Newcastle disease
OIE Reference Laboratory Reports
Activities in 2011
Name of disease (or topic) for which you are a designated OIE Reference Laboratory: / Newcastle diseaseAddress of laboratory: / Friedrich Loeffler Institute
Institute of Diagnostic Virology
O.I.E., and National reference laboratory and FAO-Centre for Newcastle disease
Suedufer 10
D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems
GERMANY
Tel.: / ++49 38351 71196
Fax: / ++49 38351 71226
e-mail address: /
website: / http://www.fli.bund.de/en/startseite/home.html
Name (including Title and Position) of Head of Laboratory (Responsible Official): / PD Dr. Christian Grund; DVM
Name(including Title and Position) of OIE Reference Expert: / PD Dr. Christian Grund; DVM
Name (including Title and Position) of writer of this report
(if different from above): / PD Dr. Christian Grund
Prof. Dr. Timm Harder, PhD,
Part I: Summary of general activities related to the disease
1. Test(s) in use/or available for the specified disease/topic at your laboratory
Test / For / Specificity / TotalEmbryonated chicken eggs / Virusisolation / Broad / 91
Hemagglutination
inhibition assay / Typing / Serotype, mab type / 35
Real time RT PCR / Amplification and characterization of NDV nucleic acid / Group (NP-segment), Serotype specific / 52
Real time RT PCR / Amplification of NDV nucleic acids / Group (M-segment) / 182
Real time RT PCR / Molecular pathotyping of NDV / F-segment, i.e. lentogen or virulent (mesogen, velogen) / 182
Nucleotide sequencing / Molecular pathotyping of NDV, phylogenetic analysis / F-segment / 109
ICPI / Clinical pathotyping of NDV / Broad / 14
2. Production and distribution of diagnostic reagents
Type of reagent / Amount supplied nationally(including for own use) / Amount supplied to other countries
Reference viruses / Management of virus repository with reference NDV strains and recent isolates as well as other avian paramyxocvirus serotypes.
Deliveries: 0 / Deliveries: 0
Virus antigen / Deliveries: 3 / 0
Reference RNA / Deliveries: 4
Positive control sera
/ Management of positive reference antiseraDeliveries: 2 / Deliveries: 1
Part II: Activities specifically related to the mandate
of OIE Reference Laboratories
3. International harmonisation and standardisation of methods for diagnostic testing or the production and testing of vaccines
a) Establishment and maintenance of a network with other OIE Reference Laboratories designated for the same pathogen or disease and organisation of regular inter-laboratory proficiency testing to ensure comparability of results
· Bilateral communication with members of other OIE reference laboratories during international meetings or by e-mail. No initiative including that included all ND-laboratories was launched.
b) Organisation of inter-laboratory proficiency testing with laboratories other than OIE Reference Laboratories for the same pathogens and diseases to ensure equivalence of results
· Participation in international ring trials organised by other laboratories:
- European Community Reference Laboratory at Weybridge, UK (PCR, serology: passed)
- Animal Health Service, Deventer, The Netherlands (serology: passed)
· Organisation by your laboratory of international ring trials:
- Egypt (PCR and serology; National Reference lab of Egypt and four regional branches thereof; all participants passed)
- National veterinary diagnostic centers; ring trial for PCR, antigen characterization and virus isolation
4. Preparation and supply of international reference standards for diagnostic tests or vaccines
No standard reference materials officially recognised by OIE or other international bodies are produced by this laboratory.
A polyclonal antibody was produced in large quantities by harvesting antibodies from egg yolk from eggs layed by ND-vaccinated specific pathogen free (spf)-chicken. Currently the antibody preparation is tested by other national laboratories. Subsequently it is planned to share this antibody with other OIE laboratories to establish an international standard.
Reference material (virus strains and hyperimmune sera) is freely available from this laboratory upon request (see lists under item 2).
5. Research and development of new procedures for diagnosis and control
Evaluation of genetically modified NDV as vaccine for in ovo application or as AIV-vector-vaccine (see publications).
6. Collection, analysis and dissemination of epizootiological data relevant to international disease control
Epidemiological surveys: At the national level, the laboratory is involved in an ongoing monitoring of avian paramyoxovirus-1 isolates from birds obtained during routine diagnostics. The key task is to identify vaccine strains and exclude the presence of virulent NDV. This is accomplished by a combination of molecular techniques and biological essays. A developed rRT-PCR specific for lentogenic vaccine strains proofed to be reliable for a fast assessment of a sample, verified by intracerebral pathogenicity idex (ICPI) of obtained isolates. All investigated isolates from poultry from the past years were pure vaccine strains containing no virulent pathotypes.
7. Maintenance of a system of quality assurance, biosafety and biosecurity relevant to the pathogen and the disease concerned
Fully ISO-certified QM system is in place since 2008. Certifying body changed to company AKS. Regular audits (internal and external) ensure tight update schedules of QM measures.
8. Provision of consultant expertise to OIE or to OIE Member Countries
· Participation in an expert panel group for scientific assessment of an NDV-ELISA
· Writing: A short note of the Twinning project between our laboratory and the Egyptian NLQP institute at Giza has been compiled for publication in the OIE bulletin.
· Consultation: Frequent e-mail exchange with scientists from Peru, Nepal, and Macedonia on NDV related matters.
9. Provision of scientific and technical training to personnel from other OIE Member Countries
The laboratory is partner in a twinning project with the Egyptian National Reference Institute for Avian Influenza and Newcastle (NLQP) at Giza, Egypt. In 2011, the project went into its third year. Several research projects, ring trials and further consultancies have been successfully carried out. A financially neutral prolongation for the third year had been granted by OIE. In this last year (2011) Newcastle-related matters have been tackled predominantly but also AI-related diagnostic training had been carried out. Four trainees of the NLQP visited the laboratory for eight weeks.
The project closed with a final work shop held in October in Giza, Egypt. Apart from members of the twinning partner institutes, representatives of the OIE regional offices and headquarters were present. In addition, invitations were issued to FAO, WHO as well as to members of Egyptian veterinary faculties and CVOs of countries in the Near and Middle East. The emphasis of this meeting was put on facilitating contacts between the different parties tackling the HPAI problem of Egypt. In a separate session for NLQP and FLI members an evaluation of the achievements of the project was attempted. A sketch of lines on future co-work has been drawn.
10. Provision of diagnostic testing facilities to other OIE Member Countries
None.
11. Organisation of international scientific meetings on behalf of OIE or other international bodies
Joint Symposium on Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease in Northern Africa and the Middle East, 28–29 September 2011, Safir Hotel – Dokki – Giza, Egypt. Organized in co-operation with NLQP, Giza.
No proceedings etc. will be published from this meeting. For a brief summary, see item 9. For a detailed account on the contents and achievements of this meeting pls. see the final report on the Twinning project between FLI and NLQP.
12. Participation in international scientific collaborative studies
O.I.E. Twinning Project Egypt (closed in 2011)
13. Publication and dissemination of information relevant to the work of OIE (including list of scientific publications, internet publishing activities, presentations at international conferences)
¡ Presentations at international conferences and meetings
Grund, C., Challenges of Newcastle Disease Diagnostics in Countries with Vaccination Policies, Twinning work shop, Giza
Grund C, Abdelwhab EM, Arafa A-S, Ziller M, Hassan MK, Aly M, Hafez HM, Harder T, Beer. Virus versus vaccine: Variants of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 from Egypt. Annual meeting of the a American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP), 17.-19. July, St. Louis, USA
¡ Scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals
1: Ramp K, Topfstedt E, Wäckerlin R, Höper D, Ziller M, Mettenleiter TC, Grund C and Römer-Oberdörfer A. Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of different recombinant Newcastle disease virus Clone 30 variants after in ovo vaccination. Avian Disease 2011[Epub ahead of print] PubMed
2: Ramp K, Veits J, Deckers D, Rudolf M, Grund C, Mettenleiter TC, Römer-Oberdörfer A. Coexpression of avian influenza virus H5 and N1 by recombinant Newcastle disease virus and the impact on immune response in chickens. Avian Dis. 2011 Sep;55(3):413-21. PubMed PMID: 22017039.
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Annual reports of OIE Reference Centres, 2011 5