feet and in the mouth. The disease does not infect humans, though.

The research looked at the spreading mechanisms of three main variants of smoot-and-mouth disease virus among buffalo herds in the Kruger National Park of South Africa, particularly SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3.

The study authors tested blood and tissue specimens from a wild herd every two to three months between 2014 and 2017 and observed infection dynamics in a captive group of buffalo at more constricted time intervals for six months.

Pathogen Running Through Population

Jolles explained, a lot of research and media reports on very infectious pathogens concentrate on the "wildfire stage," when the pathogen is running through the populace and what portion of the population will turn infected in the epidemic stage.

However, once that particular stage has passed, there then where does the pathogen is going. The lead author added that is where they are focusing on.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Buffalo

The scientists were particularly trying to think like a virus. She then asked about which best way for the pathogen to transmit within a given population of buffalo and the manner it is surviving the lean times there are very few vulnerable hosts to infect.

Since the foot-and-mouth disease is very contagious, nearly all buffalo in the regions where it exists contract the local variants of the virus and attains some immunity level fairly in life.

A similar Bioengineer.org report specified, young calves, nevertheless, are vulnerable to infection after four to six months of age, when they lose their maternity derived immunity, and thus, transmission among acute infected young buffalo was the main pathway the study authors analyzed.

Following the recovery of buffalo from acute infection, some retain the virus in their tonsils, where it can lie inactive for months.

The scientists hypothesized that the second transmission route, which has less efficacy, was through these carrier animals. But they become widespread and continue long-term.

Related information about the foot-and-mouth disease in buffalo is shown on EuFMD FAST's YouTube video below:

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