MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH-DISEASE (FMD) IN ISRAEL IN 1994 AND IN OTHER MIDDLE-EASTERN COUNTRIES IN THE YEARS 1992-1994

The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and direc t sequencing were employed in the diagnosis and typing of foot-and-mou th disease virus (FMDV) in samples taken during the 1994 disease outbr eak in Israel. Using PCR, virus isolation and serological methods it w as shown that the 1994 disease outbreak in Israel and other Middle-Eas tern countries was caused by O1 type virus. Direct PCR sequencing of V P1 genes and homology analysis of the virus isolates revealed that the re were two distinct outbreaks in Israel. The first originated in Jord an, moved to the West Bank territory and then to the Lower Galilee. Th e second outbreak, caused by another virus, was responsible for diseas e outbreaks in South Lebanon, Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Whe n viral sequences of isolates from the 1993 outbreaks in Egypt and Leb anon were included in the analysis, they showed a high degree of VP1 s equence homology between themselves, suggesting a common origin.