Workshops/Meetings : GF-TADs

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Third Meeting on Foot and Mouth Disease Control in East Asia

The OIE's Third Meeting on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Control in East Asia in collaboration with the Council of Agriculture, Taipei China, in particular Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) of the Council of Agriculture, was successfully held in Taipei China on 30 September-2 October 2004, in order to exchange and discuss the updated information of FMD prevention and control measures in the subregion and the regional collaboration for FMD prevention and control.

The opening addresses were delivered by H.E. Dr Ching-Lung Lee, Minister of Agriculture; Prof. Tien-Jye Chang, Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of Taipei China and Dr Teruhide Fujita, OIE Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, respectively.

The Meeting was attended by 52 participants from 10 countries: Australia, Japan, Korea (the Republic of), Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, United States of America, Taipei China and Vietnam, and the OIE from Paris, Bangkok and Tokyo.

Countries in the subregion (Russia, Mongolia, RO Korea, Japan and Taipei China) reported FMD conditions, prevention and control programmes and related measures in the respective countries.

A rather wider range of specific topics were presented by the following invited resource persons which included experiences in disease control, disease preparedness, diagnosis, viral and epidemiological research and a simulation for FMD control:

  1. Dr Alejandro Schudel, OIE Central Bureau, Paris, on "OIE Standards for FMD";
  2. Dr Shin-Ping Chen, Animal Technology Institute, Taipei China on "Characteristics of FMD O/Taiwan/97 and FMD O/Taiwan/99 isolates";
  3. Dr I. Rozhdestvensky, Department for Veterinary Surveillance, Russia on "Strategy of FMD control in Russia, taking the last FMD outbreaks 2004 as a model":
  4. Dr Hiroyuki Kamakawa, Animal Health and Animal Products Safety Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan on "Japan's FMD control programme (the new FMD Control Manual)";
  5. Dr Ronello Abila, OIE SEAFMD RCU, Bangkok on "Recent progress of FMD control in South-East Asia";
  6. Dr Gardner Murray, CVO of Australia on "An FMD simulation exercise in Australia";
  7. Dr Toshiyuki Tsutsui, National Institute of Animal Health, Japan on "Epidemiological analysis in FMD control 2000";
  8. Dr Yosuke Murakami, National Institute of Animal Health, Japan on "Discrimination of vaccinated and infected animals by non-structural proteins of FMD virus - Development of the procedure and its problems"; and
  9. Dr Jong Hyeon Park, National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Services, RO Korea on "Improvement of diagnostic and sero-epidemiological tests including rapid diagnostic tests".

The Meeting actively discussed the overall aspects of FMD prevention and control in the subregion and of the presented topics for future measures to be taken.

The participants visited the Animal Health Research Institute in Tansui, Taipei China. Dr Watson Sung, Director General of the Institute, briefed the participants on the Institute activities and various discussions on animal disease research were made.

The closing session was led by Dr Schudel, OIE and Dr Shih-Yuh Lin, Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the Meeting and concurrently Deputy Director General of BAPHIQ.

The participating countries recognised:

  1. the successful control of FMD in the subregion, while the re-emergence cases of the disease in some countries in 2004 were reported;
  2. the use of vaccines to control FMD in most of the countries in the subregion and the importance of using appropriate vaccines produced in line with the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals (the OIE Manual);
  3. high expectation that the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the OIE Code) should prescribe guidelines for FMD surveillance in the relevant Chapter, according to the changes introduced in May 2004;
  4. the use of FMD non-structural protein (NSP) ELISAs to differentiate vaccinated animals from infected animals; however, successful implementation of this technique requires guidance from the relevant Chapter of the OIE Code;
  5. the transboundary nature of emerging diseases like FMD requiring international and regional cooperation, in particular the effective exchange of disease information among countries in the subregion to facilitate preparedness, prevention and control of these diseases; and
  6. the high level of scientific capability and administrative capacity to identify and control emerging diseases like FMD in the subregion.

The Meeting recognised/recommended that:

  1. The countries in East Asia should further develop capability to undertake comprehensive emergency preparedness programmes for FMD and other potential emerging diseases;
  2. Member countries should use the existing mechanisms of the OIE to obtain prompt technical support to control FMD and other emerging diseases;
  3. Countries in East Asia should send samples to the OIE Reference Laboratories for confirmation and comparison of FMD virus characteristics at the global level to facilitate epidemiological studies and assess vaccine strain suitability for control. Participating countries of the Meeting strongly support the OIE efforts on the United Nations Commission for facilitating the transport of biological specimens (dangerous pathogens). This approach should be used as a model for other emerging diseases;
  4. Veterinary Services of countries need to further strengthen reporting, communication and awareness of other agencies and the public about control measures undertaken for FMD and other emerging diseases in their countries in order to enable all stakeholders to understand the disease situation, to avoid misunderstanding and confusion, and to obtain support form the public;
  5. Laboratories in East Asia should continue to collaborate in order to prevent and control emerging diseases including FMD. This collaboration should include exchange of information, samples, diagnostic and research techniques, and training for staff. This collaboration could be extended to other regions;
  6. When vaccines are used for FMD control, they should comply with the conditions and requirements contained in the OIE Manual. Only inactivated vaccines can be used for the control of FMD; and
  7. Countries in East Asia should have an opportunity to attend similar regional meetings on FMD or other emerging diseases to exchange information and share experiences of animal disease prevention and control for contingency planning.