Foot-and-Mouth Disease Disaster Averted in Mongolia

In the lead up to the winter of 2010–2011, FMD was reported in animals coming toward the capital from near the Russian border. It became a race against time to identify which of the seven strains of the virus the animals were carrying and to set up a plan for controlling the spread of disease before the animals reached the more densely congregated animal holding grounds near the capital.

The two decades of partnership and preparation paid off. There was strong commitment from all those involved in addressing the outbreak. They were supported by clear chains of command and lines of communication established among a number of agencies at the national, provincial and local levels. The authorities demonstrated considerable concern for the well-being of affected herders and made the recovery and sustenance of affected people a clear priority. About 30 000 livestock infected by FMD virus were killed and buried.

Thanks to the Joint Division’s efforts in developing laboratory facilities, training personnel and establishing veterinary service networks, the government was well prepared to take immediate steps using diagnostic kits, also provided by the Joint Division. With field diagnosis, no time is lost taking samples to laboratories, critical days or even hours during which the disease would continue spreading. In order to identify the virus type, antigen ELISA, real-time, and real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR tests were carried out that confirmed the presence of the FMD virus as type O. Additionally, non-structural ELISA was used to distinguish vaccinated from naturally infected animals, and confirmatory tests including genotyping were conducted at the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE’s) reference laboratory in Vladimir, Russia.

This confirmation of the virus type enabled scientists to specify the vaccine strain best suited to protect livestock and control the disease. In November 2010, the IAEA provided 200 000 emergency doses of the vaccine for the animals determined to be at the highest risk. Animals in eastern districts and those at the highest risk were vaccinated and, in January 2011, the Mongolian veterinary authorities were able to send a final report to OIE to confirm that FMD was under control.

The Joint Division held a follow-up meeting with the Mongolian veterinary authorities at its headquarters in Vienna to address the issue of increasing the country’s transboundary animal disease diagnostic and control capacities. In addition to fighting disease, the Joint Division also supports programmes to improve animal nutrition. This is not only beneficial for livestock productivity, it also means that if animals do become sick there is a better chance for recovery.

The IAEA is supporting the vaccination of 15 million animals with FMD type O vaccine donated by Russia, with the Joint Division providing technical support. At this point, the vaccine must be given every six months, which is a major undertaking in a country such as Mongolia with its nomadic herders spread across its vast plains and steppes.

Although Mongolia successfully controlled the FMD outbreak in the eastern provinces where the disease was first diagnosed by using vaccination and biosecurity measures, it will need to maintain surveillance for FMD in the long term to keep the disease under control. Fighting transboundary animal diseases begins with prevention and, as was found in Mongolia, early diagnosis, separation of healthy and sick animals and timely vaccine delivery are the winning combination.