LESSONS FROM TEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE BUILDING MEMBER
STATES’ CAPACITIES FOR DIAGNOSING LSDV AND OTHER
CAPRIPOXVIRUSES
Giovanni Cattoli
Joint FAO-IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

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▪ APHL networks and collaborates with several FAO and OIE
collaborating centres and Reference laboratories.
▪ Trainers for the training courses on disease diagnosis are
mostly from FAO and OIE international laboratories.
▪ We support laboratories to implement validated protocols,
to facilitate disease reporting and information sharing.
APHL is a WOAH Collaborating Centre for ELISA
and Molecular Techniques in Animal Disease
Diagnosis.
The Animal Production and Health Laboratory (APHL)
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome
The Animal Production and Health Laboratory of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre
has a unique position within the United Nations

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Research & Innovation (nuclear, nuclear-related, and molecular techniques)
• Molecular and serological laboratory assays
• Sequencing and next generation sequencing
• Molecular epidemiological studies
• Vaccine development
Capacity building and technology transfer
• Collaborative Research Projects (applied R&D & capacity building)
• Technical Cooperation Projects (technology transfer)
• On-site (in member states) trainings
• Fellowship trainings
• Group trainings
Networking, data sharing and services
• The VETLAB Network
• Service (ring trials, shipment, calibration)
APHL Activities in Animal Health – support to member states
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Sixth joint coordination meeting
for Africa and Asia ( August 2022)
Information, Knowledge and Experience Exchange
Capacity building: The VETLAB Network
Third joint coordination meeting
for Africa and Asia ( August 2018)
Fourth joint coordination meeting
for Africa and Asia ( August 2019)
Fifth joint coordination meeting
for Africa and Asia (November
2021), Virtual meeting
Proficiency testing
PT 2020 finalized (PPR)
PT 2021 ongoing
Countries’ contribution to the VETLAB Bulletin
Indonesia, Mongolia
iVetNet – Information platform of APH
Support the implementation of ISO 17025
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Increasing Awareness during VETLAB Director’s Annual Meetings
▪ March 2015 (1st directors meeting): Information sharing about the ongoing APHL activities on
Capripox. Support offered to VETLAB partners for disease diagnosis and outbreak investigations
(Africa) and laboratory preparedness (Asia -Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal).
▪ August 2016: a session dedicated to the syndromic surveillance of pox and respiratory diseases of
ruminants.
▪ August 2017 sessions dedicated to the syndromic surveillance, and bioinformatics tools for
capripoxviruses.
▪ August 2018: a session on collaborative research with VETLAB partners included serological
detection, differential diagnosis, and molecular epidemiology and capripox vaccine screening for
cross-contamination.
Before LSDV emerged and spread in Asia
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Increasing Awareness during VETLAB Director’s Annual Meetings
▪ August 2019 a session dedicated to LSD (Capripox), ASF and Equine diseases.
▪ November 2021. A session dedicated APHL R&D and initiatives to support animal and zoonotic
diseases surveillance and control covered LSD (Capripox).
▪ August 2022. a session dedicated to VETLAB partners' achievements and challenges in
Transboundary animal diseases diagnosis and surveillance: focus on LSD (Capripox), ASF and other
TADs.
After LSDV spread in Asia
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome
Shukes Chandra Badhy et al., 2021
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-02751-x

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Capacity Building Worldwide
▪ 6 in Asia between 2015 and 2020
▪ 12 in Africa between 2011 and 2018
▪ Direct detection, genotyping and
differential diagnosis tools were transferred
LSD-related Field Support
Missions
Senegal 2019
Botswana 2016
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Capacity Building Worldwide
Before and during LSD incursion in Europe
20 courses between 2012 and 2022
Title Year Venue Targeted audience
Major Transboundary and Zoonotic Animal Diseases: Early
detection, Surveillance and Epidemiology (included CaPVs)
2012 Cameroon Africa
Sequencing and Molecular Epidemiology of Animal Pathogens
(included Capripox)
2012 Austria Africa
Pathogen Typing Using Molecular Techniques 2014 Ethiopia Africa
Practical Approaches for Introducing New Assays for Routine
Use in Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratories
2014 Austria Africa and Asia
Transboundary Animal Diseases Diagnosis: Sequencing and
Bioinformatics Analysis of Animal Pathogen Genomes
2015 Austria Africa and Asia
Nuclear and Nuclear Related Techniques for Early and Rapid
Detection and Confirmation of Pox Virus Infections in Animals
(1)
2016 Austria Europe and Central
Asia
Nuclear and Nuclear Related Techniques for Early and Rapid
Detection and Confirmation of Pox Virus Infections in Animal (2)
2016 Austria Europe and Central
Asia
Workshop on Advanced Diagnosis and Control of Emerging
Transboundary Animal Diseases, with Emphasis on Lumpy Skin
Disease (supported by USDA/APHIS)
2016 Austria Europe, Asia and
Africa
Transboundary Animal Diseases Diagnosis: Respiratory disease
of small ruminants (PPR, CCPP, Pasteurella and Capripox)
2016 Austria Africa and Asia
Austria 2016
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Capacity Building Worldwide
20 courses between 2012 and 2022
Title Year Venue Targeted
audience
Transboundary Animal Diseases Diagnoses: Early Detection and
Characterization
2017 Ethiopia Africa
Transboundary Animal Diseases Diagnoses: Early Detection and
Characterization
2017 Austria Africa and Asia
Sequencing and Bioinformatics Analysis of Animal Pathogen Genomes” 2018 Austria Africa and Asia
Early Detection and Differentiation of Animal and Zoonotic Diseases”
Support by OFID funding through TC
2018 Austria Asia
Advanced Training of trainers on Transboundary Animal Diseases
Diagnoses and molecular epidemiology
2018 Austria Africa and Asia
Detection of Multiple Pathogens for the Differential diagnosis and
Syndromic Surveillance (PPR, Capripox and ASF)
2019 Austria Africa and Asia
Validation, Implementation, Monitoring and Quality Control for
Molecular Assays
2019 Austria Africa and Asia
Virtual Training Course on Sequencing and Bioinformatics 2021 Online Africa and Asia
Early Diagnosis and Pathogen Characterization with a focus on Next-
generation sequencing technology
2022 Austria Africa and Asia
Detection and Differential Diagnosis of PPR in Small Ruminants and
Other Non-Conventional Hosts
2022 Austria Africa and Asia
Virtual training course for Turkey national reference laboratory on LSD
(Turkey, Royal Veterinary College, EU)
2022 Online Turkey
From 2017 until LSD emergence in Asia
Austria 2018 Austria 2019
Austria 2022
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Capacity Building Worldwide
▪Several fellows trained for 1 to 3 months on molecular diagnosis and sequencing
• Botswana
• Lesotho
• Zambia
• Ethiopia
• Burundi
• Morocco
• Senegal
• Tunisia
• Indonesia
• Lao PDR
▪Two PhDs completed in 2016 and 2019.
▪Two PhD programs ongoing
Fellowship and long-term training
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Harmonizing approach to LSD and CaPVs laboratory diagnoses
▪Distribution of laboratory SOPs from international reference laboratories or from the
Animal Production and Health Laboratory (CJN, FAO/IAEA)
• DNA extraction
• PCR-based screening and confirmatory tests
• purification of PCR products for sequencing
• virus gene sequencing protocols
▪Distribution of positive controls to 22 European and Asian countries in 2016
▪Distribution of positive controls to 10 Asian countries from 2019
▪2016 Inter-laboratory comparison for the PCR-based detection of LSD and other CaPV:
• 28 laboratories in 25 European and Asian countries
▪2021 Inter-laboratory comparison for the PCR-based detection of LSD and other CaPV:
• 9 Asian countries
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Emergency support and preparedness
▪Direct support during
emergency to European
and Central Asia
countries in 2016
▪Direct support to Asia
countries from 2019
▪More request and
support provided to
number of African
countries
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

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Lesson learned
▪Laboratories are undoubtedly able to diagnose LSD:
• At present, many labs managed to detect and report LSD themselves.
• Laboratories usually contact APHL (and FAO/WOAH reference laboratories)
mainly for confirmation and further characterization
• For newly affected countries, quick support with SOPs and the availability of
appropriate control is critical
• A few labs may need additional help with reagents to implement the tests
▪Further effort needed for differential diagnosis:
In some cases, samples with suspected lesions were negative
for LSDV.
▪Strengthening capacity for vaccines quality control
needed:
whenever an infected countries is willing to implement
vaccination, laboratories are not well prepared or not involved
in vaccine quality control.
Lumpy skin disease symposium - How science can support evidence-based disease management and control | Hybrid meeting | 14 - 16 March 2023, Rome

Protecting people, animals, and the environment every day
Drawings: FAO/Chiara Caproni
Thank you