A) Dealing with Livestock Disease Emergencies
B) Disaster Risk Management Strategies for Animal Health
C) Dealing with Foot and Mouth Disease in the Philippines
D) The Zoonotic Paramyxoviruses
E) Overview of NIPAH Virus Infection in Peninsular Malaysia
F) Buffalo Development in Asia
G) Buffalo Recording and the Possible Role of APHCA
Animal Health Officer
(Infectious Disease Emergencies)
Transboundary livestock diseases are defined as those that are of significant economic, trade and/or food security importance for a considerable number of countries; which can easily spread to other countries and reach epidemic proportions; and where control/management, including exclusion, requires co-operation between several countries.
Their importance to the progress of development is crucial, because they:
FAO has created the EMPRES (Emergency Prevention Systems) programme for livestock as a response to these diseases. In terms of the EMPRES programme transboundary animal diseases are classified as follows:
Early warning of the occurrence of epidemic disease events and Early reaction to these events are crucial for the effective prevention, containment and management of disease outbreaks. The speed of response to an introduction of disease is obviously a critical element in disease management. The faster the response, the more likely it is that the emergency will be overcome and the damage limited.
2. Preparedness and Response
Early warning is defined as all disease intelligence initiatives, which predominantly would be based on epidemiological surveillance, that would lead to improved knowledge of the distribution of disease or infection and that might permit the forecasting further evolution of an outbreak. Early detection of a transboundary disease enables an early response, and is contingent upon having a reliable disease surveillance system in place.
The overall responsibility for disease surveillance lies with national governments; they have a responsibility not only for the wellbeing of their own community and their national herd or flock, but also an international responsibility for ensuring that neighbouring countries are not threatened by potentially disastrous epidemics.
Early reaction is identified as all actions that would be targeted at rapid and effective containment leading to elimination of a disease outbreak, thus preventing it from turning into a serious epidemic. This should include contingency planning (a predetermined set of responses) and emergency preparedness (the capacity to react).
Being prepared for a disease emergency is also seen as a national responsibility. Each national veterinary service should have a contingency plan in place, and have access to a secure emergency fund. Because of the important nature of such plans, they should be drawn up in collaboration with all role players; they should have political approval; and governments should have the will and the commitment to set resources aside to deal with any emergencies should they arise.
3. Essential Elements
The speed of response is critical; the faster the response, the more likely it is that an emergency will be overcome quickly and the damage limited.
There are a number of key elements in ensuring that any response to a disease emergency is timely and adequate. They can be summarised as follows:
4. Organising Emergency Management
Emergency management is aimed at four key areas of work.
5. The Contingency Plan
A Contingency Plan is a strategy document containing, amongst other things:
All information necessary to attack a disease problem should be included. The plan should have an elementary summary, outlining the procedures to be followed upon detection of the disease, with a series of detail appendices containing all the action plans, resource descriptions, contact addresses, and so on. Even such apparently simple procedures, such as sample taking, should be included. It is as well to remember that a disease may be absent for a country for many years before reappearing, and that by the time of its reappearance, the countrys veterinary profession may no longer have practical experience in dealing with it.
The plan, while extensive and detailed, should be easy to follow and navigate. A flow diagram should summarise, in concise form, the sequence of actions undertaken in the event of an outbreak.
It is a dynamic document and should be subject to frequent updates and revisions.
A very brief outline of the kind of information to be included in a contingency plan is given below.
Information Required in Plan
Actions that should be outlined
Livestock distribution (susceptible species within the
Vehicles - numbers, types
Emergency stores (e.g. protective clothing, vaccines,
syringes, sampling equipment - where they are and what they contain)
Diagnostic laboratories - addresses for primary diagnosis
and reference labs
Names & addresses, telephone numbers of experts
6. The Initial Response
The initial response to any disease emergency, apart from notification of local, national and international authorities (especially OIE), should be a full disease investigation. This will involve taking of appropriate samples for both the disease under suspicion and for key differential diagnoses. Back- and forward tracing is necessary to establish the origin of the infection and possible routes of spread.
Immediate measures should also be taken to prevent further spread; decisive action should be taken immediately.
7. FAO Support
FAO has undertaken a number of initiatives to provide technical assistance to Early Reaction. These include the development of TADinfo epidemiology software, contingency planning manuals, disease recognition manuals and multimedia presentations. The EMPRES website http://www.fao.org/EMPRES may also be consulted for details.
Mark M. Rweyemamu
Senior Officer, Infectious Diseases-EMPRES Group
Animal Production & Health Division
FAO, Rome, Italy
Senior Animal Production and Health Officer
FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific
During the 1970s there was hope that the major epidemic diseases of livestock and humans were being brought under control in many countries and practically eliminated from OECD countries. Most predictions were emphasising the increasing importance of endemic and productivity-limiting non-infectious diseases with a concomitant progressive reduction in the relevance of epidemic diseases to livestock production. With increasing intensive livestock farming in the industrialised world, there was also a notion that at worst infectious diseases could be confined to the least developed parts of the world and therefore would have little impact on development, food security and trade.
During the last 15 years, however, infectious and vector-borne animal diseases have become of increasing importance world-wide and disease emergencies are occurring with increasing frequency. Even industrialised nations have been affected. Thus in 1997, the World Health Organisation (WHO) observed, for human health, that:
Experience has shown that reducing resources to control infectious diseases in favour of other priorities leads to the resurgence of disease and can create problems more widespread and costly than before.
This is equally true of animal health and recent examples of outbreaks of either old diseases or newly recognised diseases or re-emerging or evolving diseases bear testimony to this. Some examples are summarised in Table 1.
TABLE 1 - Examples of recent epidemics of transboundary animal
Rinderpest is perhaps the most serious cattle plague. The optimism of the 1970s was shattered when during the 1980s rinderpest spread practically throughout South Asia, The Middle East and Tropical Africa, affecting cattle, buffalo and wildlife. The disease has come under control again, thanks to an international partnership through the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme. Currently (2001), it is confined to only 3 isolated eco-systems: southern Somalia, southern Sudan and parts of southern Pakistan. The success of GREP will depend on whether rinderpest can be eliminated from these foci befere the end of 2003, otherwise there remains a risk that rinderpest could flare up again as it did in 1980s.
Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly contagious virus disease of cloven-hoofed animals. There are seven distinct types of FMD virus. It is the animal disease with the greatest impact on international trade. Ordinarily the OECD countries are free from this disease while it is endemic in the Least Developed Countries. Roughly, the endemic distribution of the seven types of FMD is as follows: Type O: Asia, Africa, Middle East and South America; Type A: Asia, Africa, Middle East and South America; Type C: Asia, Africa, South America (NB: this type occurs rarely and tends to be sporadic); Type Asia 1: Asia; Types SAT 1, SAT 2, and SAT 3: Africa. In recent years serious epidemics of FMD have occurred outside areas of endemicity causing major economic losses e.g. type O FMD in Taiwan, Province of China in 1997 and again in 2000; type O Pan-Asian topotype which over a period of 10 years spread progressively from South Asia eastward to China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Taiwan Province of China and Westward to the Middle east and Southeast Europe and during 200-2001 leapt to South Africa and to UK, France, Netherlands and Ireland. Type SAT 2 spread to in Saudi Arabia in 2000, which is the first time this type has been recorded outside Africa.
Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) PPR was until relatively recently considered to be limited in distribution to West Africa. However, it is now the most evolving epidemic of small ruminants. It has extended throughout sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritania to Somalia and southwards to the coastal belt of the Congo Republic in the west and Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia in the east. In the Middle East there have been serious epidemics in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq and now PPR has extended as far west as Turkey, which borders Europe, and Asia it now extends as far eastwards as Bangladesh. It appears that there has been an actual extension of its range as well as increasing aetiological differentiation between PPR and other causes of pneumonic disease in sheep and goats. In India many cases in sheep formerly ascribed to rinderpest are now known to have been caused by PPR. It has been responsible for heavy losses in small ruminants in Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia is a serious mycoplasmal disease of cattle. There has been a catastrophic spread of CBPP over the last few years in Africa where it now affects some 27 countries and causes estimated losses of up to US$2 billion annually. In 1995 the disease was reintroduced to Botswana for the first time in 46 years. As part of the eradication campaign, all cattle (approximately 320 000) in an area of northern Botswana had to be slaughtered at a direct cost of $100 million; indirect losses were over $400 million.
Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is a generalised virus disease affecting only pigs. It is endemic throughout many of the swine-rearing areas of the world. It is a major and constant constraint to swine production in the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Asia. It is also endemic in some of the Latin American countries and Cuba (since the 1980s). In 1996 it was introduced into Haiti causing major losses and it is now endemic there; it has spread to the Dominican Republic. In 1998 outbreaks were reported in Costa Rica. Classical swine fever is a disease that poses serious threat to the swine industry of the Americas. It is practically absent from the continental part of the Americas. Therefore, the recent epidemic in the Caribbean is seen as a serious threat to North America and South America as well as non-infected Caribbean countries. In Europe, the most serious, recent epidemics have been in Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Molecular genetic studies indicated that the causal virus strain was more related to those isolated from Southeast Asia than those circulating in the wild suidae in Europe.
African Swine Fever is another generalised virus disease affecting pigs. It is endemic in southern and eastern Africa where it is maintained an endemic cycle involving soft ticks (Ornthodorus moubata) and wild Suidae (warthogs and bushpigs). Since mid-1990s there have been serious outbreaks in areas, which either had never experienced ASF before or had not had outbreaks for a long time. For example, in 1994 ASF moved from the endemic area in northern Mozambique to Maputo and devastated the pig population killing 80 per cent of the estimated 4000 pigs in the area. In 1996 it occurred for the first time in Côte dIvoire, where it killed 25 percent of the pig population and, according to various estimates, cost the country between US$13 and 32 million in direct and indirect losses and eradication costs. There has since been serious spread of ASF to Togo, Benin, Gambia and Nigeria. In 1999 the disease spread to Ghana where it has since been eradicated.
Newcastle Disease (ND) is one of the most important viral diseases of poultry. The history of ND is marked by at least three pandemics in domestic birds. The first began with the emergence of the disease in fowl in the middle of the 1920s and spread slowly from Asia throughout the world. The second outbreak appeared to emerge in fowl in the Middle East in the late 1960s, reaching all continents by mid-1970s. A third outbreak in the 1970s, also starting in the Middle East, was associated with a mainly neurotropic and viscerotropic velogenic disease in pigeons. Currently, we are witnessing the forth panzootic. Since 1991, there has been an increase in incidence with series of related outbreaks affecting again poultry in many European countries. Iran, India South East Asia was hit by the worse epidemic ever reported. In 1999, the panzootic reached the American continent and Australia. ND is regarded to be endemic or epidemic almost allover the world.
Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD/Gumboro) emerged in 1957 as a clinical entity responsible for acute morbidity and mortality in broilers in USA. The diseases has now been reported to occur in most parts of the world and is widespread in commercial chicken as well as scavenging chickens. IBD is caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Recently, IBDV isolates were described in USA and Europe displaying an antigenic drift. These new hot isolates are very virulent for chickens. The disease has an acute stage followed by immunosuppression, resulting in lowered resistance to a variety of infectious agents and poor response to commonly used vaccines. The acute stage of the disease andthe immunosuppression that follows are major factors contributing to the economic significance.
Nipah Virus: Between late 1998 and mid-1999, a new pig disease characterised by a pronounced respiratory and neurologic syndrome, sometimes with sudden death of sows and boars was noticed to spread among some pig farms in Peninsular Malaysia. A new virus belonging to the paramyxoviridae family, named Nipah was discovered and later confirmed to be the same agent responsible for the human and pig disease. In humans, the virus causes fever, severe headache, myalgia, and signs of encephalitis or meningitis. The case fatality rate has been about 40%.
By May 1999 when WHO declared the outbreak to be controlled, a total of viral encephalitis cases with 105 deaths were recorded in human related to pig farming activity. To bring the outbreak under control in the States of Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Selangor a stamping out policy was instituted to cull all pigs in the outbreak areas in the first phase. A total of 901, 228 pigs from 896 farms were destroyed in the infected areas from 28 February to 26 April 1999.
Rift Valley Fever is a mosquito-borne viral zoonotic disease. Until 1977 it was confined to Sub-Saharan Africa. Then it occurred in Egypt in 1977 and again in 1993 caused an estimated 200 000 human cases of the disease with some 600 deaths as well as large numbers of deaths and abortions in sheep and cattle and other livestock species. Following the heavy El Nino rain in 1997/98 a serious outbreak was experienced in Eastern Africa causing not only livestock losses and human deaths but also seriously disrupted the valuable livestock export trade to the Near East. During 2000 an outbreak of Rift Valley fever occurred in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the wet areas of Gizan and Al-Hudaydah. This is the first time that an outbreak of RVF has been recorded outside Africa.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a prion disease
of cattle, was first recognized in the United Kingdom in 1986. Since then, over
170 000 cattle have either died or been slaughtered. The discovery of a probable
link between BSE and new variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease of humans in 1996 led
to major disruptions of world beef markets.
Demographic estimates indicate that the world urban population is growing at the rate of 60 million per annum and that by 2010 the urban population will have exceeded that of rural areas. It is also estimated that 26 cities in the world will have populations of 10 million or more and that these will be located mainly in what are now classified as developing countries. This growth in urban population has fuelled the growth of intensification of and peri-urban livestock farming in several developing countries. Inevitably this has led to an increasing importance of endemic diseases in addition to the increased risk of epidemic diseases. The impact of livestock intensification is many-fold:
These examples illustrate the dangers that are likely to be associated with livestock development and intensification in developing countries, where the disease burden is greater than in temperate climate, industrialised countries. Therefore, the success of such schemes is bound to depend on the degree of attention given to disease prevention, detection, control and management of animal diseases.
Impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes
The collective geographical location of the diseases of livestock of major economic importance e.g. FMD, rinderpest, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, classical swine fever, African swine fever, sheep and goat pox, trypanosomosis, tick-borne diseases, Newcastle disease and probably infectious bursal disease extends from Africa across the Middle East and into Asia encompassing many of the poorer countries of the world. The sustained control of these diseases requires socio-political stability and ability to access all livestock by veterinary personnel, apart from the input of resources to supply and deliver vaccines, maintain effective surveillance systems to detect suspected cases at an early stage and provide the trained manpower and resources to implement disease control strategies in the event of outbreaks. Most countries across this sector of the globe do not have resources required to support all of those elements and so they resort to strategic approaches. The national veterinary services in developing countries have, like other departments, to compete for scarce resources but unfortunately they are often politically weak and fare badly when the cake is cut up. Furthermore, economic structural adjustment programmes tended in several cases to weaken the administrative, legal and financial capacity for dealing with major animal diseases. Consequently, progress in the control of animal diseases in many developing countries has become a tediously slow and unpredictable business.
In the immediate post colonial period of the 1960s, the public sector veterinary services of most developing countries were engaged in the delivery of the full spectrum of veterinary activities and services with little or no participation of the private sector. By the mid-1970s many countries were experiencing serious economic difficulties and started seeking financial remedial assistance. It was felt that the rescue lay in structural adjustment of their economies. Changes in fiscal, financial and pricing policy included the elimination of subsidies and removal of tariffs while institutional reforms included privatisation of government-owned enterprises and the introduction of cost-recovery. In seeking to move services from public to private sectors, it was argued that, in most domains, any form of private enterprise is likely to outperform the public sector. This led to a drive for the privatisation of veterinary services, thus aiming at diminishing drastically the role of the state in these activities. Animal health was seen as a private good and veterinary services were seen essentially as providing an animal health care delivery system. So issues like the sale of veterinary medicines and vaccines, provision of clinical services or undertaking vaccinations became uppermost in the implementation the privatisation programme. Surveillance, early warning, laboratory diagnostic services, planning, regulation and management of disease control programmes as well as assurance of the quality and safety of animal products became a secondary consideration. The concepts of control of epidemic (and usually trade-related) diseases and the international obligation to manage and report on these diseases, was lost. As a result of restructuring and decentralisation government veterinary officers were often placed under the control of regional and local authorities within a general agricultural extension system. Thus, the chain of veterinary command that required notification of disease outbreaks enabled a response to disease emergencies and also which managed national disease control programmes was often effectively dismantled.
The combination of a poor financial resources and an improperly organised national veterinary service often has led to a deterioration in animal health services with epidemic diseases often spreading unchecked. However, there are examples where greater involvement of the private sector has actually improved the control of epidemic diseases. The most notable example is the case of countries of the Mercosur of South America. Here the private farming and trading sectors became involved in the planning and monitoring of disease control programme and exerted pressure on governments so much so that the efficiency of the supervisory and regulatory roles of the public sector actually improved. As a result, South America has made great strides in FMD control and government services have been able also to react resolutely to disease emergencies. Another example is provided by the Indian National Dairy Development Corporations involvement in FMD control on farms of members of the co-operative.
The Impact of Political and Social Instability on Animal Health
When political upheaval leads to conflict the consequences for disease control programmes can be catastrophic. For example, following the Gulf War and the military offensive of the Iraq government forces against the rebellious Kurds in the north, there was mass migration into Turkey. The refugees took as many of their animals as possible with them and in doing so introduced rinderpest into Turkeys susceptible livestock population. Turkish farmers in the south-east of the country, rushing to dispose of their sick animals as quickly as possible, spread the disease through the marketing chain to Ankara and as far west as the Sea of Marmara.
International political isolation of countries can also lead to a worsening disease situation within the region
Thus there are strong associations between political and social instability and the increased incidence of disease. Attendance to animal health through professionally guided community-based programmes will need to be an increasing component of humanitarian programmes in conflict affected areas to avoid consequential major epizootics.
Effect of Climatic Change on Animal Diseases
Climatic factors can have a major effect on the rate of transmission of many infectious diseases. Microbial agents and their vector organisms are sensitive to factors such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, surface water, wind and changes in vegetation. This applies particularly to vector-borne diseases (VBDs), such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) transmitted by mosquitoes; African horse sickness (AHS) and bluetongue (BT) - both transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides spp), African swine fever (ASF), East Coast fever, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Nairobi sheep disease transmitted by ticks; and trypanosomosis transmitted by tsetse flies. It is projected, therefore, that climate changes and altered weather patterns will affect the range, intensity, and seasonality of many vector-borne and other infectious diseases.
Considerable progress has been made in dissecting and defining the climatic and environmental factors that influence vector biology. The data has generally been obtained by a combination of field and laboratory studies. These approaches, combined with satellite remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS) and biomathematical modelling could be used to develop simulation models to predict when and where disease outbreaks are likely to occur and how things might alter with climate change. Armed with this information control strategies e.g. the use of prophylactic vaccination and vector control, could be used to protect animals in advance of the spread of a disease and thereby reduce its impact.
For example, successful attempts have been made to model the abundance and distribution in southern Africa of Culicoides imicola, the vector midge of AHS and BT viruses. The abundance of C. imicola, together with associated climate data have been analysed in combination with certain satellite-derived variables with the aim of developing models of C. imicola abundance to predict the risk of AHS and BT. Similarly for the 1997/98 Rift Valley fever in Eastern Africa, an examination of the satellite remote sensing images could readily identify areas for intensive ground surveillance for RVF and other VBDs.
Some VBDs are zoonotic diseases and cause serious illness and death in humans. Climate change is likely to increase the prevalence and incidence of many such diseases (geographically or from season to year-round). For example, global warming and resulting rising sea level would displace some human populations, perhaps resulting in migration into wilderness areas where zoonotic infectious agents are being transmitted in silent life cycles.
It is predicted that global warming will be characterised by more frequent storms and flooding in certain areas. Higher temperature, increased humidity and more extensive surface water might result in increased insect populations and a higher incidence of VBD. On the other hand, periods of drought will cause the extensive migration of pastoral herds in search of water and grazing and favour the spread of disease by vectors and by contact between animals. These conditions would increase the likelihood of livestock mingling with wildlife populations and the transmission of pathogens. Support for these predictions is provided by the strong association shown between the major epidemics of AHS in South Africa which occur every 10 to 15 years and the warm (El Nino) phase of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) which is mediated by the combination of rainfall and drought brought to South Africa by ENSO. Warm-phase ENSOs bring both rainfall and drought to southern Africa. Populations of C. imicola can increase 200-fold in years of heavy rain. However, heavy rainfall occurs for other reasons in many non-ENSO years but epidemics of AHS do not result. It seems that a combination of heavy rainfall followed by drought is the critical combination, which leads to epidemics. It has been proposed that this is because the high temperatures during droughts increases vector population growth rates and the coincidence of this with the congregation of horses with the virus reservoir (zebra) at the few remaining sources of water creates the conditions favourable for the vector to transmit AHS virus.
In Asia the impact of floods, droughts and cyclones has has not been a sufficiently analysed in term of animal health. Yet these climatic changes are taking place with increasing veracity on the continent. For example in Bangladesh only six years between 1960 and 1992 were free of climate induced disasters. It has been estimated that droughts occurred on average every 2.3 years and floods and cyclones every 1.8 years. It can be expected that both established diseases and newly introduced diseases are likely to be of increasing intensity. This has already been evidenced in Bangladesh by the pattern of Peste des Petits Ruminants, a disease, which was first recognised in the country in 1993.
The Impact of Animal Movement and Trade on Disease Incidence
Increased road construction across Central and South America, Africa and Asia aimed primarily at responding to expanding industrial needs has also made it easier and cheaper to transport animals over long distances on land. Similarly, the growth of sea and airfreight systems facilitates the transport of animals around the world. The most common mechanism for the transmission of infectious organisms is contact between infected and susceptible hosts. Modern animal transport systems are ideally suited for spreading disease. The animals commonly originate from different herds or flocks, they are often confined together for long periods in a poorly ventilated stressful environment - all of which will favour the transmission within the group of infectious disease should one or more sick animals be present. If not destined for slaughter, the animals will be introduced into new herds or flocks where they will be subjected to social and dietary stress and an exchange of microorganisms with the resident population.
A spectacular inter-continental trade transfer of a pest was exemplified by the New World Screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) in Libya in 1988. This was the first time this pest became established outside its natural range in the Americas. Recent years have seen some spectacular examples of the consequences of extended trade links. The outbreaks of FMD type SAT 2 in dairy herds in Saudi Arabia and in sheep in Kuwait during 2000 probably resulted from the importation into the Arabian Peninsula of cattle or sheep from Eastern Africa. While FMD type SAT 2 virus is endemic in many parts of Africa this is the first occasion that the SAT 2 sero-type has been recorded outside Africa.
The dynamics of FMD between Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia is often a direct result of movement of trade cattle. Similarly the vast movement of pigs in eastern Asia has been associated with the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
The movement of infected animals is the most common mechanism by which infectious diseases such as FMD and ND are transmitted. However, spread can also result from the feeding to animals of contaminated foodstuffs such as hay and contaminated unheated waste food of animal origin. The transport of contaminated meat and fodder around the world is a mechanism by which FMD can be spread over long distances and by which exotic strains can be introduced into new territories.
Figure 1 - Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Evolution of South Asia FMD Topotype)
The most dramatic example, however, is the evolution of the spread of FMD sero-type O that is now referred as the Pan-Asian topotype, which over a 10-year period has spread through most of Asia, has affected parts of Europe and South Africa. This virus was first identified in northern India in 1990 and spread westwards into Saudi Arabia during 1994 and, subsequently, throughout the Near East and into Europe (Turkish Thrace, Bulgaria and Greece) in 1996. In 1993 it was found in Nepal and later in Bangladesh (1996) and Bhutan (1998). In 1999, it was reported from Mainland China (Tibet, Fujian and Hainan) and then detected in Taiwan Province of China. In late 1999 and in 2000 it reached most of Southeast Asia. Most recently it has been introduced into the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Primorsky Territory of the Russian Federation and Mongolia (areas free from FMD since 1934, 1908, 1964 and 1973, respectively). The virus has been isolated from a wide variety of host species (cattle, water buffaloes, pigs, sheep, goats, camels, deer and antelope). In September 2000, the FMD Pan-Asian topotype was identified on a pig farm in Kwa Zulu, South Africa. It is believed that infection was introduced there through swill collected from a ship originating from South Asia. In February 2001 the same strain was identified in England, again probably introduced through swill feeding. This virus has now (early April 2001) already resulted in over 1000 outbreaks in the UK and a small numbers of outbreaks in Ireland, France and the Netherlands.
Good Emergency Management Practices in Animal Health
Animal diseases are increasingly been accepted as natural disasters both in their own right and as consequences of other disasters. In view of the increasing frequency of disease emergencies, it is necessary to develop systems for their prediction, early detection, and structured risk-based surveillance leading to early warning. This in turn should be able to lead to an organised and structured response in order to contain a disease outbreak and prevent it from evolving into a major epidemic. It is equally important to address disease at source where it is ordinarily endemic in order to reduce its impact on food security, on the vulnerability of poor communities and to reduce the risk of spread from endemic areas to free areas causing serious disasters. This is the basic principle which underlines the EMPRES-Livestock programme, whose vision is stated as:
To promote the effective containment and control of the most serious epidemic livestock diseases as well as newly emerging diseases by progressive elimination on a regional and global basis through international co-operation involving early warning, early/rapid reaction, enabling research and co-ordination
Therefore, in addressing animal disease as a natural emergency EMPRES has developed a Code of Conduct to guide Member Countries to establish a structured approach to disease emergencies. This is referred to Good Emergency Management Practice (GEMP) in animal health which is defined as the sum total of organised procedures, structures and resource management that lead to early detection of disease or infection in an animal population, prediction of the likely spread, prompt limitation, targeted control and elimination with subsequent re-establishment of verifiable freedom from infection in accordance with the International Animal Health Code.
The programme is also available on CD. It approaches disease emergencies in four main segments:
The programme is underpinned by a set of resource materials as videos, manuals, photo-library, model contingency plans and has links to major internet sites dealing with disease emergency management.
Finally, it should be noted that faced with the dilemma of the need for sustained agricultural production coupled with the desire for increased and liberalised trade on the one hand and the threat of infectious diseases on the other, the World Food Summit in Rome 1996 committed the world governments and the civil society to: -
Seek to ensure effective prevention and progressive control of plant and animal pests and diseases, including especially those which are of transboundary nature, such as rinderpest, cattle tick, foot and mouth disease and desert locust, where outbreaks can cause major food shortages, destabilise markets and trigger trade measures; and promote concurrently, regional collaboration in plant pests and animal disease control and the widespread development and use of integrated pest management practices
Carolyn C. Benigno, D.V.M.
Head National FMD Task Force
Bureau of Animal Industry., Philippines
The Situation Then
In 1995, the Philippines experienced an FMD epidemic. Almost all the provinces in Luzon were hit with Foot and Mouth Disease. Records of more than a thousand outbreaks were recorded affecting almost 100,000 heads of animals. There could be more not reported at that time.
To say that the situation was under control was an understatement. While Foot and Mouth Disease was nothing new to livestock authorities, what was occurring was then puzzling. The outbreaks were mostly in pigs. The incubation period was from 24 to 48 hours. The vaccines currently in use were not working. It would be later learned that indeed there is an introduction of a new type of FMD.
The sudden occurrence of this kind of a situation caught authorities off guard. Different pronouncements were released confusing both field officers and the public. As a result, consumers shunned from buying pork, which affected the market of the commercial raisers.
Furthermore, within the government organization, there was a dawning realization that the control program initially set in place was no longer effective. For one, the provincial veterinarians who before were under the Department of Agriculture were devolved and placed under their respective local executives thus putting them under a different department. Within the Department of Agriculture, a similar reorganization was taking place. Thus in terms of coordination, a different tact is required.
The scenario above exemplifies a situation where emergency measures were not factored in. The initial program surely has not put this in its provisions so that when a new type of FMD was emerging, the routine measures listed in the plan proved to be direly lacking.
The only alternative then was to draft a new plan. Hence, in 1996, the Plan on the Control and Eradication of FMD was written and approved. The plan this time was careful to note the changes in the organizational structure and allowed some flexibility for the field officers to decide on a case confronting them.
The goal was to eradicate FMD from the country. To achieve this, it is anchored on four strategies, namely: Disease Monitoring and Surveillance, Public Awareness, Animal Movement Management (Quarantine) and Vaccination.
The President of the country released an initial fund to control FMD and the National FMD Task Force was strengthened in terms of manpower. Note that before the epidemic, the said body was only a committee collating reports from the field and was thrust to supervise the control work during the epidemic. With the issuance of an Executive Order by the President delegating the Bureau of Animal Industry to supervise and coordinate the control activities, the Task Force therefore was given the role of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the control program.
The task at hand was to control the epidemic. The immediate move was to inform the public on the disease and correcting the notion that FMD was zoonotic. A public awareness campaign was launched to correct misconceptions on the disease. Part of this is to caution farmers in selling sick animals to prevent the further spread of the disease. On the technical side, vaccination commenced after a new batch of vaccines arrived. Movement control was implemented to check the spread of the disease. Field officers were directed to report all incidences of FMD.
Simultaneous with the emergency control measures adapted, regional task forces were being formed to make coordination easier. With the National Task Force identified to speak on FMD and to oversee the day to day operations, it provided a focal point for the field officers, the commercial raisers and the media practitioners. Release of information was now centralized. In effect actions taken were now guided.
As the epidemic slowly subsided, the Task Force had to focus also on organizational issues, establish guidelines so that a repeat of the epidemic would be avoided. With support from management, the Task Force strengthened its network with the regional offices. The regional task forces formed were also a network in the respective areas consisting of representatives of government agencies that have a role in FMD control, non-government organizations and provincial veterinarians of the provinces of that region. These regional task forces link with the national task force and implement the strategies stated in the national plan.
The FMD Diagnostic Laboratory was encouraged to link with the World Reference Laboratory and the IAEA to improve its diagnostic capability and to verify/validate its laboratory results.
The next step was to train the technical staff on the nature of the disease and what to do when there is a suspect case. A series of epidemiology trainings were conducted among the provincial veterinarians so they would understand the importance of reporting an outbreak and how this information could help in the control of said outbreaks.
At the same time, the Information Management System was installed at the national office. This enabled the staff to analyze the data that is coming in and allow for the more efficient use of resources. For instance, data analysis reveals that the trader is the number one factor in the spread of FMD. This justifies the resources to pour into the strengthening of the checkpoints. It also puts direction into the public awareness campaign.
To date, the data has allowed for the classification of the country into status zones, which results into a more efficient use of resources. With the three major groups in the country, Mindanao is now considered an OIE FMD free recognized zone, the Visayas group as FMD free zone, the northern regions of Luzon as protected zone, central Luzon as the control or endemic zone and the southern Luzon as a buffer zone. With such a classification, resources such as vaccines are channeled only to the endemic regions while biosecurity measures are more emphasized in the free and protected areas rather than vaccination.
Protecting the Gains
The epidemic has been put under control. FMD has been confined to smaller areas but with status zones identified, there is always a risk of introducing the disease to the free areas.
The Task Force has improved on the guidelines and has compiled it into one handbook for the field officer. Guidelines include what to do when an outbreak occurs, how to set up a checkpoint, the recommended vaccination schedule, proper cleaning and disinfection, pertinent rules and regulations on FMD and the like.
With the establishment of the EMPRES, the Task Force has included this as part of its training module called the EMPRES Run. While the EMPRES Run sticks to the principles espoused by EMPRES, the Task Force has modified the approach of the training to suit Philippine conditions. It starts the Run with an explanation on the disease, its nature and signs. Then a discussion on the impact of FMD on the farmers livelihood and on the economy is given for the field officer to better appreciate the importance of the FMD control and eradication program. At this point their attention is usually captured thus, the EMPRES principles are then discussed. The last part is a workshop asking them to suggest a suitable flow of information and how they will act to prevent the entry of FMD and in case FMD enters the area. The output is then adapted for that area and is usually what would be followed by the Task Force in case of emergencies.
In so doing, the Task Force respects what is ideal for a given area.
To date, the areas, which have benefited from the EMPRES Run, have applied the principles of the FAO EMPRES. For FMD free areas the Task Force now receives serum samples, negative incident reports, and monitoring results from slaughterhouses. These activities have become effective gauges for free areas to determine its disease status.
Applying Empres to Real Life Situations
Concretely, the Task Force has encountered situations where preparedness proved helpful.
A very glaring example is the outbreak in Iloilo, a province in the Visayas. A suspect case was reported to the Task Force in the morning of September 6 and immediately, a Task Force representative was at the sight in the afternoon of the same day. (The area could be reached by plane.) Confirmation and samples were sent to Manila, all on day 1. On day 2, a meeting cum briefing was held among the staff of the regional task force, followed by a briefing for the commercial raisers. When the actions were identified and tasking done, a press conference was held to inform the media what was going on. Immediately also the local officials issued executive orders to their constituents to cooperate in the cleaning and disinfection of the province as well as report any suspect cases. This actually made the job easier.
A center was immediately established to receive reports and it also sent out teams to where these reports are, to verify whether it is FMD. Meanwhile, teams of two were also dispatched to the whole province to monitor whether FMD has spread to that part of the province. In this activity, slaughterhouse monitoring proved very useful in the sense that a municipality usually has one slaughterhouse and if there were cases, peopled would for sure bring them to the said facility. Thus a positive case detected in the slaughterhouse means that outbreak might be widespread while a record of chealthy animals from the said facility means that the area is clean.
After implementing cleaning and disinfection, massive information campaign for people to report and later, on vaccination, was launched. The last reported case occurred in Oct. 7. There were no other cases reported after Oct. 7. At that point, the Task Force considered the episode over.
Note that vaccination was only introduced two weeks after the outbreak has been reported. The time lag could be explained by whether the cost of stamping out could outweigh the cost if vaccination was used. After much discussion, it was then decided that vaccination be introduced. The commercial raisers did introduce vaccination and so did the government for the backyard raisers. After six months, vaccination stopped in some areas. Vaccination has ceased for more than a year now.
There were several scares too from the other free areas. Field Officers reported the slightest observation of a foot or a mouth lesion. When that happens, it is not left to chance. A representative immediately visits the area and verifies the suspicion. It has always been a false alarm. Nevertheless, the Task Force welcomes such reports because then it is usually a measure of their vigilance. Note that on the part of the Task Force, response is made within 24 hours.
While the field officers get to learn the principles of emergency preparedness, there are points to consider in making sure that the measures to be adapted would work.
Firstly, getting the information of a suspect case is very important. A 24-hour response time is useless if the information received is days old.
Each staff member must know his/her role. In the Philippines, a copy of the FMD Handbook is given to field officers. This handbook contains all the standard operating procedures when suspecting a case, confirming a case, managing an FMD outbreak and maintaining an area FMD free.
Other administrative matters must be considered too and must not be taken for granted. Some of these matters are making sure one has access to authorities so that they can easily be reached in times of crisis. There must be ready access to initial funds for emergencies in the field and a fund for stamping out in case this approach is applied. When the report comes, the receiving end must have access to the field officer who reported the disease to make sure that updates of the situation are being given.
Usually, there would be a need for supplies such as disinfectants, other pharmaceuticals, etc. Thus there must be ready access to suppliers. If processing of papers to request these supplies takes time, then an arrangement to avail of these supplies on credit must be made.
Arrangements with airlines should be done so that the response time would be short as possible. This means, contracting a travel agency to arrange for bookings at short notice and that would be willing to take bookings on credit.
A ready template to write in reports and advisories would be helpful. When an emergency crops up, informing the public and other field offices must also be addressed.
The stakeholders must be informed of the problem and in this case the confirmed outbreak. Their suggestions and assistance could be a big help for the Task Force.
Lastly, information must be ready for the press to avoid speculation by the public and the press itself. A press statement would come in handy so that there would be no consumer panic. The Iloilo incident did not cause a stir among the consumers because the statement from the Task Force was distributed.
With FMD as a pilot disease in applying emergency preparedness, the Philippine government realized that the public must be assured of swift, accurate action when a report of a suspected case is submitted.
In 1999, the Department of Agriculture established a Quick Response Team (QRT) and delegated this to the Bureau of Animal Industry. The QRT is designed to address all other exotic diseases that might enter the country or if a sudden increase in disease incidence is observed. The QRT is manned by epidemiology staff and receives an annual budget. To complement this, a special budget allocation has also been set aside for the control, eradication of economically important diseases. FMD control gets a separate funding.
Disease emergency preparedness if properly planned and done could minimize costs and undue stress.
Senior Animal Production and Health Officer
FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific
Outbreaks of diseases in humans in three countries of the region were caused by zoonotic paramyxoviruses; Hendra (1994) and Menangle (1997) in Australia, and Nipah (1998-99) in Malaysia and Singapore. These outbreaks were initially observed as disease in animals (Hendra, horses; Menangle and Nipah, pigs) followed by disease in humans who had contact with the infected animals. There is clear evidence that implicates fruit bats (suborder Megachiroptera, genus Pteropus) as the natural hosts and wildlife reservoir of these paramyxoviruses. Evidence of Hendra virus infection has been found in these bats throughout their range in Australia and in Papua New Guinea, and Nipah virus infection in populations in Malaysia. While the Hendra and Nipah viruses are apparently closely related, the Menangle virus is seemingly distinct. In the multi-age piggery where it was isolated, it caused widespread mortalities and deformities in pig fetuses while all other infected pigs showed subclinical infection.a similar virus has been isolated from bats in Malaysia. Eradication of the grower pigs seemingly broke the cycle of infection, but highlighted the serious and potentially devastating economic and social costs of these and future outbreaks of zoonotic paramyxoviruses. We need to be able to detect, investigate and respond effectively to these, and possible other, potentially emerging diseases.
In the past 7 years, three newly described zoonotic paramyxoviruses causing diseases in humans have been reported from the region. In Australia two of these diseases were caused by the paramyxoviruses Menangle and Hendra (formerly equine morbillivirus), and the third in Malaysia and Singapore was caused by the paramyxovirus Nipah virus. All three caused significant economic and social disruption, particularly as the causative agent was not immediately identified, and the disease control outcome was therefore unpredictable.
The disease outcome and the frequency of occurrence are influenced by many variables called disease determinants. These usually include one or more specific agents, as well as factors associated with the host animals and their environment. The relative importance of all identifiable determinants and the interplay between them must be considered in attempting to prevent or control diseases. It is important that policy advisors are aware of the consequences and implications of making decisions not based on sound advice on disease control as the economic consequences of a bad decision can be both devastating and long term.
Hendra virus was first recognised in 1994 after a sudden outbreak of severe, fatal respiratory disease affecting race horses and humans. Twenty race horses in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra were infected and 13 died. The trainer and stable hand were also infected, and the trainer died. A second incident occurred in Mackay, a coastal town approximately 1,000 km north of Brisbane, when two horses and a farmer died. The death of the horses and the initial infection of the farmer occurred in 1994 and preceded the Brisbane outbreak; the virus is believed to have then entered a latent phase for 1 year before reactivating to cause fatal encephalitis. No connection was found between the Brisbane and Mackay incidents. In 1999 a horse died in Cairns which was later confirmed by laboratory investigations to be Hendra virus.
Experimental studies on Hendra virus have shown that in horses and cats, after subcutaneous, intranasal, and oral administration, the virus causes fatal pneumonia. In guinea pigs, subcutaneous administration is also fatal, but the infection is more generalised. Black fruit bats (Pteropus alecto) infected by subcutaneous, intranasal, or oral routes contract a subclinical infection and generate an antibody response. Endothelial cell tropism and formation of syncytia in blood vessels are common pathologic findings in both overt and subclinical infections.
Initial seroepidemiologic studies found no evidence of Hendra virus among horses, other farm animals, or more than 40 species of wildlife in Queensland. However, working on the hypothesis that if outbreaks at two distant sites were connected, the most likely wildlife source would be either birds or fruit bats, P. L Young and colleagues subsequently showed that fruit bats (flying foxes), members of Megachiroptera, were the natural hosts on serologic grounds and by virus isolation, with widespread evidence of infection in four species of fruit bat: the black (Pteropus alecto), grey-headed (P. poliocephalus), little red (P. scapulatus), and spectacled (P. conspicillatus) fruit bats. Indeed the virus was antigenically and genetically indistinguishable from the earlier horse and human isolates. Thus, it is now clearly established that Hendra virus is a fruit bat virus and is widely distributed throughout the range of pteropid bats in Australia, with serologic evidence of infection in an average of 42% of wild-caught bats. Serologic evidence of infection of fruit bats has also been reported from Papua New Guinea. Two species of antibody-positive bats (Dobsonia moluccense, P. neohibernicus) were identified from Madang on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, and four more species (D. andersoni, P. capistratus, P. hypomelanus, and P. admiralitatum) were identified in Port Moresby and New Britain.
An accumulating body of evidence-size of genome, comparative sequence analyses, coding capacity for a small basic protein in the P gene, morphologic features, host range, and various biologic properties, together with the wildlife host of the virus-suggests that the virus was neither an equine virus nor a morbillivirus and that it be renamed Hendra and be classified in a new genus within the Paramyxoviridae.
An apparently new virus in the family Paramyxoviridae was isolated from stillborn piglets with deformities at a large commercial piggery in New South Wales in 1997. The farrowing rate in the piggery decreased from an expected 82% to 60%; the number of live piglets declined in 27% of the litters born; the proportion of mummified and stillborn piglets, some with deformities, increased; and occasional abortions occurred. A virus was isolated from lung, brain and heart tissues of infected piglets, and shown morphologically to be similar to viruses in the family Paramyxoviridae. No disease was seen in postnatal animals of any age, but a high proportion of sera (>90%) from animals of all ages contained high titers of neutralising antibodies against the virus. Tests performed at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory confirmed that the virus, named Menangle virus, was unrelated to other known paramyxoviruses, including viruses known to infect pigs.
Serum from two workers-one at the affected piggery and one at an associated piggery that had received weaned pigs from the original piggery-had high titer, convalescent-phase neutralising antibodies to the new virus. Both workers had an influenzalike illness with rash during the pig outbreak, but extensive serologic testing showed no evidence of any alternative cause; therefore, the illness is believed to have been caused by the new virus.
A large breeding colony of gray-headed and little red fruit bats roosted within 200 m of the affected piggery. In a preliminary study, 42 of 125 serum samples collected from fruit bats in New South Wales and Queensland had neutralising antibodies to the new virus. In addition, antibodies were found in sera collected in 1996, before the outbreak, and from a colony of fruit bats 33 km from the piggery. Therefore, the fruit bats are believed to be the primary source of virus causing the outbreak. Sera collected from wild and domestic animals near the affected piggery were seronegative.
The geographic range, normal host species and genetic relationship of this new virus to other paramyxoviruses remain unknown. Nevertheless, Menangle appears to cause fatal disease and malformations in prenatal pigs and may be associated with influenzalike illness in humans.
Between September , 1998 and April 1999, approximately 229 cases of febrile encephalitis (48% fatal) were reported to the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH). During March 1999, nine cases of similar encephalitic illnesses (one fatal) and two cases of respiratory illness occurred among abattoir workers in Singapore. Tissue culture isolation identified a previously unknown infectious agent from ill patients. Epidemiologic and laboratory investigations of these cases indicate that a previously unrecognised paramyxovirus Nipah Virus related to, but distinct from, the Australian Hendra virus was associated with this outbreak.
A case of suspected illness was defined as fever severe headache, myalgia and signs of encephalitis or meningitis. Three clusters of cases have been identified. The first cluster began in late September 1998 near the city of Ipoh in the state of Perak. Cases continued to occur in this region until early February 1999. The second cluster occurred near the city of Sikamat in the state of Negri Sembilan in December 1998 and January 1999. The third and largest cluster began near the city of Bukit Pelandok in the state of Negri Sembilan in December 1998. Two cases occurred in the state of Selangor
Cases have occurred primarily among adult men who had histories of close contact with swine. Concurrent with the human cases, illness and death occurred among swine from the same regions. Initially, Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus was considered the probable etiologic agent for this outbreak, and specimens from some patients tested positive for infection with JE virus. However, the predominance of illness in men who had close contact with swine suggested the possibility of another agent.
Tissue culture isolation from central nervous system specimens at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya, identified a previously unknown infectious agent. Electron microscopic studies of isolation material from three patients demonstrated virus-like structures consistent with a paramyxovirus, and immunofluorescence tests of cells infected with this virus suggested a virus related to Hendra virus. Additional laboratory testing, including preliminary nucleotide sequence information, indicated the virus was related to but not identical to the Hendra virus.
In some instances, illness in pigs occurred 1-2 weeks before illness in humans. The disease in swine is not well defined but appears to include rapid and laboured breathing; an explosive nonproductive cough; and neurologic changes, including lethargy or aggressive behaviour.. Very small numbers of goats, dogs, horses and cats have shown serologically to have been infected with the Nipah virus but there is little evidence to suggest these animal obtained their infection other then from infected pigs. Serological evidence that the virus can reside in indigenous bat populations has been demonstrated and virus isolated . For a fuller outline of the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia see the report by Mohd. Nordin B. Mohd Nor of Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia, which was recently presented at a meeting in Malaysia and printed in the APHCA papers with his kind permission.
It is important to be ever vigilant about the emergence or re-emergence of diseases. The drive in Southeast Asia to satisfy the increasing demand for animal protein has resulted in many changes to common agricultural practices. The intensification of some of the animal production industries, combined with urbanisation, global changes and the increasing ease of travel/transport has produced environments that may lead to the emergence of diseases once thought to be uncommon. These changes challenge the normal control methods and indicate that new ways need to be found if these emerging diseases are to be controlled. It raises profound issues for human health, livelihoods and the environment. From the beginning of the 1970s to the mid 1990s, consumption of meat and milk in developing countries increased by 175 million metric tonnes. The market value of the increase in meat and milk consumption over this period in developing countries was approximately US$155 billion (US dollars of 1990), more than twice the market value of increased cereal consumption under the Green Revolution. The population growth, urbanisation and income growth that fuelled the increase in meat and milk consumption are expected to continue well into the new millennium, creating a veritable Livestock Revolution.
Hendra, Menangle and Nipah virus have probably existed in fruit bats in the Australasian area for hundreds of years and yet only recently have they been detected in other species. It is possible that the viruses may have moved out of the host (fruit bat) to other species on previous occasions but never become established in the new host and it is probable that these viruses will emerge in another time and place, and (possibly) animal host. There is strong evidence that bats are the maintenance hosts. Bats are probably the oldest forms of placental mammal in Australia, with fossil evidence from the Middle Miocene era, circa 15 million years ago. Some species of bats migrate between various countries of southern Asia. We now have evidence that Nipah virus has crossed into pigs in Malaysia and become well established there in pigs. We also know there has been pig-to-man transmission.
These recently recognised diseases are known as emergent, but it is highly likely that they have always been present. However, once they became involved with humans and/or domestic/productive animals the farming scientific and public health regulatory communities were galvanised into action. Fear and overreaction are the result when the risk is not quickly and correctly assessed. Therefore, it is imperative that every country must establish systems for disease surveillance and response. This would include four strategic objectives: surveillance, diagnostic tests, response and interdisciplinary research. In this region, the Asian-Pacific, much has been done in all these areas, but more needs to be done, and quickly, in particular:
There is a need to strengthen existing surveillance systems so that changes in the incidence of known diseases are routinely reported and information on the emergence of new or unusual diseases is readily available to the ministries in other nations.
There is a need to develop or adapt simpler, more cost-effective procedures to determine the causes of disease. Ideally, these procedures should be simple enough for use in the field when laboratory facilities are not available.
There is a need to enhance the capabilities of Government agencies and existing disease-specific networks to respond to recognised outbreaks identified through improved surveillance.
There is a need to support the capacity to undertake control and prevention strategies in the region.
More specifically a WHO working group on Enzootic Paramyxoviruses made the following recommendation and comments. Although the outbreak has been successfully controlled, various problems were identified including coordination between human and veterinary public health services and other involved government departments, coordination of international inputs, and response to the mass media. A number of lessons have been learned about outbreak response during the Nipah virus outbreak and these are reflected in the recommendations below.
1. To facilitate dealing with outbreaks of known and emerging communicable diseases including zoonoses, all countries should develop an outbreak response plan at national level. This plan should cover the following areas at minimum:
a) The designation of responsible officers for the declaration of an outbreak situation2. Appropriate guidelines on dealing with mass media and public information during outbreaks should be developed and widely disseminated
b) A core group of members for the formation of an outbreak response task force and a pool of potential members depending on the nature of the outbreak
c) The designation of appropriately trained contact officers for dealing with the media and public information
d) A mechanism for regular contact and information sharing between human and veterinary public health services and laboratory services
3. The following control measures are recommended in the event of further outbreaks of Nipah virus:
a) Elimination of the infected and in-contact domestic animals4. To facilitate the elimination of sources of infection from domestic animals and to prevent further spread through animal movement, appropriate levels of compensation for farmers should be established which will ensure their early and full collaboration
b) Restrictions on the movement of domestic animals involved
c) Adoption of protective clothing and procedures for workers in high risk professions
d) Intensive health education for target groups
e) Continuous and timely information exchange between human and veterinary public health services and laboratories
5. Given the current lack of knowledge on the mechanisms of transmission of these viruses, safe animal handling procedures, including protective clothing and safe injection procedures (a single sterile syringe and needle) should be followed by farmers and veterinarians.
6. International collaboration during periods of outbreak response should be coordinated centrally, in country by the Ministry of Health and among external agencies by WHO.
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Mackenzie JS, Bolton W, Cunningham AL, Frazer IH, Gowans EJ, Grohmann GS, et al. Emerging viral diseases of humans: an Australian and New Zealand perspective. In: Asche V, editor. Recent advances in microbiology. Vol. 5. Melbourne: Australian Society for Microbiology Inc.; 1997. p. 13-130.
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Philbey AW, Kirkland PD, Ross AD, et al. An apparently new virus (family Paramyxoviridae) infectious for pigs, humans, and fruit bats. Emerg Infect Dis 1998;4:269-71.
Rogers RJ, Douglas IC, Baldock FC, et al. Investigation of a second focus of equine morbillivirus infection in coastal Queensland. Australian Vet J 1996;74:243-4.
Rogers RL, Douglas IC, Baldock FC, Glanville RJ, Seppanen KT, Gleeson LJ, et al. Investigation of a second focus of equine morbillivirus infection in coastal Queensland. Aust Vet J 1996;74:243-4.
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Wang LF, Michalski WP, Yu M, Pritchard LI, Crameri G, Shiell B, et al. A novel P/V/C gene in a new member of the Paramyxoviridae family, which causes lethal infection in humans, horses, and other animals. J Virol 1998;72:1482-90.
Ward MP, Black PF, Childs AJ, Baldock FC, Webster WR, Rodwell BJ, et al. Negative findings from serological studies of equine morbillivirus in the Queensland horse population. Aust Vet J 1996;74:241-3.
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Disclaimer. The opinions and views expressed in this paper are the authors and not necessarily those of FAO.
Mohd. Nordin B. Mohd Nor
Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia
Tingkat 8 & 9,Wisma Chase Perdana,
Bukit Damansara, 50630 K.L.
Between late September 1998 to May 1999, a new pig disease with zoonotic implications, characterized by a pronounced respiratory and neurological syndrome and sometimes with sudden death of sows and boars, was discovered to spread among certain pig farms in Peninsular Malaysia. The disease was identified to be associated with the viral encephalitis epidemic in people related to pig farming activities resulting in 265 human cases and 105 deaths. The disease also infected 11 abattoir workers with one fatal case in Singapore . In March 1999, a new virus, belonging to the paramyxoviridae family, was discovered and named Nipah after the village Sungai Nipah where the virus was first isolated from a human case . Nipah virus was confirmed by molecular characterization to be the same agent responsible for both the human and pig disease. The Nipah virus is also related to the Hendra virus that had killed two people and 16 horses in Australia since 1994.
The new pig disease was presented as an outbreak in the Tambun, Ulu Piah and Ampang areas in the vicinity of Ipoh city, in the State of Perak; in Sikamat, Sungai Nipah, Kg. Sawah and Bukit Pelanduk in the State of Negeri Sembilan and in Sepang and Sg. Buloh in the States of Selangor.
The clinical patterns of disease after natural infection were observed to vary according to the age of the pigs. Sows were noted to present primarily the neurological syndrome while in porkers the respiratory syndrome predominated. However, clinical disease in pigs was very subtle. A large proportion of pigs on a farm can be infected without showing clinical signs. The disease appeared highly contagious, with concurrently affected animals being distributed randomly over a farm.
Mortality in farm was low, from less than 1% to 5%, but the infection rate can approach to about 80%. Disease manifestation varied from asymptomatic or mild to fulminant. Stress was considered to exacerbate clinical signs.
The majority of the cases demonstrated mild to severe lung. Histologically, the principal lesion was a moderate to severe interstitial pneumonia with widespread haemorrhages and syncytial cell formations in the endothelial cells of the blood vessels of the lung. Immunohistology showed a high concentration of the viral antigens in the endothelium of the blood vessels, particularly in the lung. Evidence of viral antigens in the cellular debris in the lumen of the upper respiratory tract suggested the possibility of virus transmission through nasal mucus and coughed droplets.
Dogs were shown to be infected with the virus and suffer fulminant disease during the outbreaks in Peninsular Malaysia. The evidence of infection in dog led to the decision to shoot all dogs in infected areas at that time. Further study on dogs conducted after the outbreak in the infected areas later, did not showed any evidence of virus circulation and transmission among the dog population. Other animals such as cats, goats and horses can be infected. All these species were infected only if exposed to infected pigs. However, there was no evidence of transmission of disease from these animals to human.
The origin and reservoir of Nipah virus is still not confirmed. Preliminary wildlife surveillance has demonstrated neutralizing antibodies in fruit bats of the genus Pteropus. The role of this species in transmission of the disease requires further study 
The Nipah virus epidemic is believed to have originated in the State of Perak and moved south to the other infected areas, like Sikamat and Bukit Pelanduk in the State of Negeri Sembilan and Sepang, and Sg. Buloh in the State of Selangor. The mode of transmission of the virus among pig farms within and between the States of Peninsular Malaysia was the sale and movement of infected pigs.  Active trading between pig farms was a normal practice in Peninsular Malaysia. Other routes of transmission between farms were considered, for example, lorries carrying infected pigs, artificial insemination, sharing boar semen and transmission by dogs and cats, but there is no conclusive evidence at the present time.
The disease was observed to spread rapidly among pigs on infected farms. Transmission between pigs on the same farm was possibly through direct contact with excretory and secretary fluids such as nasal mucus, saliva, nasopharyngeal fluid and bronchial secretions. Pigs were kept in close confinement and acted as a multiplying host.
Transmission studies in pigs at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia, had established that pigs could be infected by either the oral route or by parenteral inoculation and have demonstrated excretion of virus via oronasal routes. Infection was observed to spread quickly to the in-contact pigs, and virus shedding from asymptomatic pigs was demonstrated. 
The Phase I of the Nipah virus infection control and surveillance programme started on February to April 1999 and involved the complete stamping out of infected pig farms. A total of 902,228 pigs from 896 farms in the outbreak areas were destroyed. The culling of pigs in these areas had successfully controlled the human epidemics in the states of Negeri Sembilan, Perak, and Selangor. 
The Phase II of control programme which involved the national swine testing and surveillance on all remaining pig farms was launched on 21 April 1999 to 20 July 1999. In this programme IgG-capture ELISA using Nipah virus antigen was used.  Each farm was sampled twice, with a minimum interval of three weeks between samplings. A minimum of fifteen sows per farm were sampled and tested. Farms with 3 or more sera ELISA positive were designated as positive farms. A total of 889 farms were tested and fifty farms were found serologically positive. These 50 farms were considered as infected and a total of 172,750 pigs from these farms were destroyed. . Since May 1999, there is no new clinical disease detected in human and pig.
The phase III of the control programme began in October 1999 and was completed in December, 2000. In this programme, IgG-capture ELISA was used as a screening test and all ELISA positive cases were sent to AAHL, Geelong for confirmation by SNT. In the abattoir, twenty sera per farm were collected for testing while a minimum of 30 sows per farm were sampled for testing. Each farm was again sampled twice, with a minimum interval of three weeks between samplings. All sera sampled through the abattoir were negative by SNT but two farms in Perak were found SNT positive through farm screening. Based on the serology finding, all the pigs in these 2 farms were culled eventhough there is no new human and animal disease detected.
The outbreak of Nipah virus infection is a tragedy for the Malaysian pig industry. It has significantly reduced the number of pig farms from 1,800 prior to January 1999 to only 796 after July 21, 1999. The standing pig population was also reduced from 2.4 million to 1.3 million. Value of pig loss due to destruction is about USD 97 million assuming the average price of live pig was USD 95/pig Loss of revenue in export to Singapore was about USD 120 million assuming the average price of live pig was USD 120/pig .
Following the outbreak, new guidelines were proposed to restructure the pig industry. New pig farming areas have to be identified as a long-term strategy for farming. The industry should move into producing safe, wholesome and nutritious pork for its consumers by practising good animal husbandry.
The emergence of a new deadly virus, the Nipah virus, that infects pigs as well as its ability to cross over and infects humans, has taught us a great deal about how important is our preparedness to confront, control, and eradicate such diseases. An early warning system for any disease should be seriously looked into. For this to be effective, competent disease diagnosis and aetiologic agent identification, capabilities of our laboratories, be it veterinary or medical, must be developed and strengthened.
It has also taught us the importance of inter-departmental, inter-agency, national, regional and international collaborations in dealing with such a deadly disease, especially in the identification, control, surveillance, and eradication of such diseases. There should also be a continuous programme, involving both active and passive surveillance systems, for the control of Nipah virus infection in the country and in this region.
Finally, continuous efforts should be made to investigate the source of Nipah virus and the role played by bats and other animals in the transmission of the disease in order to understand the disease better. Complete understanding of the virus and the disease it causes is a prerequisite for successful control and eradication of the disease.
 Chua K.B., Bellini W.J., Rota P.A., Harcourt B.H., Tamin, A., Lam S.K., Ksiazek T.G., Rollin P.E., Zaki S.R., Shieh Wi., Goldsmith CS., Gubler D., Roehrig J.T., Eaton B.T., Gould AR., Olson J., Field H., Daniels P., Ling A.E., Peters C.J., Anderson L.J. and Mahy B.J. (2000) Nipah virus: A recently emergent deadly Paramyxovirus. Science 288: 1432 - 1435.
 Johara, M.Y. Field, H., Azmin, M.R., Morrissy, C., White, J., van der Heide, B., Daniels, P.W., Aziz, J., and Ksiazek, T. (2001) Serological evidence of infection with Nipah virus in bats (order Chiroptera) in Peninsular Malaysia. Emerging Infectious Disease (in Press).
 Middleton, D., Westbury, H., Morrissy, C., van der Heide, B., Russell, G., Braun, M., Muschialli, J., Carison, D. And Daniels, P. (2000) Experimental Nipah disease in pigs. In: proceedings of Internatloan Pig Congress, 17 - 20 Sept, 2000, Melbourne, Australia. pp552.
 Nordin, M.N. and Ong, B.L. (1999). Nipah virus infection in animals and control measures implemented in Peninsular Malaysia. In: Comprehensive Reports on Technical Items Presented to the OlE Regional Commission for Asia, The Far East and Oceania, Taipe, 23-26 November 1999, pp. 27- 37.
 Nordin, M.N., Gan, C.H. and Ong, B.L. (2000). Nipah virus infection of pigs in peninsular Malaysia. Rev. sci tech. Off mt. Epiz, 2000, 19 (1 ). pp. 160-165.
 Nordin, M.N. and Ong, B.L. Nipah Virus outbreak and the effect on the pig industry in Malaysia (2000) In: proceedings of Internatioan Pig Congress, 17-20 Sept, 2000, Melbourne, Australia. pp. 548-550.
 Ong, B.L., Daniels, P.W., Bunning, M., Jamaluddin, A.A., White, J., Muniandy, M., Olson, J., Chang K.W., Morrissy, C., Lim Y.S., Ksiazek, T. and Nordin, M.N. (2000) A surveillance program for the detection of pig herds exposed to Nipah virus infections in Peninsula Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (ISVEE), 6-11 August, 2000, Colorado, USA. Abstract ID 263.
 Paton, NI., Leo, Y.S., Zaki, S.R., Wong, M.C., Lee, K.E., Ling, A.E., Chew, S.K., Ang.B. Rollin, P.E., Ksiazek, T.G., Auchus, A.P., Umapathi, T., Sng, I,. Lee, CC., Lim, E., Kurup, A., Lam, M.S., Wong, S.Y.(1999) Outbreak of Nipah virus infection among abattoir workers in Singapore, Lancet 354, pp 1253-1256.
 White, J.R.; Muniandy, N; Ramlan, M; Yeoh, N; Surainni; Daniels, P.W.; Morrissy, C; Olson, J.; Crameri, G.;Eaton, B.T. and Jamaluddin, A. (2000) Establishment and operation of a serological screening capacity within Malaysia for the detection of Nipah virus antibodies in swine. Microbiology Australia 2000. (Abstrac PP5.5)
INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY OF THE WATER BUFFALOES FOR FOOD SECURITY
Professor Dr.Charan Chantalakhana
Kasetsart University, Thailand
This Project consists of three related components or sub-projects, their titles are:
1) Formulation of Effective Strategies to Stop Declining Growth Rates of Buffalo Populations in Some Asian Countries.Background and Justification
2) Improving Buffalo Productivity through Performance Recording Schemes.
3) Increasing Buffalo Production and utilization in Mixed Farming Systems at Smallholder Level.
Recognizing the important roles of water buffaloes in agricultural and rural development, the FAO/APHCA, Japan Livestock Technology Association (JLTA) and the Department of Livestock Development (Thailand) jointly organized a Regional Workshop on Water Buffaloes for Food Security and Sustainable Rural Development during 8-10 February 2001 in Surin province, Thailand. The Regional Workshop was attended by 72 country representatives and delegates from 18 countries.
The Workshop reemphasized the important roles and significant contribution of water buffaloes to rural development in terms of alleviation of poverty and hunger, providing food security, strengthening of economic self-sufficiency and social stability of rural community, as well as supporting the sustainability of agricultural production and the environment. Approximately 96 percent of the world water buffalo population (162 million) is raised in Asia (FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1999), especially in the developing countries. The Workshop clearly recognized that in spite of the call for international attention in water buffalo research and development in Asia during the last four decades, the buffalo has been more on less neglected. While some R/D support has bee provided by many national governments but constrained by limited funding resource, greater international support for buffalo R/D is urgently required.
As clearly indicated by the data from the FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (2000), in a number of countries including Bhutan, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and few others the buffalo population has either declined at alarming rates or reached almost zero growth rate. The Workshop identified urgent need for technical and policy supports in order to stop the decline of buffalo population and to enhance buffalo production in such countries.
Recent study jointly undertaken by FAO/IFPRI/ILRI clearly showed that the demand for beef and milk in Asia in 2020 will increase by 2.6 and 2.7 times respectively, as compared to that in 1993 (Delgodo, et al, 1999), and significant portion of beef and milk supplies will come from buffalo production in Asia. Buffalo meat and milk production in Asia is almost totally produced by mixed crop-livestock systems (Sere and Steinfeld, 1996), in which smallholder farmers are major operators.
The overall objective of the Project is to improve buffalo production and to enhance the utilization of water buffalo at smallholder level in order to increase food security and the sustainability of farming systems and resources.
Due to time span of the Project, more specific objectives are:
- Formulating effective policy strategies relating to production, slaughter, market, pricing and other socio-economic aspects in order to enhance buffalo production and utilization.to achieve all these objectives three related sub-projects are proposed to be carried out as followings.
- Establishing buffalo recording scheme in order to allow productivity improvement and better utilization of superior genetic resource.
- Enabling smallholder farmers to increase buffalo production and utilization in mixed crop-livestock farming systems.
- Strengthening farmers capability in animal management and efficient utilization of farm resources in integrated manner.
- Encouraging farmer cooperation and group action.
Formulation of Effective Strategies to Stop Declining Growth Rates of Buffalo Populations in Some Asian Countries
Background and Justification
As recommended by the FAO-APHCA/JLTA/DLD Regional Workshop, government policies should be formulated and implemented in order to slow down or stop the declining buffalo population, and causes of the decline need to be assessed. In some countries such as Philippines and Vietnam there has been declining trends in buffalo population growth rates during the last decade. Such country cases also need an assessment of buffalo production situation in order to prepare safeguards to prevent population decline.
- Examining unfavorable government policies affecting the decline of buffalo production.Project Duration
- Identifying major constraints and limitations related to socio-economics of small-farm conditions, market, indiscriminate slaughter, differential pricing of buffalo meat, deficiencies in other institutional supports, including a lack of credit schemes.
- Proposing integrated strategies to regional organizations and national governments concerned in order to improve policies and institutional support to enhance buffalo production.
Six to 10 months, depending on the number of countries involved. Possible participating countries are Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Expected Project outputs
(a) Policy strategies for national governments to stop the decline of buffalo population growth rates.
(b) Recommendations for institutional supports to promote buffalo production and utilization.
(c) Future project proposals related to policy and institutional improvement for buffalo development in APHCA region.
Improving Buffalo Productivity through Performance Recording Schemes
Background and Justification
As identified by the FAO-APHCA/JLTA/DLD Regional Workshop in Surin, one of the major constraints hindering potential genetic improvement in water buffalo is a general lack of information on animal identification, performance, and pedigrees.
Other activities in the area of buffalo recording have been initiated in the recent past. FAO/ICAR (International Committee on Animal Recording) organized a Workshop on Animal Recording for Improved Breeding and Management Strategies for Buffalo (in Bled, Slovenia, May 2000) with the objectives to:
- Promote buffalo recording in developing countries and to make possible comparison of animal productivity across countries;ACIAR, reported at the Workshop on Development Strategies for Genetic Evaluation of Beef Production in Developing Countries (Khon Kaen, Thailand 24-28 July 2001), has recently introduced BREEDPLAN and HERDMAGIC as a genetic management tool for buffalo identification, recording and calculation of EBVs in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
- Enforce international collaboration (network) for the development of buffalo production;
- Increase awareness of the value of appropriate recording systems for the management of buffalo genetic resources; and
- Promote the use of records to assess the merit of animals, improve farm management systems and increase profitability of farming.
The participants in the Workshop in Khon Kaen realized that there is no co-ordination/harmonization of the recording activities amongst the countries and recommended that an effort should be made to harmonize/standardize animal identification systems, parameters to be recorded and analytical models to allow at a later stage comparison of data and records between countries and the evaluation of breeds. APHCA was mentioned as a possible body/structure to serve as a forum for discussion and harmonization of these activities.
- Developing regional buffalo recording schemes based on existing know-how.Project Duration
- Promoting and strengthening regional cooperation in implementing buffalo recording schemes in participating member countries.
- Training of technical personnel from collaborating countries.
First phase is 2 years. Countries involved are Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
(a) Common systems for animal identification.
(b) Agreement on measurements and recording of animal performance traits.
(c) Methods for summarizing and analysis of the parameters.
(d) Methods for feed back to farmers.
(e) Methods for calculation of breeding values
Increasing Buffalo Production and utilization in Mixed Farming Systems at Smallholder Level
Background and Justification
Most farmers (75 to 90 percent) in Asia are smallholder farmers most of whom depend on mixed crop-livestock farming systems (Chantalakhana, 2001). Crops and livestock of various species are produced on the same farm in an integrated manner i.e. they depend on each other and together their productivities can be sustained, while maintaining the quality of farm environment. Water buffaloes form an integral component of mixed farming systems, they provide, besides meat and milk for human foods, farm power, manure as fertilizer, control of weeds around crop field, and family and food security during difficult time.
The Regional Workshop organized by FAO-APHCA/JLTA/DLD recommended that technical and grant aid cooperation should be encouraged and should consider better management of water buffalo production, through farmer participation (particularly by woman) for rural development and poverty alleviation.
Rural farmers are generally constrained by lack of credits for purchase of breeding buffaloes. They have little access to appropriate technological information that can be used to improve herd management and health. Rural farmers generally cannot afford cash inputs such as feeds or medical supplies. It is very important that production improvement should be based primarily on locally available resources. Fortunately, mixed crop-livestock farming systems, with appropriate know-how, can make use of most locally available resources such as straws, compost, manure, tree leaves, etc. For rural farmers, if appropriate inputs for instance buffalo breeding stocks, better management practices, access to information, and farm training can be made available at village level buffalo production and utilization in mixed farming systems can definitely be improved.
- Increasing buffalo raising at village level.Participating Countries
- Promoting use of buffalo for draft power in crop production.
- Improving the quality of crop residues for buffalo feeds.
- Increasing forages and fodder availability for buffalo feeding.
- Promoting cooperation among farmers.
- Strengthening farmers capability to improve their farm productivity.
- Promoting self-sufficient economy at small-farm level.
Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
(a) Selection of at least one model village in rainfield paddy area in each country to participate in this project.Outputs
(b) Provision of breeding buffalo to smallholder farmers in the project through Buffalo Bank arrangements by participating national governments.
(c) Training of national development personnel from participating countries.
(d) In-country farmer training on improving buffalo production and utilization in mixed farming systems.
(e) Exchanging information and experiences among participating countries regularly.
(a) Increase of farmer income from buffalo production.References
(b) More use of buffalo draft power and manure for crop production.
(c) Better use of straws and crop residues for buffalo feeding.
(d) Increased availability of forage and fodder for buffalo feed.
(e) Farmers become better informed about herd management and farming techniques.
(f) Increased farmer awareness of buffalo conservation and use for sustainable farm production.
Anonymous. 2000. Selected indicators of food and agriculture development in Asian-Pacific Region, 1989-99. RAP Publication: 2000/15. P.206.
Chantalakhana, C. 2001. Contribution of water buffaloes in rural development. Proceedings of FAO-APHCA/JLTA/DLD Regional Workshop on Water Buffalo for Food Security and Sustainable Rural Development. Department of Livestock Development, Thailand. P.1-10.
Delgado, C. et al. 1999. Livestock to 2020: The next food revolution. IFPRI/FAO/ILRI Food, Agriculture, and the Environment Discussion Paper 28. P.72.
Sere, C. and H. Steinfeld. 1995. World livestock production systems: Current status, issues and trends. Proceedings of a Consultation on Global Agenda for Livestock Research. ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya. P.11-39.
- A Concept Note -
96% of the worlds water buffaloes can be found in Asia (80% riverine 20% swamp). They are an important asset in Asian agriculture. The riverine type is very much appreciated for their dairying abilities. In some countries, buffalo numbers increases while cow numbers remain stable or decrease as buffaloes are much hardier and buffalo milk is more appreciated. Increased mechanization has lead to a significant decrease of swamp buffaloes in many Asian countries, as alternative traits to draught were not exploited.
To better exploit the still untapped potential in this species, breeding programmes are required to:
- Improve milk and meat traits in the riverine buffalo.Countries have to clearly identify breeding objectives and breeding goals. Breed development programmes have to be accompanied by recording schemes. Traits to be recorded are a function of the breeding objectives and breeding goals which may vary between buffalo producing countries. Recording systems have to be adapted to local conditions (cost, frequency of recording, traits to be recorded and communication of results) without jeopardizing the value of the results.
- Improve meat traits in the swamp buffalo.
- Investigate/research/develop strategies for crossbreeding for milk and meat.
Animal recording is the prerequisite for any livestock
improvement scheme at the farm level, for industrial production or at national
1. Identification and registration of animal. It has to be permanent and unique (number or code);A number of activities in the area of buffalo recording have been initiated in the recent past. FAO/ICAR (International Committee on Animal Recording) organized a Workshop on Animal Recording for Improved Breeding and Management Strategies for Buffaloes (in Bled, Slovenia, May 2000) with the objectives to:
2. Measuring and recording of the parameters;
3. Summarizing and analysis of the parameters;
4. Feed back to the farmers; and
5. Calculation of breeding values.
The FAO - Department of Livestock Development of Thailand - Japan Livestock Technology Association Regional Workshop on Water Buffalo Development held in Surin, Thailand (8 -10 February 2001) considered amongst others, as a technical constraint the lack of animal identification, pedigrees and performance recording which severely limits the potential for buffalo genetic improvement programmes.
An initiative by ISZ (Istituto Sperimentale per la Zootecnia, Monterotondo, responsible for the Buffalo Newsletter and linked to ICAR) raised the interest by countries for an (inter) regional project for buffalo milk recording targeting FAO/TCP funds.
ACIAR, as reported at the Workshop Development Strategies for Genetic Evaluation of Beef Production in Developing Countries (Khon Kaen, Thailand 24 - 28 July 2001), has recently introduced BREEDPLAN and HERDMAGIC as a genetic management tool for buffalo identification, recording and calculation of EBVs in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The participants in the Workshop in Khon Kaen realized that there is no co-ordination/harmonization of the recording activities amongst the countries and recommended that an effort should be made to harmonize/standardize animal identification systems, parameters to be recorded and analytical models to allow at a later stage comparison of data and records between countries and the evaluation of breeds. APHCA was mentioned as a possible body/structure to serve as a forum for discussion and harmonization of these activities.
APHCA is an Inter-governmental forum representing 15 countries with the objectives:
APHCA in collaboration with other Regional Organizations such as the Asian Buffalo Association and ICAR is ideally placed to serve as a forum to develop and propose regional/international standards for animal identification and recording. APHCA could also serve as a forum for training and the exchange of experiences among buffalo recording organizations of different countries
This activity is considered timely as a number of countries are initiating activities in this area and co-ordination at this early stage would avoid problems experienced now by some OECD countries.