While outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in Europe used to be rare and geographically contained, the situation has dramatically changed in the last few years with thousands of outbreaks reported in domestic poultry and wild birds. Despite being an intensive field of research, many unknowns remain as we are still struggling to predict HPAIV emergence, avoid viral spread and limit the socio-economic impact entailed predominantly by control measures. Vaccination of domestic poultry against avian influenza, is now being given full consideration, as it is becoming clear that traditional prevention and control approaches alone will not curb the accelerating pace of occurrence of devastating HPAIV epidemics. On 1 October 2023, France became the first EU country to implement a nation-wide vaccination campaign in ducks. However, vaccinating domestic poultry does not come without important challenges. VIVACE therefore aims at putting together a doctoral network to contribute to fully integrate poultry vaccination approaches into efficient management strategies for HPAIV. We will do so by unravelling the impact current and upcoming EU vaccination policies will have on avian influenza virus evolution, surveillance and control strategies and societal burden of HPAI. This will be done through a combination of disciplines from life sciences, epidemiology, computer sciences and social and behavioural sciences. The training program proposed here includes scientific and transferrable skill sessions, builds on the integrated added values of complementing expertise (virology, immunology, modelling, spatial and molecular epidemiology, social psychology, economics and policy), and full access to state-of-the-art technologies in excellent environments. The consortium gathers 15 universities or research institutes and 5 private companies, securing both inter-sectoriality and wide geographic distribution with tailored epidemiological and vaccination contexts.

Emerging plant viral diseases represent a significant burden to plant health, and their highest impact in Mediterranean agriculture is on vegetables grown under intensive horticultural practices. Intensive horticulture is very competitive and one of the most dynamic sectors in Mediterranean agriculture. The emergence of a new viral disease results from a complex interaction among several factors, including ecological changes of host and vector populations, and genetic changes due to the introduction of new crop varieties and the evolution of the viruses and/or vectors. A transnational consortium incorporating 12 research groups from 5 EU and 4 non-EU Mediterranean countries has been gathered to analyse different aspects of the ecology and biology of specific plant viruses, providing measures for the management and control of specific emergent viral diseases in Mediterranean horticulture and, importantly, a better understanding of the phenomenon of emergence itself. We will focus on a few undisputedly important case studies for Mediterranean horticulture, such as whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses in tomato and cucurbits, aphid-transmitted viruses in cucurbits and Pepino mosaic virus in tomato. Specific objectives of the project include (i) identification of host reservoirs for emergent viruses, (ii) development of advanced diagnostic tools, (iii) analysis of host-range determination and host-range modification, (iv) analysis of short- and long-range virus dispersion, including vector transmission and population genetics, (v) analysis of virus evolution, (vi) risks evaluation of virus emergence in a changing environment and (vii) development of sustainable strategies for the control of emerging plant viral diseases.