Workplace FAO News and Updates OIE Bulletin Images of African Swine

 

19th update on African swine fever activities at FAO

GLOBAL

Gap Analysis Report in Russian Gap Analysis Report in English Gap Analysis Report in Chinese 2018 Gap Analysis Report
  • The online Course on ASF Preparedness was chosen as a FAO good practice to be shared globally. The 4-week tutored course developed by the FAO Regional Office for Europe has been adapted, translated and replicated in the Asia-Pacific and America regions last year, reaching and certifying hundreds of veterinarians all over the globe.
  • An ASF Global Pool of Expertise (GPE) was formed to address technical gaps and provide guidance for global ASF prevention and control (with focus on smallholders’ settings) on the following technical areas: epidemiology and surveillance; control interventions; biosecurity; laboratory diagnosis; socio-economics, community engagement and private sector engagement. The work is done through virtual consultations and off-line discussions.
  • FAO updated the ASF Resources page with all relevant publications, as well as the FAO Actions (only for Asia for the moment)
  • FAO released on 5 February an alert to countries on the increased risk of ASF due to Lunar New Year and probable novel variant.
  • The Joint FAO / IAEA Centre supported four, one-month fellowship trainings for the staff members of the designated laboratories in Austria, China, India and Thailand. The training programs covered a wide scope of techniques for detection and characterization of priority animal diseases, including ASF.
  • Consumables for the use of the Sanger sequencing service of APH, including 282 primers for 35 animal and zoonotic diseases (including 3 genetic targets for ASF – p72, p54 and CVR) were sent to Lao PDR and Vietnam. Equivalent sequencing packages for Cambodia, Mongolia and Myanmar are under preparation. Diagnostic consumables for ASF were also delivered to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malawi and Thailand.
  • FAO published its “Carcass management guidelines - Effective disposal of animal carcasses and contaminated materials on small to medium-sized farms”. Available in English, the document is being translated into all other official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish).

AFRICA

ASIA

  • The ASF situation in Asia & Pacific update is back online (latest issue 18 March – next one scheduled for 1 April). It covers the disease situation by country, and the actions taken by countries and FAO, as well as recommendations and useful links.
  • FAO is organising the 3rd regional training of trainers on ASF detection and emergency response engaging animal health officials from Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand (15-26 March 2021).
  • FAO organised a 2-day virtual regional consultation workshop on ASF preparedness and response for Asia Pacific (9-10 March 2021).
  • FAO and OIE co-organised the 5th Standing Group of Experts for ASF (SGE-ASF) for Asia and the Pacific, held online on 5 February 2021.
  • FAO is conducting a sub-national level virtual training on ASF detection and emergency response in Myanmar, together with the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD). The interactive training course comprises seven modules with excercises, which each participant to respond week-by-week. There are 85 particiants from public and private veterinary sectors, academia, and associations.
  • The Joint FAO / IAEA Centre supported Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar and Vietnam with diagnostic kits for serological and molecular detection (ELISA and real time PCR), characterization (sequencing package of consumables and instructions up to finalized phylogeny) and other diagnostic consumables and small equipment required to run the laboratory techniques.
  • The animation video on farm biosecurity (Be a champion farmer) has been translated into 10 languages (English, Khmer, Lao, Vietnamese, Burmese, Balinese, Batak, Bahasa, Kupang, Nepali).

EUROPE

  • FAO and the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) co-organized a two-day online multi-country simulation exercise in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia on ASF and foot-and-mouth disease.
  • FAO organized the 3rd Online ASF Balkan Project Coordination Meeting online on 4 February. Discussion largely focused on wild boar related activities, namely the trainings for hunters to be deployed over the Summer and the progress on the risk mapping of hunting grounds.
  • ASF Preparedness Workshops were organized with the task forces teams of Ecuador, Chile, Dominican Republic, Panama and El Salvador (Dec 2020).