A new web portal that helps scientists and policymakers tackle global foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been launched.
OpenFMD brings together important resources for global surveillance of FMD. The suite of new analytical tools has been developed by The Pirbright Institute, The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) and data innovation specialists Epi-interactive.
Dr Antonello Di Nardo, senior molecular epidemiologist at the World Reference Laboratory for FMD and the leading developer of the new system, recently presented openFMD in a webinar to the Global Foot and Mouth Disease Research Alliance (GFRA), highlighting the importance of these tools to enhance epidemiological and genomic surveillance of FMD.
Professor Bryan Charleston, Director of The Pirbright Institute, said: “OpenFMD is a key tool for FMD practitioners - a singular global resource of information made possible by close collaboration between the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) / Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Reference Laboratory Network for FMD and the World Reference Laboratory for FMD, hosted at Pirbright.”
“The strong inter-disciplinary work of researchers working within the WRLFMD, of computational scientists and bioinformaticians, along with our own IT department underpins the delivery of these web-tools, thanks to continuing supported from Defra, EuFMD, FAO and WOAH.”
Developers believe the platform can act as a model website which can be ‘ported’ to tackle other global diseases.
Fabrizio Rosso, Deputy Executive Secretary of the EuFMD, stated: “The launch of openFMD marks a significant advancement in our fight against foot-and-mouth disease. By providing a centralized platform for data sharing and analysis, we are empowering scientists and policymakers with the tools they need to enhance global surveillance and response efforts.”
“This innovative platform not only facilitates real-time data sharing and analysis but also strengthens the FMD global intelligence network. The collaboration behind this project highlights the critical role of international partnerships in advancing disease surveillance and control.”
The Pirbright Institute, funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is designated World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and as a reference laboratory for FMD by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
