[NAIROBI] A new vaccine, designed to protect East African cattle against all major strains of foot and mouth disease, is offering hope to small-scale farmers battling the highly contagious disease.

Foot and mouth disease, or FMD, reduces milk production by up to 80 per cent in affected dairy cattle, costing African producers an estimated US$2.3 billion each year.

The vaccine was developed as part of the AgResults Vaccine Challenge Project, an eight-year, US$17.34 million “pay-for-results” prize competition, organized by the livestock charity GALVmed.

It is hoped the treatment will prevent new outbreaks of the disease, improving dairy productivity and access to FMD-free global markets.

According to Nina Henning, project manager team lead at GALVmed, vaccination is currently carried out largely in response to an emergency, rather than to prevent an outbreak, meaning only around five per cent of cattle in Africa have been vaccinated.

“Moving away from reactive vaccination in the case of an outbreak to prophylactic use before an outbreak is a huge step forward for preventative vaccination,” she tells SciDev.Net.

The quadrivalent vaccine, manufactured by Biopharma – a vaccine manufacturer company based in Morocco – been tailored to protect against the four types of FMD virus – O, A, SAT1, and SAT2 – that are known to be circulating in Eastern Africa.

It the first quadrivalent vaccine against FMD to be registered in the region.

“It has been developed for use in all cattle over three months and provides a minimum of six months immunity after two doses,” says Henning.

FMD is a viral infection that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs.

Henning says the continual evolution of the virus gives rise to new strains, causing case numbers to spike and increasing the risk of spread into new areas.

“There is a global clustering of FMD viruses and these have been divided into seven virus pools,” she explains.

“Normally, FMD vaccines only contain one or two of the serotypes but the new vaccine has been developed and tested against the four serotypes known to be circulating in Eastern Africa. This should provide confidence that the vaccine will [effectively control] FMD among livestock in the region,” she adds.

Funded by the governments of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project is structured as a cost-share that reduces the cost-per-dose for buyers.

The allocation of the funds is determined by the Project Manager (GALVmed) and the AgResults Secretariat.

So far, US$15.8 million has been to the cost-share mechanism, which was launched last month (1 October), according to Henning.

The project is structured as a cost-share that reduces the cost-per-dose for buyers. The allocation of the funds is determined by the Project Manager (GALVmed) and the AgResults Secretariat.

This will cover 12.5 million doses of any vaccine that meets the eligibility criteria of the AgResults competition over the next four years.

The process aims to catalyse initial vaccine adoption, which can then be scaled up to increase access and uptake.

For small-scale livestock producers who rely on dairy cattle for their household milk and income, the vaccine offers a level of protection previously unavailable and would safeguard milk production.

However, ensuring that farmers have the confidence to use it will be crucial.

“We hope that the rigorous testing process that was carried out on the vaccine before sale will provide this reassurance,” says Henning.

Charles Ndawula Junior, a molecular biologist at the National Livestock Resources Research Institute, Uganda, says the vaccine could have a positive impact on regional trade.

“If protective, this vaccine could eventually lead to East Africa being declared FMD-free, enabling beef exports to other FMD-free countries,” he says.

He says Brazil’s successful ten-year FMD vaccination efforts and subsequent FMD-free status, offer a model of what is achievable.

Ndawula says challenges remain in ensuring consistent availability of the vaccine and securing governmental and private sector support for widespread adoption.

He believes the success of the vaccine campaign depends on governments providing steady access to the vaccine for farmers,

Foot and mouth disease is considered a transboundary disease, meaning that it can spread without any limitations.

“Vaccination would limit the risk of FMD virus transmission during animal movement across borders,” Ndawula adds.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.