22nd update on African swine fever activities at FAO

GLOBAL

The FAO-OIE awareness-raising posters on ASF for veterinarians is now also available in Chinese and French (on top of English and Spanish).
A FAO-OIE factsheet that targets policymakers is available online. Other joint ASF communication tools are available here.
On 26 January, FAO issued an alert message on the high risk of ASF spread due to Lunar New Year holidays season.
The animated video on "Biosecurity is key to stopping African swine fever: Be a champion farmer!” is now available in Portuguese, together with 15 Asian languages EN, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Kupang, Batak, Balinese, Malaysian, Sarawak, Portuguese, Khmer, Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Burmese, Lao, Nepali and Chinese.
FAO published a manual on Conducting After Action Reviews for animal health emergencies.
FAO published a manual on Developing field epidemiology training for veterinarians – Technical guidelines and core competencies.
FAO released the new Global Animal Disease Information System - EMPRES-i +
The 2022 Scientific Meeting of the Global African Swine Fever Research Alliance (GARA) will take place on 24-26 May 2022 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

AFRICA

The FAO online ASF course that ended on 7 October 2021 has been accredited by the South African Veterinary Council for continuous professional development (CPD). 241 out of 320 veterinarians and vet paraprofessionals from 15 of the 16 countries in Southern Africa completed the 4-week course.
The ASF course has been translated to Portuguese to be delivered for Mozambique and Angola when funds become available.

AMERICA

FAO published an 80-page Qualitative risk assessment for ASF spread in America, which considers six risk pathways of introduction and spread, along with an economic impact assessment and recommendations. It compiles information collected from 35 countries through a questionnaire.
FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC) launched their ASF website.
FAO is assisting in the preparation and adoption of biosecurity protocol for preventing the spread of ASF in the Dominican Republic in cooperation with the Interamerican Development Bank and the private sector.
Online webinars on Risk Assessment and Compensation Policy have been organized under the GF-TADs of the Americas. Recordings are available.

ASIA

The ASF situation in Asia & Pacific update (updated every two weeks), covers the situation by country, actions taken (by countries and FAO), recommendations and useful links.
FAO launched a project in Lao PDR to strengthen the capacity of veterinarians to control ASF and other high-impact TADs on 3 February 2022.
The farm biosecurity poster for preventing the spread of ASF is now available online in Cebuano 2, Ilocano 2, Hindi 1, Hindi 2, English 1, English 2, Khmer 1, Burmese 1, Lao 1, Chinese 1, Chinese 2, Nepali 1, Nepali 2, Vietnamese 1, Vietnamese 2, Thai 1, Thai 2, Portuguese 1, Portuguese 2, French 1, French 2, Indonesian 1, Indonesian 2, Korean 1, Korean 2, Arabic 1, Arabic 2, Tagalog 2.
FAO, in collaboration with PHILVET Health Services, piloted a 2-week online training smallholders in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia on the application of FAO ASF practical guidelines.
FAO and OIE co-organized the Standing Group of Experts for ASF (SGE-ASF) for Asia and the Pacific, held online on 15 December 2021.
FAO and GDAHP organized ASF community forum in Cambodia (Tboung Khmum, Rattanakiri, Takeo, Svay Rieng and Kandal Provinces) from 22 November to 17 December 2021.
FAO launched the 3-week ASF virtual training for the Pacific Island Countries on 12 October 2021 through Virtual Learning Centre (VLC).
FAO and GDAHP organized in September-October trainings at provincial level in Cambodia on investigation and emergency response in Kandal, Tboung Khum and Ratanakiri.
FAO organized a virtual workshop on the development of ASF tabletop simulation exercises for Asia on 23 and 30 September 2021.
FAO supported in September Applied Epidemiology Training and ASF preparedness workshop in the Philippines (Surigao Del Sur and North Cotabato Provinces) in collaboration with Philvet Health Services.

EUROPE

The 18th meeting of the Standing Group of Experts on ASF (SGE ASF18) in Europe took place on 23 November 2021. The SGE ASF19 took place on 23 February.
The Regional Emergency FAO project for ASF preparedness in the Balkans ended in November 2021. Its main results were presented at SGE ASF18.
The Carcass management guidelines is now available online in Albanian and Macedonian (on top of Arabic, Russian, English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Serbian).
FAO, together with UC Davis researchers published its results of field surveys with pig farmers in North Macedonia and Kosovo: a Descriptive and Multivariate Analysis of the Pig Sector in North Macedonia and Its Implications for ASF Transmission.
FAO trained through its regional Virtual Learning Centre (VLC) over 300 Russian-speaking veterinarians on ASF preparedness (November-December 2021).
FAO has conducted four trainings in Kosovo on detecting and preventing ASF in pig farms for farmers and veterinarians.
FAO helped to adapt and promote the iMammalia App for the early reporting of wild boar carcasses.