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The main research subjects of the Division of Large Animal Diseases are the etiology, epidemiology, molecular diagnostics and control of infectious diseases of large animals, such as cattle, horse，sheep, and goat. The division has proposed a hypothesis that Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) vaccine protection is induced by the polyclonal EIAV strains which can induce broad-spectrum immune reactions.
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The protection mechanisms on EIAV live attenuated vaccine may also apply to novel strategies for HIV/AIDS vaccine development. EIA diagnostic reagents developed by this division were used in the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong for race horses, and were highly valued by the Hong Kong Government due to the fast and accurate detection results. Research on foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus focuses on its virulence and the molecular basis of antigenic variation, virulence, and novel vaccine development, which may provide new solution to the control and prevention of FMD. The mapping of the protective epitope reveals the antigenic variation of FMDV strains. The epitope-displayed vaccine and the empty capsid vaccine of FMDV are also being studied, and the FMDV empty capsid vaccine has entered the stage of industrialization and commercialization. Studies on other important epidemic and emerging diseases in cattle have also been conducted in this division.
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