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Sheeppox is a transboundary disease of small ruminants caused by infection with the capripoxvirus sheeppox virus (SPPV). Sheeppox is found in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and is characterised by fever, multifocal cutaneous raised lesions, and death. Vaccination with live attenuated capripoxvirus (CPPV) strains is an effective and widely used strategy to contol sheeppox outbreaks, however there are few reports of post-vaccination field surveillance studies. This study used a commercially available ELISA to examine quantitative and temporal features of the humoral response of sheep vaccinated with a live attenuated CPPV strain in Mongolia. 400 samples were tested using the ELISA commercial kit, and a subset of 45 samples were also tested with a virus neutralisation test (VNT). There was substantial agreement between the VNT and ELISA tests. Antibodies to CPPV were detected between 40 and 262 days post vaccination. There was no significant difference between serological status (positive / negative) and sex or age, however an inverse correlation was found between the length of time since vaccination and serological status. Animals between 90 and 180 days post-vaccination were more likely to be positive than animals greater than 180 days post vaccination. Our results show that a commercial CPPV ELISA kit is a robust and reliable assay for post CPPV vaccination surveillance in resource-restricted settings and provide temporal parameters to be considered when planning sheeppox post-vaccination monitoring programmes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Highlights • FMD vaccines were independently assessed using published international guidelines. • Highest titres were seen with oil-adjuvanted vaccines with a 2 dose primary course. • Lower titres were seen with aqueous vaccines requiring a boost after 3 months. • It is unknown how the lower titres observed in camels correlate with protection. • The results have important implications for vaccine policy in Mongolia., Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a high impact viral disease of livestock for which vaccines are extensively used in control. Mongolia has regular incursions of FMD virus that are typically limited to the eastern region although large epidemics are occasionally reported in the normally disease-free western areas. Vaccines are imported and form an important component of the control strategy. In 2015, post-vaccination monitoring guidelines were published by the FAO-OIE recommending approaches for assessing the appropriateness of imported vaccines including small-scale immunogenicity studies. This study used these recommended approaches to guide the use of vaccine adjuvant type and the need for a one or two dose primary course in the national control programme considering cattle, sheep and Bactrian camels and also whether these vaccines were appropriate for the FMD virus lineages considered high risk to Mongolia (A/ASIA/Sea-97; O/SEA/Mya-98; O/ME-SA/PanAsia; O/ME-SA/Ind-2001). The results of these immunogenicity studies indicated that in cattle and sheep, oil-adjuvanted vaccines led to higher and more persistent neutralisation titres that were satisfactory against the target lineages if a two-dose primary course was utilised. In contrast, aqueous-adjuvanted vaccines were associated with lower titres that likely required a booster after 3 months. Levels of antibodies in Bactrian camels were significantly lower although it is unknown how these may correlate with protection under experimental or field exposure conditions. The results of this study have implications for vaccine policy in Mongolia and suggest further studies on the role of Bactrian camels in the epidemiology of FMD are necessary to indicate if further research on FMD vaccines are needed in this species.

African swine fever (ASF) is a severe haemorrhagic disease of domestic and wild pigs caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV). In recent years, ASF has steadily spread towards new geographical areas, reaching Europe and Asia. On January 15th, 2019, Mongolia reported its first ASF outbreak to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), becoming, after China, the second country in the region affected by the disease. Following an event of unusual mortality in domestic pigs in Bulgan Province, a field team visited four farms and a meat market in the region to conduct an outbreak investigation and collect samples for laboratory analysis. Different organs were examined for ASF associated lesions, and total nucleic acid was extracted for real-time PCR, virus isolation and molecular characterization. The real-time PCR results confirmed ASFV DNA in 10 out of 10 samples and ASFV was isolated. Phylogenetic analysis established that ASFVs from Mongolia belong to genotype II and serogroup 8. The viruses were identical to each other, and to domestic pig isolates identified in China and Russia, based on the comparison of five genomic targets. Our results suggest a cross-border spread of ASFV, without indicating the source of infection.

Mongolia is a large landlocked country in central Asia and has one of the highest per capita livestock ratios in the world. During 2017 reported Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Mongolia increased considerably, prompting widespread disease control measures. This study estimates the socio-economic impact of FMD and subsequent control measures on Mongolian herders. The analysis encompassed quantification of the impact on subsistence farmers' livelihoods and food security and estimation of the national level gross losses due to reaction and expenditure during 2017. Data were collected from 112 herders across eight Provinces that reported disease. Seventy of these herders had cases of FMD, while 42 did not have FMD in their animals but were within quarantine zones. Overall, 86/112 herders reported not drinking milk for a period of time and 38/112 reduced their meat consumption. Furthermore, 55 herders (49.1%) had to borrow money to buy food, medicines and/or pay bills or bank loans. Among herders with FMD cases, the median attack rate was 31.7%, 3.8% and 0.59% in cattle, sheep and goats respectively, with important differences across Provinces. Herders with clinical cases before the winter had higher odds of reporting a reduction in their meat consumption. National level gross losses due to FMD in 2017 were estimated using government data. The estimate of gross economic loss was 18.4 billion Mongolian-tugriks (US$7.35 million) which equates to approximately 0.65% of the Mongolian GDP. The FMD outbreaks combined with current control measures has negatively impacted herders' livelihoods (including herders with and without cases of FMD) which is likely to reduce stakeholder advocacy. Possible strategies that could be employed to ameliorate the negative effects of the current control policy were identified. The findings and approach are relevant to other FMD endemic regions aiming to control the disease.

Migratory water birds are the natural reservoir of influenza A viruses. H5 and H7 influenza viruses are isolated over the world and also circulate among poultry in Asia. In 2010, two H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) were isolated from fecal samples of water birds on the flyway of migration from Siberia, Russia to the south in Hokkaido, Japan. H7N9 viruses are sporadically isolated from humans and circulate in poultry in China. To monitor whether these viruses have spread in the wild bird population, we conducted virological surveillance of avian influenza in migratory water birds in autumn from 2010 to 2014. A total of 8103 fecal samples from migratory water birds were collected in Japan and Mongolia, and 350 influenza viruses including 13 H5 and 19 H7 influenza viruses were isolated. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that all isolates are genetically closely related to viruses circulating among wild water birds. The results of the antigenic analysis indicated that the antigenicity of viruses in wild water birds is highly stable despite their nucleotide sequence diversity but is distinct from that of HPAIVs recently isolated in Asia. The present results suggest that HPAIVs and Chinese H7N9 viruses were not predominantly circulating in migratory water birds; however, continued monitoring of H5 and H7 influenza viruses both in domestic and wild birds is recommended for the control of avian influenza.

We report the whole-genome sequence of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) O/MOG/BU/2-7/2015 isolated in Mongolia in 2015. This virus is closely related to isolates identified in Southeast Asia in 2015 and is classified under the O/ME-SA/Ind-2001d lineage. This is the first detection of an FMDV of this lineage in Mongolia.