Vaccine Antigen Prioritisation

The dynamic nature of FMD virus circulation and continuing evolution within the 7 endemic pools results in changing priorities for appropriately adapted vaccines, with multiple vaccine strains needed to protect against specific FMDV lineages. Antigen banks have been established to supply FMDV vaccines at short notice to respond to incursions or upsurges in cases of FMDV infection. However, an antigen bank should optimised to address epidemiological threats.

FMD viruses present in any region are a potential threat to all other regions, no matter the distance and consequently, should be considered for inclusion in antigen banks. Therefore, the optimal selection of distinct antigens held in a bank must carefully balance the desire to cover these risks with the costs of purchasing and maintaining vaccine antigens.

openFMD resources for FMD vaccine selection

• PRAGMATIST is an interactive tool developed to assist risk managers to select which FMDV vaccine strains are most important to maintain in their antigen bank. This tool provides a transparent and accessible, evidence-based decision framework to evaluate available vaccine antigens that can be adopted based on current risks to country covered by the bank