RELEVANCE TO INCO-DEV PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

The project is s collaborative proposal between EU and Latin American Counties and will therefore contribute to the implementation of the INCO programme objective to promote 'Co-operation with Developing Countries' in order to tackle challenges faced by Developing Countries. Our objective is to develop a new vaccine to control predominant disease in domestic ruminants, and thereby relates to the 1999 call, 'Tools for sustainable development', and specifically '(b.ii) Technologies for sustainable plant and animal production, priority 4: Vaccines and diagnostics for predominant parasitic and epizootic diseases of economic importance.

World population is projected to increased from the present 5.8 to over 8 billion in 2025. Food supplies need to keep pace with this increase, a problem that poses enormous challenges for development. Developing countries play a huge role in food production throughout the world. Overall, approximately 216 million cattle are reared in South America, about twice the number in the USA. Yet, the region produces less than half as much beef as the U.S. Productivity of beef production is about ¼ of the U.S. Pressed by the need for economic improvement, Latin American farmers imported high-yielding breeds from northern countries. However, these breeds are often highly susceptible to diseases prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly tick-borne parasitic diseases, and helminth (fluke) infections.

The aim of this project is to mobilise the scientific expertise in the EU with complementary expertise in Latin America, to develop vaccines that will reduce losses in ruminant farming and lead to sustainable improved food production. The project will tackle diseases caused by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, and the tick-borne agents Babesia and Anaplasma. Hepatic fascioliasis in ruminants causes major economic loss, estimated at US$2000 million per annum, to rural agricultural communities and commercial producers worldwide (Boray, 1985) but is particularly prevalent in tropical counties. Hemoparasitary diseases transmitted by arthropods (tick-borne) are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions. Babesiosis, produced by the protozoan Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, and anaplasmosis, produced by the rickettsia Anaplasma marginale, are the most important hemoparasitic diseases to affect cattle throughout Central and South America. Economic loss due to anaplasmosis and babesiosis is estimated to amount to $120 million per year in Argentina alone. Current control measures are expensive, time consuming and ineffective. There is a need to develop cost-effective and sustainable control strategies, such as vaccination. Such a vaccine would contribute to development, by reducing losses due to disease, particularly amongst small farmers who cannot afford current control strategies. The vaccine and accompanying diagnostics will be of value to developing countries, but may also find application in EU countries.

A special feature of this project is its anticipated high level of interactions with project, 'A Cluster for tuberculosis vaccine development', that was recently awarded under the Framework V Thematic Programme, Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources (http://www.pasteur.fr/recherche/EC_TBvaccine/html/Game.html). Two of the participants of this proposal are also participants of the TB vaccine cluster project. Both projects involve the development of mycobacterial vaccines, but they target different hosts and diseases (human tuberculosis vs. ruminant parasitic disease). Nevertheless, there will be a great deal of commonality in problem solving approaches and thereby many opportunities for synergetic interactions and avoidance of duplication. The project will thereby increase interactions between the horizontal and thematic programmes of Framework V and maximise the opportunities for developing country scientists to participate with ongoing EU R&D at all levels.