In vitro surrogate models to aid in the development of antivirals for the containment of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly pathogenic member of the genus Aphthovirus (family Picornaviridae) that is only to be manipulated in high-containment facilities, thus complicating research on and discovery of antiviral strategies against the virus. Bovine rhinitis B virus (BRBV) and equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV), phylogenetically most closely related to FMDV, were explored as surrogates for FMDV in antiviral studies. Although no efficient cell culture system has been reported so far for BRBV, we demonstrate that infection of primary bovine kidney cells resulted in an extensive but rather poorly-reproducible induction of cytopathic effect (CPE).

High abundance of genetic Bacteroidetes markers for total fecal pollution in pristine alpine soils suggests lack in specificity for feces.

Two frequently applied genetic Bacteroidetes markers for total fecal pollution (AllBac and BacUni) were found in high numbers in pristine soil samples of two alpine catchment areas casting doubt on their value as fecal indicators. This finding underlines the necessity to evaluate assays locally and against non-intestinal samples before application.