OIE/FAO-APHCA/DLD Regional Workshop on BSE Diagnosis and Surveillance
(Bangkok, Thailand, 28-31 March 2005)
The purpose of the Workshop, jointly organised by the OIE, FAO-APHCA and DLD, was to train technical staff from South Asian countries for laboratory diagnostic technologies, ELISA technique and Immunohistochemistry (IHC).
The Opening Ceremony was held at the Conference Room of the National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH) with 25 participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and observers from the host country (Thailand), speakers from the OIE World Reference Laboratory for BSE in Switzerland, and organisers (OIE, FAO-APHCA and DLD).
Welcome addresses were delivered by Dr Nimit Triwanatham, Director of NIAH, Dr Yoshiyuki Oketani, OIE Regional Representation, Dr Vishnu Songkitti, FAO-APHCA, and Dr Chaweewan Leowijuk, Deputy Director General, DLD.
Lectures were given by Prof. Andreas Zurbriggen and Dr Catherine Botteron both from the University of Berne, Switzerland.
Prof. Zurbriggen lectured on the overview of BSE, TSE and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. He presented a short movie to explain visual features of BSE symptom.
At the Anatomy Section, after Dr Botteron explained practical brain sampling in detail, every participant challenged sampling work using fresh cow heads which were brought from slaughterhouses in Bangkok.
Then, participants moved to the Pathology Section to prepare slides of formalin fixed and stained tissue from the collected brain samples. Prof. Zurbriggen lectured on the principle and the process of IHC test and Dr Botteron explained how to discern the BSE case from a number of false brain diseases. She prepared many slides including BSE positive samples and others for differential diagnosis (for example, hepatic encephalopathy, polio encephalopathy, brain edema, maple syrup urine disease and rabies).
At the Virology Section, participants experienced some laboratory work on the ELISA test for BSE diagnosis using homogenized brain samples. Participants were provided with PRIONICS-CHECK kits with instructions from the lecturers on the usage and how to interpret the results of test.
- FAO-APHCA = Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific of FAO
- DLD = Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand