Epidemiology of Foot and Mouth Disease in Georgia Z. Rukhadze1, L. Avaliani1, I. Menteshashvili1, O. Parkadze 1 1National Food Agency (NFA) of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Tbilisi, Georgia Figure 2. Sero-survey results from samples collected between 2015-2016: large ruminants (A) 13.8% FMDV Positive, and n= 1,455; small ruminants (B) 15.5% FMDV Positive, and n= 1809. INTRODUCTION Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is endemic to the country of Georgia. The last reported outbreak of FMD was from dairy cattle in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region (2002). Since then, no clinically confirmed cases have been reported; however, results of FMD virus (FMDV) sero-surveys indicate that the virus is still circulating in Georgia. Currently, Georgia has several specific FMD control activities, which include annual risk assessment, epidemiological surveillance systems, lab diagnostics testing for laboratory workers, public awareness campaigns, and cooperation with public/private sector stakeholders. Moreover, all large and small ruminants in Georgia are vaccinated biannually against FMD. The vaccine contains high potency polyvalent strains A-Iran05, A G-VII, O-PanAsia2, and Asia1-Shamir. The National Animal Health Program (NAHP), Animal Health Action Plans, and FMD Risk Based Strategy Plan (RBSP) are responsible for outlining goals and current FMD control strategies. Furthermore, the Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System (EIDSS) provides notifications of diseases (including zoonosis) among the Ministry of Agriculture (National Food Agency and Laboratory of Ministry of Agriculture) and Ministry of Health. In this study, we summarize the vaccination plan in 2015 and the first half of 2016. METHODS Via a joint OIE-FAO program, animals were vaccinated across Georgia using the approved State Program, as recommended by the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) committee (Table 1). Large and small ruminants are kept together and vaccinated biannually with the same vaccines. Sero-surveys of ruminants are conducted annually to determine the presence of FMDV.  Strategy Objectives  Measures  Achievements Vaccination   Blanket vaccination of ruminants Continue vaccination in high risk areas Improve conditions for livestock exports Vaccination of all ruminants (spring and autumn) High quality vaccines used Cold chain maintained Strong monitoring system (random checks on site/by phone) Animal Movement Restrictions Allow only vaccinated (max 6 months) animals to move out of their district origin Implement use of movement restrictions Began: 2015 Outbreak Management Interrupt FMD spread Movement restrictions Depopulation (if exotic strains cause outbreak) Obligatory vaccination Outbreak investigations Disinfection and quarantine No outbreaks reported Simulation exercises in 2009, 2012, 2016 Serosurveillance Assess distribution of FMD infection and post vaccination evaluation Annual scientifically based surveys Conducted in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 (on-going) FMD Diagnostics Capacity Diagnosis of FMDV and serology Improvement of laboratory capacities/diagnostic measures (e.g. FMD RT- PCR) Annual international proficiency testing Staff trained on FMD RT- PCR FMD serology against SP & NSP Ab for national sero-surveys (e.g., ELISA) Figure 3. 2015 Sero-survey results for FMD NSP across Georgia: large (A) and small ruminants (B). Table 1. Control measures against FMD in Georgia. DISCUSSION A significant part of the Georgian economy is based on livestock trade. Both commercial animal husbandry and nomadic husbandry systems exist in Georgia. Seasonal pastures are generally located in areas bordering countries with unreliable FMD surveillance. In the event of an outbreak of FMD, there is a significant threat of rapid spread of the disease among a large population of susceptible animals. As Georgia is a bridge between Asia and Europe, FMD outbreaks will have a negative impact on international trade and will pose a disease threat for EU countries. RESULTS In 2015, 2,438,051 animals (1,521,932 cattle, and 916,119 small ruminants) were vaccinated (Figure 1). In 2016, the Georgian livestock population susceptible to FMD was estimated by the NFA to be 1.2 million large ruminants, 800,000 small ruminants, and 250,000 pigs. In 2016, using the existing vaccine with the addition of the vaccine for the A G VIII strain, 679,609 cattle and 729,637 small ruminants were vaccinated. A total of 1,639,404 animals were vaccinated (765,145 cattle and 874,259 small ruminants) (Figure 2A, and 2B). National post-vaccination evaluations and estimated vaccination coverage for both groups were greater than 80% (Figure 3). Figure 1. Total ruminants vaccinated against FMD from 2012 - spring 2016 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for the financial support to present this poster.