1a.Objectives (from AD-416)
The objectives of this collaborative agreement are: 1. Advance our understanding of molecular epidemiology of FMD viruses in South America by increasing the number of fully sequenced virus strains from the region;

2. Develop algorithms and models that can predict with some confidence the epidemiologic features and transmission history of an FMD epidemic based on the changes nucleotide substitutions observed in the genomes of isolated viruses;

3. Identify sites of the FMD virus genome under positive selection and quantify any association between changes in those sites and epidemiological features of the outbreaks;

4. Expand the scope of FMD epidemiology to include other vesicular diseases such as vesicular stomatitis in selected regions of Latin-America and the use of epidemiological information in development and testing of predictive models of disease incursions into the U.S.

1b.Approach (from AD-416)
The ARS-USDA PIADC FADRU will collaborate with the the CONICET, Argentina, and the Instituto de Biotecnología (INTA Castelar, Argentina) to:

1. Advance our understanding of molecular epidemiology of FMD viruses in South America by increasing the number of fully sequenced virus strains in the region;

2. Develop algorithms and models that can predict with some confidence the epidemiologic features and transmission history of an FMD epidemic based on the changes nucleotide substitutions observed in the genomes of isolated viruses;

3. Identify sites of the FMD virus genome under positive selection and quantify any association between changes in those sites and epidemiological features of the outbreaks;

4. Expand the scope of FMD epidemiology to include other vesicular diseases such as vesicular stomatitis in selected regions of Latin-America and the use of epidemiological information in development and testing of predictive models of disease incursions into the U.S.

3.Progress Report
In FY 2008 the district of Mar Chiquita, in the Province of Buenos Aires, has been selected as the geographical location where the study will be conducted. It was estimated to have the highest attack rate during the 2001 FMD epidemic. Preliminary data was analyzed and protocols describing the process required to sequence the isolates were drafted. The FMDV isolates are being recovered and will soon be sequenced at INTA. Information on epidemiological characteristics of the 2001 FMD outbreaks, along with results of earlier VP1 sequencing of isolates from those outbreaks will be incorporated into an application of the FMD BioPortal developed by collaborators at UC Davis. Access of this information will be granted only to INTA and ARS, PIADC. Results of the full sequencing will be incorporated into the BioPortal after sequencing. A presentation will be made at the EU FMD meeting in October 2008. ARS, PIADC and INTA shared the information on the December 2007 Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) outbreak that occurred in Mexico. Collaborators from UC Davis are analyzing the combined data and are organizing databases. In FY 2009 this information will be submitted into a manuscript for publication. ARS, PIADC, INTA and USDA. In the VSV objective, we conducted a spatial analysis of the 2004-2006 VSV epidemic in the United States. This resulted in the draft of two manuscripts detailing the assessment factors associated with VSV outbreaks and the assessment factors associated with the re-emergence of VS in 2005 and 2006. In FY09 we anticipate finalizing these manuscripts. This collaborative agreement has been monitored through email, telephone exchange and site visits to USDA, PIADC and the INTA laboratory. The progress of this project relates to component 1: Biodefense Research, Problem Statement 1A: Foreign Animal Diseases of the National Program in Animal Health, within the NP 103 Action Plan.