FAO World Reference
Laboratory for
Foot-and-Mouth Disease
| Navigation |
        |
| Below are definitions of a number of terms
used to classify foot-and-mouth disease viruses (in preparation) |
|
| Serotype | |
| FMDV serotypes are defined by a lack of cross-protection between viruses. In vitro serological tests (virus neutralisation, complement fixation, ELISA) can be used as a proxy. | |
| There are seven immunologically distinct FMDV serotypes: O (Oise), A (Allemagne), C, Southern African Territories (SAT) 1, SAT 2, SAT 3 and Asia 1. | |
| The FAO World Reference Laboratory for FMD uses a colour coding system for each serotype (for labels, maps, etc.): O (red), A (blue), C (green), SAT 1 (yellow), SAT 2 (purple), SAT 3 (orange), Asia 1 (white inside a black circle or sometimes just grey). | |
| Topotype | |
| Strain | |
| Genotype | |
| The term "genotype" can be given to any phylogenetically unique RNA or DNA sequence. However, in the virus world it is often used to indicate a cluster of related organisms. Therefore its meaning is not always easily definable in general terms. | |