FTA Cards as a Rapid Tool for Collection and Transport of Infective Samples: Experience with Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Libya

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed domestic and wild animals. FMD can lead to high economic losses for farmers due to a decrease in animal production and high mortality in young animals. The rapid and accurate diagnosis of an FMD outbreak is the first and very important step in order to control and prevent the further spread of the FMD virus. There is no cross-protection between different FMD serotypes; hence, having specific vaccines to combat the circulating FMD serotypes is crucial to control the disease. Many countries, especially developing countries, face difficulties in diagnosing FMD and sending samples to reference laboratories for diagnostic confirmation and virus characterization. Using Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) cards can be a cheap alternative method for sending clinical samples at room temperature with an ordinary courier. ABSTRACT: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a viral disease, widespread and highly contagious, that mainly affects cloven-hoofed domestic and wild animals. FMD can lead to high economic losses due to the reduction in animal production such as a drop in milk production, loss of body weight, and a high mortality rate in young ruminants. Sixteen samples were collected from animals showing typical clinical signs of FMD during the last FMD outbreak in Libya in 2018–2019. Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) cards impressed with blood, swabs, or vesicular epithelium samples were shipped to the WOAH FMD reference laboratory in Brescia, Italy, and tested for the detection of FMD viruses. Nucleic acids were extracted from the FTA cards, and molecular testing based on real-time RT-PCR assays was carried out, of which one was specifically designed for the detection of the FMD virus of serotype O, topotype O/East Africa-3 (O/EA-3), that was further confirmed by a sequence analysis of the VP1 gene. The phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene showed a nucleotide identity of more than 99% between the virus circulating in Libya and the FMD virus strains isolated in Algeria in 2019.