Investigation of novel methods to study the survival of foot-and-mouth disease virus in aerosols

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes a highly contagious disease of cloven-hooved animals which can cause devastating effects on the livestock and agriculture industry. The high rates of mortality in the young, the increase in abortions in infected animals, and trade restrictions for FMDV-positive countries make this a highly economic disease; annually, the cost of FMDV is approximately £5.4-17.3 billion. Aerosol transmission of FMDV is a low probability-high consequence event that has been linked to several outbreaks of the disease. Not much is known about pathogen decay rates within these inhalable particles, or what conditions are most favourable in this state, despite their importance for defining quarantine zones during active outbreaks.

This project aims to study FMDV survival within aerosols under differing environmental conditions using custom built instrumentation. The CELEBS instrument (Controlled Electrodynamic Levitation and Extraction of Bioaerosols onto a Substrate) allows virus-containing aerosols to be suspended under carefully controlled conditions, such as a chosen temperature or relative humidity. By following these levitations with infectivity assays, the impact of the environmental conditions on the aerosol and subsequently the virus particles can be characterised. This investigation will provide survival parameters for contemporary strains of FMDV, and allow the strains to be compared. These results can determine if quarantine zones around infected farms are appropriate and account for the risk of aerosolised transmission. This can ultimately better inform outbreak policy and result in more effective control of FMDV.