Recent Advances in Veterinary Diagnostic Virology: Report from a Collaborating Centre of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

Infectious diseases have a very high impact on animal and human health and welfare today, despite of strong efforts and good results in diagnostics, vaccine developments and control measures, including the early warning systems. There are many reasons, which have to be considered as supporting factors for the spread of infectious diseases, such as the open borders of the European Union, allowing rather free movement of animals over a whole continent, the globalization, the released and accelerated international and national trade and animal transfer. Simultaneously, the emergence and re-emergence of new or already known pathogens is a various serious issue in veterinary and in human medicine. This scenario is clearly illustrated by the regular occurrence of transboundary animal diseases (TADs), such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), classical swine fever (CSF), African swine fever (ASF), among others. The recent occurrence of African swine fever in the Caucasus region and the spread afterwards to large territories of Russia clearly illustrates that our health authorities require a very strong preparedness, including prompt and powerful diagnosis, for the successful fight against the novel scenarios.