About the network

Under the secretariat of the FAO World Reference Laboratory and the EU Community Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (WRLFMD and CRL), we have established a network of OIE and FAO reference laboratories for FMD to facilitate the exchange of epidemiological data. Currently this network consists of OIE and FAO Reference Laboratories for FMD: IAH-Pirbright, UK (WRLFMD); the OIE Regional Reference Laboratory for FMD for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Transcaucasia, Russia (ARRIAH); the OIE FMD Regional Reference Laboratory for the Sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana, (RRLSSA); the FAO/OIE Reference Laboratory for FMD, Centro Panamericano de Fiebre Aftosa OPS/OMS, Brasil (PANAFTOSA); OIE Reference Laboratory for Foot and Mouth Disease, Argentina (SENASA); FAO FMD Reference Laboratory, Exotic Animal Health, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, South Africa (ARC-OVI); FAO FMD Reference Laboratory, Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Greenport, USA (PIADC); OIE Collaborating Centre for Validation, Quality assessment and Quality control of Diagnostic assays and Vaccine testing for Vesicular diseases in Europe, CODA-CERVA-VAR, Belgium (CODA) and OIE Regional Reference Laboratory for Foot and Mouth Disease in the South East, Department of Livestock Development, Pakchong, Thailand (RRLSEA). Other FMD reference laboratories may be invited to join in the future. The Network meets annually and to date members from the National FMD Laboratory, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Lanzhou, China; and the Indian Centre for Agricultural Research, Mukteswar, India; and have attended meetings as observers.

 Through this site we plan to meet the data and informatics requirements of the network with a web-based Reference Laboratories Information System (ReLaIS). ReLaIS will provide public and private web areas that will contain up-to-date information on the global surveillance of FMD including virus isolation, serotyping, antigenic/vaccine matching and molecular phylogenies. Tools on ReLaIS will also enable registered users to input their own molecular sequences (in a private secure area) and manipulate the data to create their own phylogenies. ReLaIS will link to the individual reference laboratory websites and also exchange data with FAO and OIE.