Final Report Summary - WILDTECH (Novel Technologies for Surveillance of Emerging and Re-emerging Infections of Wildlife)
Executive Summary:
WildTech is focused on wildlife as a reservoir of disease. It is reported that 61% of known pathogens infect multiple animal species and 75% of all diseases which have emerged in the last two decades are of wildlife origin. It is therefore clear that the surveillance of disease in wildlife not only impacts on communities that rely on healthy domestic animals, but is also an essential tool for the protection of human health. Hitherto, despite this alarming situation, surveillance for infectious diseases in wildlife has been far from satisfactory. Furthermore, the link between wildlife, farm livestock and human health has been under investigated. Until now, there has been no coordinated effort to monitor the spread of infection within and between different countries in the EU and surveillance of wildlife infectious disease has been largely passive in structure rather than a proactive attempt to predict and manage future disease threats across Europe. This was the background upon which the WildTech project was established.
The first logical step in the project progress was to develop standard operating procedures for sample selection, identification, processing and dispatch to the laboratories for analyses. All samples and research results were lodged within a robust electronic database. This management system for wildlife disease information is accessible to national and international animal and human health organisations, the international wildlife disease community and policy makers.
The project has established for the first time effective high throughput technologies to detect pathogens themselves (i.e. pathogen-specific nucleic acids) and antibodies in affected animals. We established a focused list of 20 priority pathogens for detailed study and also developed techniques to study a further 200 infectious diseases.
A significant development was the research output representing methods to investigate the distribution of infectious agents in wild animal species in selected European countries/regions and countries outside Europe that represent potential sources of pathogen introduction into Europe. This has uniquely provided us with the opportunity to develop and apply new statistical methodology for predicting an initial disease incursion (or first case of an outbreak) and the historic time course of an epidemic outbreak from cross-sectional data. Information on the risk to human and domestic animal health from the presence and evolution of infectious agents in selected wild animal populations has been determined. This work has led to a proposal for a surveillance system for wildlife diseases in Europe, which will contribute to protecting European wildlife, domestic animal and human health. Brought together, the new diagnostic and epidemiological surveillance tools developed under the WildTech project have contributed new methods and insights which are vital to the standardisation of a pan-European wildlife disease surveillance system. This was the major objective of the WildTech project.
Project Context and Objectives:
The WildTech project has been established specifically to set up a technology platform that may be exploited in Europe and elsewhere as a basis for high throughput disease diagnosis in wildlife.
The key objectives of WildTech are as follows:
• The application of microarray technology for the detection of known infectious agents in wildlife populations.
• The application of microarray technology to the detection and identification of novel and unknown infectious agents in wildlife populations.
• The application of microarray technology to the development of high throughput serological screening of wildlife populations for infectious disease.
• The utilisation of these technologies to assess the spread of selected diseases (proof of concept) using historical samples and those collected during the project. We will monitor and model patterns of wildlife disease spread and the risks associated with it. Ultimately this epidemiology framework will be used to reduce the risk of further potential epidemics by producing a generic action plan in case of emerging epizootics among wildlife.
• The development of a state of the art wildlife disease data management system with mapping capability for use in Europe and beyond.
• The establishment of a framework for pan-European surveillance of wildlife diseases.
Project Results:
The purpose of the project was to develop a pan-European technology platform for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in wildlife. Once this had been achieved the further goal was to apply this technology to the diagnosis of selected priority pathogens which included those where confirmatory validated tests had already been carried out (as a proof of principle) by European reference laboratories. Finally, epidemiological studies were undertaken to investigate the value of the new diagnostic and reporting systems for tracking infection dynamics, risk assessment and informing disease control strategies.
Priority Pathogens and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for sample collection/processing
This was a preliminary but significant component of the project’s development. We undertook detailed enquiries of experts in the field and at diagnostic laboratories to determine the agreed list of 20 Priority Pathogens comprising viruses, bacteria and parasites, and these formed the basis of our diagnostic test development. In order to place some credence on the sensitivity and reproducibility of our new developed tests, we took advantage of examining samples containing pathogens that had already been tested by reference labs using other techniques.
We delivered a SOP for processing and transportation of archive tissue and serum samples from wildlife located within and outside the EU to the testing laboratories. An important aspect of the work was the bar-coding and logging of all samples into the electronic database designed specifically for the purpose. Without this robust system, none of the diagnosis reporting and further analyses would have been possible.
Development of new diagnostic technologies
Nucleic acid (NA) microarrays for detection of pathogens in host tissues: We developed bespoke systems in collaboration with our SME and these were fabricated for us to cover the required range of pathogens. The high throughput microarray technology proved effective and was validated (for research purposes) and developed to a commercial platform for detection of pathogen NA which was focused on our list of 20 infectious agents within selected wild animal hosts. Because the NA microarray system offered great potential for detection of new/unexpected pathogens, we made important progress in developing generic arrays for an additional 200 pathogens – this was additional work and the arrays have not been completely validated.
One example of the incorporation of NA probes into a microarray system is that referred to as ScreenChip_01, which has the following main features:
• The chip is in ArrayStrip format
• There are 204 probes printed in triplicate within each of the 8 wells per strip;
o Mycobacteria*: 137 probes
o Bluetongue virus: 45 probes (mainly for new serotypes 25 and 26)
o Schmallengberg virus: 16 probes
o Bovine host: 3 probes
o Ovine host: 3 probes
* The Mycobacteria probes were designed to detect all species and to distinguish between members in each complex (main focus on M. bovis, BCG, avium and Map).
In order to investigate the occurrence of wildlife pathogens in more detail, individual Partners in the project have taken the opportunity to develop and test microarrays and other analytical systems (e.g. bead-based arrays) designed for the detection of specific organisms. Many groups of pathogens have been studied in this way and arrays have been developed and validated. Some examples of the specific arrays developed in the project have been used to detect:
• Bacterial pathogens: most of which have zoonotic potential
• Chlamydia species: including those considered to be emerging pathogens in animals and man
• Flaviviruses: a large proportion of which have shown to produce disease in humans and include viruses that have shown unexpected emergence over recent years (e.g. West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Usutu virus)
• A bead-based suspension array for the detection and identification of tick-borne Borrelia species.
• A multiplexed bead-based suspension array with which it was possible to screen ~1000 samples for multiple pathogens within a few working days, showing the viability of this platform in addition to the conventional array formats
• Zoonotic and notifiable avian viruses (Avian Array)
Throughout all these investigations, Partners had the opportunity to further develop and refine technologies directly associated with the primary objectives. For example, a bioinformatics system was developed in order to enhance the design of NA probes for both microarray and bead-based array systems and software was designed to contribute to analyses of array data in the project.
Serology arrays for the detection of pathogen-specific antibodies: We also developed serology arrays which have been fabricated and tested to detect antibodies to pathogens in wildlife. Non array-based technologies (e.g. proteomics, luminex arrays, next generation sequencing) were also investigated. The high throughput serological arrays were effective and validated for research purposes for the detection of pathogen-specific antibodies in serum/ blood against approximately 20 of the priority pathogens and incomplete validated tests have been developed for further infectious agents. Validation requirements and potential applications of these new methods for wildlife disease surveillance are still being analysed.
Throughout these investigations, the quality of the collected data was investigated by ring-trial testing of samples by 3 Partners and by modification of the array-based technologies to improve specificity and reproducibility. This resulted in the fabrication of Serology Array No. 4 which was the final development in this part of the project and after validation was used for surveillance tests.
The project aim was to develop novel whole antigen, peptide-based and recombinant antibody based assays into an array format suitable for development as new high-performance and high-throughput serological tests .A significant development was the use of Protein A/G as the developing reagent to detect antibodies in several species. Its utility has been demonstrated by use in the development of all serological arrays and it was also applied to detection of parasite-specific antibody in pigs using luminex-based assays. Further, Protein A/G proved to be an effective reagent for detecting antibodies to paratuberculosis in cattle, showing very high sensitivity and offering a significant improvement over the current commercial ELISA diagnostic tests.
Database development
The aim of this work was to develop a database where sample data and array results could be stored and accessed for epidemiological studies and which would function as a valuable accessible tool for international animal and human health organisations, the wildlife disease community and policy makers. The online database was established and enhanced with new functionalities to allow concerted epidemiological analyses that could be developed to form part of a pan-European surveillance system. At the end of Reporting Period 4 a total of 4,397 barcodes have been generated for samples with matched array data stored on the database. The system (accessed via http://goldfish.cs.nott.ac.uk) was built using MySQL and PHP coding to allow access from web browsers. The database is named “WildTechdat” and held in the School of Computing Sciences at the Coordinator’s institute (University of Nottingham). Within the context of the WildTech program, all tasks relating to the development and use of a database have been achieved. The database will now be used as a resource for further data analysis arising from WildTech partners and associate partners as appropriate The WildTech database will be available as a future tool and repository for data in new surveillance based projects developing from the WildTech program.
Wildpro®
Wildpro is the open-access electronic encyclopaedia on the health and management of free-ranging and captive wild animals and emerging infectious diseases which has been integrated into the WildTech programme. It provides detailed, closely-referenced, peer reviewed information suitable for professionals in this field. The encyclopaedia is enhanced by an electronic library of more than 200 full-text publications. Species pages for all of the priority wildlife hosts (wild boar, cervids, urban rodents and hares) have been added to Wildpro. Information added to Wildpro as part of the WildTech project supports the other work packages by providing context and background information on 20 pathogens and their associated diseases, in order to improve understanding of the results of surveys, whether using serological tests or direct pathogen detection in microarrays.
To enhance functionality, pages have been developed in Wildpro listing relevant organisations under three headings: WildTech Consortium Project Partners; EU Reference Laboratories and Useful Organisations (Global and European). Pages have been added to Wildpro to describe each organisation and provide a link to the organisation’s own web page. A page has also been developed linking the WildTech section of Wildpro to relevant documents in Wildpro’s Electronic Library.
Apart from about 5 pathogens (note: Receipt and editing of final chapters on these agents is still underway), the information presented in WildPro on each pathogen is up to date at the time of submission of this report. Future updates of WildPro will rely on the outcome of epidemiological analyses of WildTech data and publications subsequently generated. Similarly, new peer reviewed findings highlighted by wildlife specialists linked to WildTech (associate partners) will be incorporated as appropriate.
Epidemiology and Risk Analysis
This work aimed to deliver the mathematical, statistical and epidemiological tools necessary for pan European wildlife disease surveillance design, testing and support and was divided into 4 main areas of investigation:
• Collation of information on wildlife and environmental variables essential for risk analyses and information on existing surveillance practice, including information used in syndromic surveillance, to inform the list of priority pathogens and database design for the WildTech project.
• Design and analysis of test run of the WildTech system using archived material to develop spatial and temporal statistical approaches for analysing array test data and associated variables.
• Development of the mathematical simulation models needed to design static and dynamically adaptive surveillance strategies for optimal deployment of surveillance resources for long term monitoring and outbreak response.
• Recommendations on how to implement a WildTech system for pan European wildlife disease surveillance.
The main issue was to analyse the risk of emergence of new pathogens from wildlife and propose a methodology for the epidemiological surveillance based on these risks. We achieved this goal through networking with the WildTech partners and with the support of a range of collaborations, in the European Continent or in other parts of the world. In view of the requirement to advise on preparedness against intrusion of invasive pathogens, our last task was to propose a contingency plan, if an exotic pathogen were to enter the EU in wildlife.
The successful achievements following adoption of the SOP for sample identification, processing, dispatch and logging into the database (see above) have delivered a unique level of access to wildlife sample archives from across Europe. The successes of the NA microarrays and serological arrays in screening these samples provided data that were tested and analysed to demonstrate the abilities of these technologies to inform surveillance and epidemiological studies at a range of scales. This included application of the arrays to wild boar and wild deer samples of known pathogen status; a further step in the validation process for the arrays.
To demonstrate the potential to provide a European level picture of wildlife disease status and epidemiology, the microarray technologies were applied to samples collected using the European transect design and provided maps of pathogen presence in Europe. Statistically significant spatial, temporal, wildlife sampling method and species effects on array positive results demonstrated the ability of the technology to monitor and highlight changes in patterns of pathogen distribution and risk. To demonstrate the abilities of the arrays to provide new information on the presence and distribution of pathogens per country and per host species, the use of the array platform was extended to screen samples from dog and lion in Tanzania. Array positive results provided the first evidence of five pathogens new to Tanzania and also evidence of the presence of a pathogen in Tanzania earlier than reported by the OIE.
We carried out the first systematic exploration of the effects of stochasticity in pathogen transmission and host population dynamics on the efficacy of wildlife disease surveillance systems. The design of wildlife disease surveillance currently ignores fluctuations in these processes. We provided the first indication that for many wildlife disease systems this leads to over-confidence in assessments of both the power to detect disease and the bias and precision of prevalence estimates obtained. Understanding such ecological effects will enable improvements to wildlife disease surveillance systems and better protection against emerging disease threats.
We have developed a new statistical methodology for predicting an initial disease incursion (or first case of an outbreak) and the historic time course of an epidemic outbreak from cross-sectional data. Further, we demonstrated the abilities of the method using human and animal case studies and thus the method’s generic applicability. This hindcasting technique exploits the different host response kinetics from multiple diagnostic tests such as the NA and serology arrays developed in this project. We showed how cross sectional data collected following the detection of a new outbreak can be used to provide information on the history and current phase (e.g. increasing or decreasing) of an outbreak and thus inform the deployment of disease control resources. This is one of a number of modelling tools that we developed to inform the design of disease surveillance strategies using multiplex diagnostics, and also to characterise ecological effects on surveillance efficacy.
Whilst the scope of this project was limited to testing archive samples, the abilities of the multiplex technologies to screen animals to quantify their pathogen profiles is clear. We have shown that such pathogen screening is central to surveillance studies at all scales but also for epidemiological studies tracking infection dynamics and thus informing disease control strategies. Given the current variation in surveillance practice across Europe and the advances in multiplex technologies that have been made, it is timely to consider a European standardised surveillance practice that realises the full benefits of the technologies as they are developed. This standardisation should include all elements of surveillance from the screening tools used, the sampling effort, the distribution of that effort, and the sample information recorded.
Brought together, the new diagnostic and analytical surveillance tools developed under the WildTech project have contributed new methods and insights which are vital to the standardisation of a pan-European wildlife disease surveillance system. This was the key objective of the WildTech project.
Potential Impact:
Potential impact:
At the time of writing, there is clear evidence for impact of the research and development carried out during the WildTech project in terms of novelty, significance of results, rigour of investigation and utility of the new technology developed.
The consortium has engaged in world-leading research focused upon rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in wildlife and analyses of risk factors and control measures. The project stands out as a valuable contributor to the One Health ethos (see evidence from reports of international meetings and progress with extended application of WildTech technology), and as such has significant impact in improving human and animal health, environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. In this context, the project has established research strategies that promote engagement of our Partners with non-academic stakeholders such as wildlife experts as well as those in the veterinary and commercial settings.
Because the project has only just finished, the majority of current impact activity is at a relatively early stage of development. Formalised strategies have been developed to ensure the impact of research has been built upon an implicit understanding that our research should have an influence that extends beyond academia. The embedding of external stakeholders in processes such as technology training (e.g. part-funding the attendance of Associate Partners at dissemination workshops), skills transfer (wet-lab technical training sessions) and international presentations to community leaders and policy makers (WildTech sponsored sessions at Global Risk Forum) typifies this implicit approach. This ensures that the dissemination and potential translation of research findings is a pre-planned deliverable of WildTech.
The technical developments of the project and their application to Wildlife disease diagnosis and surveillance exemplifies the scope of activities in which our researchers participate, but in itself does not reflect the entirety of the interactions and influence that WildTech has had upon the end-users of research. Exploitation of our research outcomes has not followed a linear approach as the drive to disseminate findings has on occasions preceded academic publication. However, we see our potential clearly in terms of enhancement of evidence-based veterinary science that will contribute to and improve animal and human health. Moreover, we contend that the innovative technology developed in WildTech will boost the competitiveness of European business. The primary beneficiaries of our research therefore lie firmly in the farm livestock and human health sectors including their clinical practitioners together with manufacturers of diagnostic test platforms and analysis technology.
The work of WildTech researchers has also had impacts in the broad areas of comparative medicine, infection and immunity and animal population health and welfare. For example, the programme on detection, diagnosis and epidemiology of one of our priority diseases (European Brown Hare Syndrome) led to an investigation which uniquely revealed a polarization of pathogenesis and the genetic background of the natural host. Hence, the application of novel diagnostic technology was the critical development which allowed the collection of epidemiological evidence and proposals for control of an infectious disease in a wild animal population.
Benefits to the European economy:
1. The technology developed for this project together with the strengthened European wildlife community network, working in collaboration with international reference laboratories under the aegis of the OIE has made a substantial contribution to preventing major outbreaks of infectious disease in Europe.
2. The benefits to the European economy also include short term direct economic benefits from the exploitation and application of the technologies which have been developed during this project. The exploitation of the high throughput microarray technology will enable a European company to be a major focus for high throughput disease screening technology. This microarray technology will expand the current income stream from within and outside Europe.
3. The exploitation of the serology array will enable expansion of the existing market in serological detection of food-borne zoonoses and facilitate the development of new markets in surveillance of wildlife and other animal and human diseases. The size of this market is impossible to predict and will depend on the extent to which large scale surveillance of diseases in wildlife, humans and domestic and companion animals becomes a reality within Europe and beyond. Initial markets are likely to be in Europe and North America.
Societal impact:
1. The enormous financial losses from emerging animal diseases hide the intense personal impact that such diseases have on rural and other communities, both through the destruction of animals and livelihoods and, in the case of zoonoses, through the potential for large scale human morbidity and mortality with the associated economic and personal damage inflicted on the continent. The proposed combination of new generation technologies together with an improved framework for monitoring and surveillance are central to ensuring that major outbreaks do not occur with potentially devastating effects on the European and world economy, and to developing a mechanism that can effectively identify and respond to the threat presented by new pathogens.
2. The European effects will be mirrored by reduced mortality and morbidity and associated improved welfare in domestic animals beyond Europe. In poorer third world countries, outbreaks of infectious disease in domestic animals can have far reaching consequences for the well-being of entire human communities. Thus, improved surveillance and subsequent intervention strategies may have dramatic effects on the quality of human life in more deprived areas within and outside Europe.
3. The project results will also have indirect impact on human health, as diseases coming either directly or indirectly through wildlife are likely sources of zoonotic infection. By improving our detection of these pathogens, this would enable a rapid and effective response to an emerging infection, which would minimise the impact on the human population.
Main dissemination activities and exploitation of results:
WildTech has a two-phase dissemination strategy:
1. Raising initial awareness about the project
2. Dissemination of results
The project has implemented (and continues so to do) coordinated publication activities and there is active collaboration between the work packages in this area. Now that the project has produced the final results, targeted dissemination has taken place among a wider pool of stakeholders as well, for example policy-makers, the general audience and science communication bodies.
Throughout the project the WildTech consortium has ensured a presence at the major international conferences focused on wildlife research, disease diagnosis and One-Health subjects (e.g. wildlife as the link between farm animal and human health) and other events either by way of posters, presentations, workshops and specific sponsored sessions. It also has several publications as a result of the research undertaken over the last four years.
WildTech’s first workshop was held at the joint Wildlife Disease Association and the European Wildlife Disease Association (WDA/EWDA) conference, which took place in Lyon, France (http://wda2012.vetagro-sup.fr/) on 23 July 2012. The technology transfer workshop (“New Technologies for Screening and Diagnosing Pathogens in Wildllife”) was primarily held for the WildTech Associate Partners (APs) and Collaborative Partners (CPs) who provided samples to the Consortium throughout the project. However, it was open to all conference attendees and was well attended by the scientific community.
The workshop was designed to introduce the basic principles underlying the new technologies being developed by WildTech for detecting pathogens in wildlife. A combination of presentations from different experts took place and the APs and CPs were given the opportunity to discuss them within each sub-session.
The topics covered in this workshop included:
-microarray technologies (serological and nucleic acid arrays)
-non array-based technologies (e.g. proteomics, luminex arrays, next generation sequencing)
-sample collection: optimal methods for collection and storage to maximise utility for these technologies
-validation of a test in the absence of accepted gold standard tests
-epidemiological approaches to interpreting microarray data from wildlife disease surveillance studies, including development of an EU-wide database.
The workshop discussed the theory behind these different methods, the steps involved in their validation, and their potential applications for wildlife disease surveillance. It provided important networking opportunities for the APs and CPs, other WildTech partners and the wildlife disease scientific community in Europe and beyond.
The second workshop took place from 15-19 October 2012 at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) in Weybridge, United Kingdom, in their training laboratories. While the first technology workshop in Lyon emphasized the theory behind the various methods, the “Wetlab” Workshop’s philosophy was to train the APs/CPs to use the new technologies themselves. Specifically, it took the form of a one-week hands-on workshop for scientists who wished to learn how to perform nucleic acid and serological pathogen detection microarrays, which are the key technologies within the WildTech project.
The workshop succeeded in transferring the technologies developed during the Project. It included theory and practical hands-on laboratory exercises. The participants had the opportunity to meet colleagues from the WildTech Technology Centre who had worked with their samples and to receive training in the use of the new methods. The dissemination of the technologies to APs/CPs institutions/labs was one of the main targets of the WildTech project.
The final dissemination workshop was held on 20th September 2013 in London, UK and was well attended by our stakeholders and Associate Partners from across Europe. The areas of discussion and speakers were as follows:
• Session I: Important Considerations for Conducting a Wildlife Disease Project
Prioritising pathogens (M. Artois); How information should be collected to inform surveillance of wildlife in Europe (M. Artois); Developing a standardised sample collection protocol(D. Bourne).
• Session II: Array Development: Issues, Challenges, Solutions, Conclusions - what works, what doesn't, limitations, cautions, directions for future development
Serology Arrays (L. Petrovska); Nucleic Acid Arrays (A. Abu-Median).
• Session III: New epidemiological approaches
Syndromic surveillance approach (M. Artois) ; Using multiple diagnostic tests to recover trends of infection (G. Rydevik); The role of ecology in wildlife disease surveillance (G. Marion).
• Session IV: Case examples
West Nile virus in Greece: Risk Assessment using wild bird surveillance and GIS analysis data
(G. Valiakos); Reoccurrence of Animal Rabies in Greece: Update on current situation, organizing wildlife oral vaccination strategies (C. Billinis); Tularemia in hares (H. Uhlhorn); MRSA in Hedgehogs (H. Uhlhorn); Orbivirus detection methods and sequencing (P. Mertens)
• Session V: Results from WildTech Arrays
Transect results (L. Smith); Wild rodents (T. Giles); Dog and lion surveillance, Tanzania: finding new things in new places (S. Cawthraw); Development and use of a DNA microarray for the detection of zoonotic and notifiable avian viruses, and the investigation of non-resolved avian diseases (S. Sonal – presented by L. Petrovska)
• Session VI: Conclusions
Developing a Europe-wide surveillance system
(M. Hutchings)
Video links of the talks can be found on our website under “dissemination”.
Other workshops in which WildTech partners participated:
-Workshop on Surveillance of wildlife diseases – VetAgroSup (22th onward, up to 23th April 2013) - The program is available on the ECVPH website: http://www.ecvph.org/meeting/details/31-surveillance-of-wildlife-diseases
-Abu-Median from the University of Nottingham participated in running a CDP workshop at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, 5th-10th October 2012. The workshop was fully sponsored by the Sudanese National Council in the UK & Ireland. WildTech technologies and concept were the focus of the diagnostics group.
-The costly and scary emerging infectious diseases – public perception, political aspects and the role of scientists, 5th EWDA Student Workshop, April 2013 Dolores Gavier-Widén, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden
In November 2013, the first opportunity for dissemination of WildTech research progress within the wider public arena and workers in the Health programmes took place. The Coordinator was invited to join the Scientific Committee of the Global Risk Forum (GRF) One Health Summit in Davos, Switzerland. There were two specifically sponsored WildTech sessions at this important international conference which was chaired by the Coordinator and Prof T McNamara from USA (who has great experience of the wildlife/farm livestock/human interface regarding infectious diseases; and coincidentally, is also a member of our External Advisory Committee). During the four conference days, 390 international delegates from more than 70 countries addressed the complex interactions between human health, animal health and environmental health. WildTech presented a total of 13 oral presentations in two consecutive sessions and another 3 papers on another day. The presentations were as follows:
-Wild Birds Serological Surveillance for West Nile Virus, Greece 2009-2013
-Genetic Analysis and Molecular Epidemiology of European Brown Hare Syndrome across Europe from 1982 to 2012
-The Reoccurrence of Rabies in Greece: Application of GIS Analysis on Wildlife Oral Vaccination Programs, Public Health Significance.
-Multiplex Diagnostic Technologies for Detection of Selected Pathogens in Wild Life in Europe
-Generic action plan in case of emerging disease in wildlife in Europe, a WildTech perspective
-Disease risk mapping from surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in Norway rats; a survey in France (2010 – 2012)
-An “Ideal” Database for an “Ideal” Surveillance in Wild Animals at a European Scale
-Prioritisation of wildlife potential infections to be targeted in future European surveillance programmes: expert-based risk analysis in the frame of the WildTech project (2009-2013)
-One Platform, Multiple Zoonotic Pathogens, Several Host Species
-Development of a DNA based Microarray for the Detection of Zoonotic Pathogens in Rodent Species
-Diagnosis and surveillance of infectious diseases in wildlife (WildTech)
The WildTech sponsored sessions were dedicated to presentations from the project and these supported the theme related to dissemination of information and linkage of research outputs and plans with both veterinary and medical colleagues. The sessions were well attended and stimulated much discussion from the audience which included leaders of institutes and policy makers from around. Further to this event, Prof McNamara is helping WildTech link with the USDA and related areas and sees the project’s approach as unique and of high utility. We now hope to look forward to some valuable interactions, particularly at the level of externally funded technology transfer to/from USA – in addition to those already completed/planned for EU. More information on the abstracts submitted can be found on our website under dissemination activities. Please also take a look at the video links below in which Duncan and Tracey summarise the achievements of WildTech:
Tracey
http://vimeo.com/79664112
Duncan
http://vimeo.com/79663453
List of Websites:
www.wildtechproject.com
Duncan.Hannant@nottingham.ac.uk
WildTech is focused on wildlife as a reservoir of disease. It is reported that 61% of known pathogens infect multiple animal species and 75% of all diseases which have emerged in the last two decades are of wildlife origin. It is therefore clear that the surveillance of disease in wildlife not only impacts on communities that rely on healthy domestic animals, but is also an essential tool for the protection of human health. Hitherto, despite this alarming situation, surveillance for infectious diseases in wildlife has been far from satisfactory. Furthermore, the link between wildlife, farm livestock and human health has been under investigated. Until now, there has been no coordinated effort to monitor the spread of infection within and between different countries in the EU and surveillance of wildlife infectious disease has been largely passive in structure rather than a proactive attempt to predict and manage future disease threats across Europe. This was the background upon which the WildTech project was established.
The first logical step in the project progress was to develop standard operating procedures for sample selection, identification, processing and dispatch to the laboratories for analyses. All samples and research results were lodged within a robust electronic database. This management system for wildlife disease information is accessible to national and international animal and human health organisations, the international wildlife disease community and policy makers.
The project has established for the first time effective high throughput technologies to detect pathogens themselves (i.e. pathogen-specific nucleic acids) and antibodies in affected animals. We established a focused list of 20 priority pathogens for detailed study and also developed techniques to study a further 200 infectious diseases.
A significant development was the research output representing methods to investigate the distribution of infectious agents in wild animal species in selected European countries/regions and countries outside Europe that represent potential sources of pathogen introduction into Europe. This has uniquely provided us with the opportunity to develop and apply new statistical methodology for predicting an initial disease incursion (or first case of an outbreak) and the historic time course of an epidemic outbreak from cross-sectional data. Information on the risk to human and domestic animal health from the presence and evolution of infectious agents in selected wild animal populations has been determined. This work has led to a proposal for a surveillance system for wildlife diseases in Europe, which will contribute to protecting European wildlife, domestic animal and human health. Brought together, the new diagnostic and epidemiological surveillance tools developed under the WildTech project have contributed new methods and insights which are vital to the standardisation of a pan-European wildlife disease surveillance system. This was the major objective of the WildTech project.
Project Context and Objectives:
The WildTech project has been established specifically to set up a technology platform that may be exploited in Europe and elsewhere as a basis for high throughput disease diagnosis in wildlife.
The key objectives of WildTech are as follows:
• The application of microarray technology for the detection of known infectious agents in wildlife populations.
• The application of microarray technology to the detection and identification of novel and unknown infectious agents in wildlife populations.
• The application of microarray technology to the development of high throughput serological screening of wildlife populations for infectious disease.
• The utilisation of these technologies to assess the spread of selected diseases (proof of concept) using historical samples and those collected during the project. We will monitor and model patterns of wildlife disease spread and the risks associated with it. Ultimately this epidemiology framework will be used to reduce the risk of further potential epidemics by producing a generic action plan in case of emerging epizootics among wildlife.
• The development of a state of the art wildlife disease data management system with mapping capability for use in Europe and beyond.
• The establishment of a framework for pan-European surveillance of wildlife diseases.
Project Results:
The purpose of the project was to develop a pan-European technology platform for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in wildlife. Once this had been achieved the further goal was to apply this technology to the diagnosis of selected priority pathogens which included those where confirmatory validated tests had already been carried out (as a proof of principle) by European reference laboratories. Finally, epidemiological studies were undertaken to investigate the value of the new diagnostic and reporting systems for tracking infection dynamics, risk assessment and informing disease control strategies.
Priority Pathogens and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for sample collection/processing
This was a preliminary but significant component of the project’s development. We undertook detailed enquiries of experts in the field and at diagnostic laboratories to determine the agreed list of 20 Priority Pathogens comprising viruses, bacteria and parasites, and these formed the basis of our diagnostic test development. In order to place some credence on the sensitivity and reproducibility of our new developed tests, we took advantage of examining samples containing pathogens that had already been tested by reference labs using other techniques.
We delivered a SOP for processing and transportation of archive tissue and serum samples from wildlife located within and outside the EU to the testing laboratories. An important aspect of the work was the bar-coding and logging of all samples into the electronic database designed specifically for the purpose. Without this robust system, none of the diagnosis reporting and further analyses would have been possible.
Development of new diagnostic technologies
Nucleic acid (NA) microarrays for detection of pathogens in host tissues: We developed bespoke systems in collaboration with our SME and these were fabricated for us to cover the required range of pathogens. The high throughput microarray technology proved effective and was validated (for research purposes) and developed to a commercial platform for detection of pathogen NA which was focused on our list of 20 infectious agents within selected wild animal hosts. Because the NA microarray system offered great potential for detection of new/unexpected pathogens, we made important progress in developing generic arrays for an additional 200 pathogens – this was additional work and the arrays have not been completely validated.
One example of the incorporation of NA probes into a microarray system is that referred to as ScreenChip_01, which has the following main features:
• The chip is in ArrayStrip format
• There are 204 probes printed in triplicate within each of the 8 wells per strip;
o Mycobacteria*: 137 probes
o Bluetongue virus: 45 probes (mainly for new serotypes 25 and 26)
o Schmallengberg virus: 16 probes
o Bovine host: 3 probes
o Ovine host: 3 probes
* The Mycobacteria probes were designed to detect all species and to distinguish between members in each complex (main focus on M. bovis, BCG, avium and Map).
In order to investigate the occurrence of wildlife pathogens in more detail, individual Partners in the project have taken the opportunity to develop and test microarrays and other analytical systems (e.g. bead-based arrays) designed for the detection of specific organisms. Many groups of pathogens have been studied in this way and arrays have been developed and validated. Some examples of the specific arrays developed in the project have been used to detect:
• Bacterial pathogens: most of which have zoonotic potential
• Chlamydia species: including those considered to be emerging pathogens in animals and man
• Flaviviruses: a large proportion of which have shown to produce disease in humans and include viruses that have shown unexpected emergence over recent years (e.g. West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Usutu virus)
• A bead-based suspension array for the detection and identification of tick-borne Borrelia species.
• A multiplexed bead-based suspension array with which it was possible to screen ~1000 samples for multiple pathogens within a few working days, showing the viability of this platform in addition to the conventional array formats
• Zoonotic and notifiable avian viruses (Avian Array)
Throughout all these investigations, Partners had the opportunity to further develop and refine technologies directly associated with the primary objectives. For example, a bioinformatics system was developed in order to enhance the design of NA probes for both microarray and bead-based array systems and software was designed to contribute to analyses of array data in the project.
Serology arrays for the detection of pathogen-specific antibodies: We also developed serology arrays which have been fabricated and tested to detect antibodies to pathogens in wildlife. Non array-based technologies (e.g. proteomics, luminex arrays, next generation sequencing) were also investigated. The high throughput serological arrays were effective and validated for research purposes for the detection of pathogen-specific antibodies in serum/ blood against approximately 20 of the priority pathogens and incomplete validated tests have been developed for further infectious agents. Validation requirements and potential applications of these new methods for wildlife disease surveillance are still being analysed.
Throughout these investigations, the quality of the collected data was investigated by ring-trial testing of samples by 3 Partners and by modification of the array-based technologies to improve specificity and reproducibility. This resulted in the fabrication of Serology Array No. 4 which was the final development in this part of the project and after validation was used for surveillance tests.
The project aim was to develop novel whole antigen, peptide-based and recombinant antibody based assays into an array format suitable for development as new high-performance and high-throughput serological tests .A significant development was the use of Protein A/G as the developing reagent to detect antibodies in several species. Its utility has been demonstrated by use in the development of all serological arrays and it was also applied to detection of parasite-specific antibody in pigs using luminex-based assays. Further, Protein A/G proved to be an effective reagent for detecting antibodies to paratuberculosis in cattle, showing very high sensitivity and offering a significant improvement over the current commercial ELISA diagnostic tests.
Database development
The aim of this work was to develop a database where sample data and array results could be stored and accessed for epidemiological studies and which would function as a valuable accessible tool for international animal and human health organisations, the wildlife disease community and policy makers. The online database was established and enhanced with new functionalities to allow concerted epidemiological analyses that could be developed to form part of a pan-European surveillance system. At the end of Reporting Period 4 a total of 4,397 barcodes have been generated for samples with matched array data stored on the database. The system (accessed via http://goldfish.cs.nott.ac.uk) was built using MySQL and PHP coding to allow access from web browsers. The database is named “WildTechdat” and held in the School of Computing Sciences at the Coordinator’s institute (University of Nottingham). Within the context of the WildTech program, all tasks relating to the development and use of a database have been achieved. The database will now be used as a resource for further data analysis arising from WildTech partners and associate partners as appropriate The WildTech database will be available as a future tool and repository for data in new surveillance based projects developing from the WildTech program.
Wildpro®
Wildpro is the open-access electronic encyclopaedia on the health and management of free-ranging and captive wild animals and emerging infectious diseases which has been integrated into the WildTech programme. It provides detailed, closely-referenced, peer reviewed information suitable for professionals in this field. The encyclopaedia is enhanced by an electronic library of more than 200 full-text publications. Species pages for all of the priority wildlife hosts (wild boar, cervids, urban rodents and hares) have been added to Wildpro. Information added to Wildpro as part of the WildTech project supports the other work packages by providing context and background information on 20 pathogens and their associated diseases, in order to improve understanding of the results of surveys, whether using serological tests or direct pathogen detection in microarrays.
To enhance functionality, pages have been developed in Wildpro listing relevant organisations under three headings: WildTech Consortium Project Partners; EU Reference Laboratories and Useful Organisations (Global and European). Pages have been added to Wildpro to describe each organisation and provide a link to the organisation’s own web page. A page has also been developed linking the WildTech section of Wildpro to relevant documents in Wildpro’s Electronic Library.
Apart from about 5 pathogens (note: Receipt and editing of final chapters on these agents is still underway), the information presented in WildPro on each pathogen is up to date at the time of submission of this report. Future updates of WildPro will rely on the outcome of epidemiological analyses of WildTech data and publications subsequently generated. Similarly, new peer reviewed findings highlighted by wildlife specialists linked to WildTech (associate partners) will be incorporated as appropriate.
Epidemiology and Risk Analysis
This work aimed to deliver the mathematical, statistical and epidemiological tools necessary for pan European wildlife disease surveillance design, testing and support and was divided into 4 main areas of investigation:
• Collation of information on wildlife and environmental variables essential for risk analyses and information on existing surveillance practice, including information used in syndromic surveillance, to inform the list of priority pathogens and database design for the WildTech project.
• Design and analysis of test run of the WildTech system using archived material to develop spatial and temporal statistical approaches for analysing array test data and associated variables.
• Development of the mathematical simulation models needed to design static and dynamically adaptive surveillance strategies for optimal deployment of surveillance resources for long term monitoring and outbreak response.
• Recommendations on how to implement a WildTech system for pan European wildlife disease surveillance.
The main issue was to analyse the risk of emergence of new pathogens from wildlife and propose a methodology for the epidemiological surveillance based on these risks. We achieved this goal through networking with the WildTech partners and with the support of a range of collaborations, in the European Continent or in other parts of the world. In view of the requirement to advise on preparedness against intrusion of invasive pathogens, our last task was to propose a contingency plan, if an exotic pathogen were to enter the EU in wildlife.
The successful achievements following adoption of the SOP for sample identification, processing, dispatch and logging into the database (see above) have delivered a unique level of access to wildlife sample archives from across Europe. The successes of the NA microarrays and serological arrays in screening these samples provided data that were tested and analysed to demonstrate the abilities of these technologies to inform surveillance and epidemiological studies at a range of scales. This included application of the arrays to wild boar and wild deer samples of known pathogen status; a further step in the validation process for the arrays.
To demonstrate the potential to provide a European level picture of wildlife disease status and epidemiology, the microarray technologies were applied to samples collected using the European transect design and provided maps of pathogen presence in Europe. Statistically significant spatial, temporal, wildlife sampling method and species effects on array positive results demonstrated the ability of the technology to monitor and highlight changes in patterns of pathogen distribution and risk. To demonstrate the abilities of the arrays to provide new information on the presence and distribution of pathogens per country and per host species, the use of the array platform was extended to screen samples from dog and lion in Tanzania. Array positive results provided the first evidence of five pathogens new to Tanzania and also evidence of the presence of a pathogen in Tanzania earlier than reported by the OIE.
We carried out the first systematic exploration of the effects of stochasticity in pathogen transmission and host population dynamics on the efficacy of wildlife disease surveillance systems. The design of wildlife disease surveillance currently ignores fluctuations in these processes. We provided the first indication that for many wildlife disease systems this leads to over-confidence in assessments of both the power to detect disease and the bias and precision of prevalence estimates obtained. Understanding such ecological effects will enable improvements to wildlife disease surveillance systems and better protection against emerging disease threats.
We have developed a new statistical methodology for predicting an initial disease incursion (or first case of an outbreak) and the historic time course of an epidemic outbreak from cross-sectional data. Further, we demonstrated the abilities of the method using human and animal case studies and thus the method’s generic applicability. This hindcasting technique exploits the different host response kinetics from multiple diagnostic tests such as the NA and serology arrays developed in this project. We showed how cross sectional data collected following the detection of a new outbreak can be used to provide information on the history and current phase (e.g. increasing or decreasing) of an outbreak and thus inform the deployment of disease control resources. This is one of a number of modelling tools that we developed to inform the design of disease surveillance strategies using multiplex diagnostics, and also to characterise ecological effects on surveillance efficacy.
Whilst the scope of this project was limited to testing archive samples, the abilities of the multiplex technologies to screen animals to quantify their pathogen profiles is clear. We have shown that such pathogen screening is central to surveillance studies at all scales but also for epidemiological studies tracking infection dynamics and thus informing disease control strategies. Given the current variation in surveillance practice across Europe and the advances in multiplex technologies that have been made, it is timely to consider a European standardised surveillance practice that realises the full benefits of the technologies as they are developed. This standardisation should include all elements of surveillance from the screening tools used, the sampling effort, the distribution of that effort, and the sample information recorded.
Brought together, the new diagnostic and analytical surveillance tools developed under the WildTech project have contributed new methods and insights which are vital to the standardisation of a pan-European wildlife disease surveillance system. This was the key objective of the WildTech project.
Potential Impact:
Potential impact:
At the time of writing, there is clear evidence for impact of the research and development carried out during the WildTech project in terms of novelty, significance of results, rigour of investigation and utility of the new technology developed.
The consortium has engaged in world-leading research focused upon rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in wildlife and analyses of risk factors and control measures. The project stands out as a valuable contributor to the One Health ethos (see evidence from reports of international meetings and progress with extended application of WildTech technology), and as such has significant impact in improving human and animal health, environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. In this context, the project has established research strategies that promote engagement of our Partners with non-academic stakeholders such as wildlife experts as well as those in the veterinary and commercial settings.
Because the project has only just finished, the majority of current impact activity is at a relatively early stage of development. Formalised strategies have been developed to ensure the impact of research has been built upon an implicit understanding that our research should have an influence that extends beyond academia. The embedding of external stakeholders in processes such as technology training (e.g. part-funding the attendance of Associate Partners at dissemination workshops), skills transfer (wet-lab technical training sessions) and international presentations to community leaders and policy makers (WildTech sponsored sessions at Global Risk Forum) typifies this implicit approach. This ensures that the dissemination and potential translation of research findings is a pre-planned deliverable of WildTech.
The technical developments of the project and their application to Wildlife disease diagnosis and surveillance exemplifies the scope of activities in which our researchers participate, but in itself does not reflect the entirety of the interactions and influence that WildTech has had upon the end-users of research. Exploitation of our research outcomes has not followed a linear approach as the drive to disseminate findings has on occasions preceded academic publication. However, we see our potential clearly in terms of enhancement of evidence-based veterinary science that will contribute to and improve animal and human health. Moreover, we contend that the innovative technology developed in WildTech will boost the competitiveness of European business. The primary beneficiaries of our research therefore lie firmly in the farm livestock and human health sectors including their clinical practitioners together with manufacturers of diagnostic test platforms and analysis technology.
The work of WildTech researchers has also had impacts in the broad areas of comparative medicine, infection and immunity and animal population health and welfare. For example, the programme on detection, diagnosis and epidemiology of one of our priority diseases (European Brown Hare Syndrome) led to an investigation which uniquely revealed a polarization of pathogenesis and the genetic background of the natural host. Hence, the application of novel diagnostic technology was the critical development which allowed the collection of epidemiological evidence and proposals for control of an infectious disease in a wild animal population.
Benefits to the European economy:
1. The technology developed for this project together with the strengthened European wildlife community network, working in collaboration with international reference laboratories under the aegis of the OIE has made a substantial contribution to preventing major outbreaks of infectious disease in Europe.
2. The benefits to the European economy also include short term direct economic benefits from the exploitation and application of the technologies which have been developed during this project. The exploitation of the high throughput microarray technology will enable a European company to be a major focus for high throughput disease screening technology. This microarray technology will expand the current income stream from within and outside Europe.
3. The exploitation of the serology array will enable expansion of the existing market in serological detection of food-borne zoonoses and facilitate the development of new markets in surveillance of wildlife and other animal and human diseases. The size of this market is impossible to predict and will depend on the extent to which large scale surveillance of diseases in wildlife, humans and domestic and companion animals becomes a reality within Europe and beyond. Initial markets are likely to be in Europe and North America.
Societal impact:
1. The enormous financial losses from emerging animal diseases hide the intense personal impact that such diseases have on rural and other communities, both through the destruction of animals and livelihoods and, in the case of zoonoses, through the potential for large scale human morbidity and mortality with the associated economic and personal damage inflicted on the continent. The proposed combination of new generation technologies together with an improved framework for monitoring and surveillance are central to ensuring that major outbreaks do not occur with potentially devastating effects on the European and world economy, and to developing a mechanism that can effectively identify and respond to the threat presented by new pathogens.
2. The European effects will be mirrored by reduced mortality and morbidity and associated improved welfare in domestic animals beyond Europe. In poorer third world countries, outbreaks of infectious disease in domestic animals can have far reaching consequences for the well-being of entire human communities. Thus, improved surveillance and subsequent intervention strategies may have dramatic effects on the quality of human life in more deprived areas within and outside Europe.
3. The project results will also have indirect impact on human health, as diseases coming either directly or indirectly through wildlife are likely sources of zoonotic infection. By improving our detection of these pathogens, this would enable a rapid and effective response to an emerging infection, which would minimise the impact on the human population.
Main dissemination activities and exploitation of results:
WildTech has a two-phase dissemination strategy:
1. Raising initial awareness about the project
2. Dissemination of results
The project has implemented (and continues so to do) coordinated publication activities and there is active collaboration between the work packages in this area. Now that the project has produced the final results, targeted dissemination has taken place among a wider pool of stakeholders as well, for example policy-makers, the general audience and science communication bodies.
Throughout the project the WildTech consortium has ensured a presence at the major international conferences focused on wildlife research, disease diagnosis and One-Health subjects (e.g. wildlife as the link between farm animal and human health) and other events either by way of posters, presentations, workshops and specific sponsored sessions. It also has several publications as a result of the research undertaken over the last four years.
WildTech’s first workshop was held at the joint Wildlife Disease Association and the European Wildlife Disease Association (WDA/EWDA) conference, which took place in Lyon, France (http://wda2012.vetagro-sup.fr/) on 23 July 2012. The technology transfer workshop (“New Technologies for Screening and Diagnosing Pathogens in Wildllife”) was primarily held for the WildTech Associate Partners (APs) and Collaborative Partners (CPs) who provided samples to the Consortium throughout the project. However, it was open to all conference attendees and was well attended by the scientific community.
The workshop was designed to introduce the basic principles underlying the new technologies being developed by WildTech for detecting pathogens in wildlife. A combination of presentations from different experts took place and the APs and CPs were given the opportunity to discuss them within each sub-session.
The topics covered in this workshop included:
-microarray technologies (serological and nucleic acid arrays)
-non array-based technologies (e.g. proteomics, luminex arrays, next generation sequencing)
-sample collection: optimal methods for collection and storage to maximise utility for these technologies
-validation of a test in the absence of accepted gold standard tests
-epidemiological approaches to interpreting microarray data from wildlife disease surveillance studies, including development of an EU-wide database.
The workshop discussed the theory behind these different methods, the steps involved in their validation, and their potential applications for wildlife disease surveillance. It provided important networking opportunities for the APs and CPs, other WildTech partners and the wildlife disease scientific community in Europe and beyond.
The second workshop took place from 15-19 October 2012 at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) in Weybridge, United Kingdom, in their training laboratories. While the first technology workshop in Lyon emphasized the theory behind the various methods, the “Wetlab” Workshop’s philosophy was to train the APs/CPs to use the new technologies themselves. Specifically, it took the form of a one-week hands-on workshop for scientists who wished to learn how to perform nucleic acid and serological pathogen detection microarrays, which are the key technologies within the WildTech project.
The workshop succeeded in transferring the technologies developed during the Project. It included theory and practical hands-on laboratory exercises. The participants had the opportunity to meet colleagues from the WildTech Technology Centre who had worked with their samples and to receive training in the use of the new methods. The dissemination of the technologies to APs/CPs institutions/labs was one of the main targets of the WildTech project.
The final dissemination workshop was held on 20th September 2013 in London, UK and was well attended by our stakeholders and Associate Partners from across Europe. The areas of discussion and speakers were as follows:
• Session I: Important Considerations for Conducting a Wildlife Disease Project
Prioritising pathogens (M. Artois); How information should be collected to inform surveillance of wildlife in Europe (M. Artois); Developing a standardised sample collection protocol(D. Bourne).
• Session II: Array Development: Issues, Challenges, Solutions, Conclusions - what works, what doesn't, limitations, cautions, directions for future development
Serology Arrays (L. Petrovska); Nucleic Acid Arrays (A. Abu-Median).
• Session III: New epidemiological approaches
Syndromic surveillance approach (M. Artois) ; Using multiple diagnostic tests to recover trends of infection (G. Rydevik); The role of ecology in wildlife disease surveillance (G. Marion).
• Session IV: Case examples
West Nile virus in Greece: Risk Assessment using wild bird surveillance and GIS analysis data
(G. Valiakos); Reoccurrence of Animal Rabies in Greece: Update on current situation, organizing wildlife oral vaccination strategies (C. Billinis); Tularemia in hares (H. Uhlhorn); MRSA in Hedgehogs (H. Uhlhorn); Orbivirus detection methods and sequencing (P. Mertens)
• Session V: Results from WildTech Arrays
Transect results (L. Smith); Wild rodents (T. Giles); Dog and lion surveillance, Tanzania: finding new things in new places (S. Cawthraw); Development and use of a DNA microarray for the detection of zoonotic and notifiable avian viruses, and the investigation of non-resolved avian diseases (S. Sonal – presented by L. Petrovska)
• Session VI: Conclusions
Developing a Europe-wide surveillance system
(M. Hutchings)
Video links of the talks can be found on our website under “dissemination”.
Other workshops in which WildTech partners participated:
-Workshop on Surveillance of wildlife diseases – VetAgroSup (22th onward, up to 23th April 2013) - The program is available on the ECVPH website: http://www.ecvph.org/meeting/details/31-surveillance-of-wildlife-diseases
-Abu-Median from the University of Nottingham participated in running a CDP workshop at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, 5th-10th October 2012. The workshop was fully sponsored by the Sudanese National Council in the UK & Ireland. WildTech technologies and concept were the focus of the diagnostics group.
-The costly and scary emerging infectious diseases – public perception, political aspects and the role of scientists, 5th EWDA Student Workshop, April 2013 Dolores Gavier-Widén, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden
In November 2013, the first opportunity for dissemination of WildTech research progress within the wider public arena and workers in the Health programmes took place. The Coordinator was invited to join the Scientific Committee of the Global Risk Forum (GRF) One Health Summit in Davos, Switzerland. There were two specifically sponsored WildTech sessions at this important international conference which was chaired by the Coordinator and Prof T McNamara from USA (who has great experience of the wildlife/farm livestock/human interface regarding infectious diseases; and coincidentally, is also a member of our External Advisory Committee). During the four conference days, 390 international delegates from more than 70 countries addressed the complex interactions between human health, animal health and environmental health. WildTech presented a total of 13 oral presentations in two consecutive sessions and another 3 papers on another day. The presentations were as follows:
-Wild Birds Serological Surveillance for West Nile Virus, Greece 2009-2013
-Genetic Analysis and Molecular Epidemiology of European Brown Hare Syndrome across Europe from 1982 to 2012
-The Reoccurrence of Rabies in Greece: Application of GIS Analysis on Wildlife Oral Vaccination Programs, Public Health Significance.
-Multiplex Diagnostic Technologies for Detection of Selected Pathogens in Wild Life in Europe
-Generic action plan in case of emerging disease in wildlife in Europe, a WildTech perspective
-Disease risk mapping from surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in Norway rats; a survey in France (2010 – 2012)
-An “Ideal” Database for an “Ideal” Surveillance in Wild Animals at a European Scale
-Prioritisation of wildlife potential infections to be targeted in future European surveillance programmes: expert-based risk analysis in the frame of the WildTech project (2009-2013)
-One Platform, Multiple Zoonotic Pathogens, Several Host Species
-Development of a DNA based Microarray for the Detection of Zoonotic Pathogens in Rodent Species
-Diagnosis and surveillance of infectious diseases in wildlife (WildTech)
The WildTech sponsored sessions were dedicated to presentations from the project and these supported the theme related to dissemination of information and linkage of research outputs and plans with both veterinary and medical colleagues. The sessions were well attended and stimulated much discussion from the audience which included leaders of institutes and policy makers from around. Further to this event, Prof McNamara is helping WildTech link with the USDA and related areas and sees the project’s approach as unique and of high utility. We now hope to look forward to some valuable interactions, particularly at the level of externally funded technology transfer to/from USA – in addition to those already completed/planned for EU. More information on the abstracts submitted can be found on our website under dissemination activities. Please also take a look at the video links below in which Duncan and Tracey summarise the achievements of WildTech:
Tracey
http://vimeo.com/79664112
Duncan
http://vimeo.com/79663453
List of Websites:
www.wildtechproject.com
Duncan.Hannant@nottingham.ac.uk
