The application of molecular biology to the study of veterinary infectious diseases

The practical impact that the techniques of molecular biology is having on the study of infectious diseases of veterinary importance is discussed. The areas highlighted include the development of novel diagnostic assays such as the polymerase chain reaction, the use of recombinant antigen in ELISA tests, and the potential of genetically engineered vaccines to alter radically the disease status of animals in developed and developing countries. Novel vaccine strategies such as the use of rationally attenuated viruses as has been successfully employed with pseudorabies virus, and the use of viruses such as vaccinia as vaccine vectors to carry the genes encoding potent immunogens from a range of pathogens (such as rabies and rinderpest) are described. Contributions to the study of epidemiology, mechanisms of pathogenesis and immune responses are also discussed.