How we control viral

diseases of man and

animals.
by Peter Russell
prussell@rvc.ac.uk
http://www.rvc.ac.uk/Staff/prussell.cfm

Background
I contributed some 23 lectures
on veterinary virology to the
Supercourse several years ago.
The aim of this new lecture is to
talk about the control of human
and animal viruses.

Viral diseases.
How viruses are transferred.
How viruses are controlled (this lecture

Viral diseases.
Viral diseases cause distress to man and
animals and the most worrying ones are those
that are difficult to control.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues
to spread in an uncontrolled manner.
How viruses are transferred.
Viruses are carried by infected people or
animals and excreted in discharges such as
those from the nose, gut and reproductive fluids.
The control of viruses blocks this transfer.
How viruses are controlled (this lecture).
Control measures for viruses.
Obstacles to the control of viruses.
Ways to improve the control of viruses.

Control measures for viruses.

1) Quarantine
2) Import controls
3) Notification
4) Slaughter
5) Decontamination
6) Isolation
7) Treatment
8) Vaccination
9) Insect controls

1) Quarantine.
Separate the infected persons or animals with
signs suspicious of an acute viral disease such
as rash, vesicles, vomiting with diarrhoea.
2) Import controls
Blocking animal imports from a country such
as one infected with foot and mouth disease
virus (FMDV) or avian influenza.
3) Notification.
Notifiable diseases of man include HIV,
measles, mumps and rubella and those of
animals include FMDV, swine fever and rabies.
Anyone who suspects a notifiable disease
must contact the national authorities. See UK
links for those of man and animal below.
The authorities inform the World Health
organisation (WHO) or World organisation for
animal health (formerly the OIE).
These organisations publicise the global
spread of diseases.

Control measures for viruses.

1) Quarantine
2) Import controls
3) Notification
4) Slaughter
5) Decontamination
6) Isolation
7) Treatment
8) Vaccination
9) Insect controls

4) Slaughter.
Culling the infected animal or herd.
Viruses require living cells to multiply and this is halted by
the death or slaughter of an animal.
5) Decontamination.
Washing and disinfecting hands, clothing and equipment.
Disposing of dead bodies in a safe manner like
incineration or burial in lime.
Treatment of waste water and chlorination of mains water.
Personal hygiene e.g. not coughing over people and
washing hands after toilet and before food preparation.
6) Isolation.
Avoiding multiple close contacts such as in crowded
housing.
A secure farm will also exclude other animals and visitors
that might transfer the virus.

Control measures for viruses.

1) Quarantine
2) Import controls
3) Notification
4) Slaughter
5) Decontamination
6) Isolation
7) Treatment
8) Vaccination, part 1
9) Insect controls

7) Treatment.
Antiviral drugs are used for only a few viruses because
they are expensive, often have side effects and they
select for resistant viruses.
They exist for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes
simplex, respiratory syncytial virus and influenza of
man.
Antiserum to rabies soon after a bite from a suspect.

8) Vaccination.
Vaccine protect against infection and disease.
They exist for certain viruses such as mumps, measles,
rubella and yellow fever.
They are made of a living harmless strain of the virus or
of dead virus.
They induce antibodies, cytotoxic T cells and clones of
memory cells but only to the vaccine virus.

Control measures for viruses.

1) Quarantine
2) Import controls
3) Notification
4) Slaughter
5) Decontamination
6) Isolation
7) Treatment
8) Vaccination, part 2
9) Insect controls

After several years the clones of memory cells

start to die and revaccination is needed.
Newborns receive antibodies from their mothers
and these not only protect from challenge but
also prevent the vaccine working for a few
months. Childhood vaccination requires careful
timing e.g. a first dose at 12-15 months and a
second at 4-6 years of age. It is 10-12 weeks
then every 2 years for pets.
To prevent the spread of a virus in a population it
is important to vaccinate and protect at least 8090% of the individuals. The amount of virus
circulating becomes low and even the few
unvaccinated avoid infection.

Control measures for viruses.

1) Quarantine
2) Import controls
3) Notification
4) Slaughter
5) Decontamination
6) Isolation
7) Treatment
8) Vaccination, part 3
9) Insect controls

Although vaccines only protect against a particular

virus, like FMDV, they can also be specific to a
particular serotype, FMDV O, or even a particular
subdivision of a serotype termed subtype, FMDV
O1.
One function of viral diagnostic laboratories is to
determine exactly which serotypes and subtypes
of viruses are circulating so the vaccine industry
then makes vaccines that work against the virus
causing an outbreak.
9) Insect controls.
Individuals use insecticidal creams, protective
clothing and mosquito nets.
Governments can interrupt the lifecycle of insects
by chemicals that kill their larvae or by removing
their habitats e.g. by draining stagnant water.

Obstacles to the control of

viruses.
1) Poor infrastructure
2) Global transport
3) Mutation
4) Vaccine design
5) Reservoir hosts and insect
hosts
6) Rumours about vaccines
7) Unsatisfactory vaccines

1) Poor infrastructure.
If there is a shortage of infrastructure to enforce the
controls of human and animal viruses.
For instance viruses spread during conflicts when
hygiene and borders are disrupted and people are
displaced into camps.
Urban poverty is where antisocial behaviour such as
drug use and prostitution become more likely.
2) Global transport.
HIV originated in Africa and has spread worldwide.
FMDV has re-entered Europe as waste meat in untreated
pig swill and has then spread rapidly via animal
movements and markets when animals with vesicles
escaped notice.
3) Mutation.
Viruses might mutate to infect new species for instance
the worry that avian influenza virus might mutate to
become a pandemic not only of birds but of man.

Obstacles to the control of viruses.

1) Poor infrastructure
2) Global transport
3) Mutation
4) Vaccine design
5) Reservoir hosts and insect hosts
6) Rumours about vaccines
7) Unsatisfactory vaccines

4) Vaccine design.
Some viruses have a protein structure that means
vaccines work badly or never e.g. African swine
fever, HIV.
Other viruses have vaccines that only work to a
particular strain of a subtype e.g. influenza virus.
These strains change each year and so the WHO
advises on which strains to use in vaccines for a
particular country.
5) Reservoir hosts and insect hosts.
The virus exists in reservoirs hosts e.g. rabies in
dogs that bite man, or other dogs, when the
rabies encephalitis makes them become furious.
The virus replicates in insects as well as man and
animals e.g. yellow fever virus and West Nile virus
are transferred to man by mosquito bites.
Blue tongue virus infects midges that bite sheep
and cattle.

Obstacles to the control of viruses.

1) Poor infrastructure
2) Global transport
3) Mutation
4) Vaccine design
5) Reservoir hosts and insect hosts
6) Rumours about vaccines
7) Unsatisfactory vaccines

6) Rumours about vaccines.

These include:
autism from the combined mumps, measles
and rubella (MMR) vaccine,
infertility from polio vaccines,
aborted calves and lambs from inactivated
blue tongue vaccines.
7) Unsatisfactory vaccines.
These include:
counterfeit vaccines,
homeopathic vaccine,
little or no viral content, i.e. poor quality
control .

Ways to improve the control of viruse

1) More vaccine coverage
2) New vaccines
3) Hygiene
4) Cheaper easier vaccines
5) Better reporting
6) Maths
7) Cheaper antiviral drugs
8) Global targets
9) Communication

1) More vaccine coverage.

To establish more universal vaccination programmes
using the licensed existing vaccines that work e.g.
MMR against mumps, measles and rubella and also
those against rabies of reservoir hosts.
2) New vaccines.
To develop vaccines against viruses that have no
working vaccine e.g. HIV, Dengue fever.
3) Improved hygiene.
To improve communal hygiene and well being e.g.
drains, clean water, spacious housing, nutrition,
discouraging intravenous drug use and unprotected
sex.

Ways to improve the control of viruse

1) More vaccine coverage
2) New vaccines
3) Hygiene
4) Cheaper easier vaccines
5) Better reporting
6) Maths
7) Cheaper antiviral drugs
8) Global targets
9) Communication

4) More useful vaccines

cheaper working dose,
less loss by heat during storage
easier administration.
5) Better reporting and feedback.
To have diagnostic and surveillance teams in place to
warn how outbreaks are spreading and to inform
vaccine manufacturers of how many doses to make of
the vaccine against the correct virus or even subtype
of virus.
They also advise the general public, medics and vets
on how to recognise signs of the disease(s).
6) Maths.
To develop mathematical models to establish the
cheapest and best ways of controlling diseases of man
and animals e.g. by public health measures and
vaccination.

Ways to improve the control of viruses

1) More vaccine coverage
2) New vaccines
3) Hygiene
4) Cheaper easier vaccines
5) Better reporting
6) Maths
7) Cheaper antiviral drugs
8) Global targets
9) Communication

7) Cheaper antiviral drugs.

These also must not get out of date as result of
viruses mutating to escape their effects.
8) Global targets
To fund international and national schemes to
rid countries of a particular virus by a particular
time, see below for polio of man and rinderpest
of animals.

Ways to improve the control of viruses

1) More vaccine coverage
2) New vaccines
3) Hygiene
4) Cheaper easier vaccines
5) Better reporting
6) Maths
7) Cheaper antiviral drugs
8) Global targets
9) Communication

9) Communication
To educate the general public about
methods of reducing virus spread such as:

reporting disease e.g. FMDV and

measles,

disinfection of hands and surfaces e.g. in

the kitchen, hospital and infected farm,

becoming more aware of how some

viruses, e.g.
HIV and hepatitis B, are
transferred by blood
such as during needle
sharing and unprotected
sex.

avoiding insect bites e.g. mosquito nets

and insecticides,

isolating infected people and animals e.g.

those with rabies,

receiving vaccinations at the

recommended
times e.g. MMR.

Summary
The control of viral diseases
must block their transfer
from infected to uninfected zones
by hygiene and vaccination
schemes.
.