The Second ASEAN Workshop on HPAI Control and Eradication in collaboration with ASEAN, ADB, FAO and OIE
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 February-2 March 2007)
The Second ASEAN Workshop on HPAI Control and Eradication was organised in collaboration with ASEAN, ADB, FAO and OIE, and hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 27 February-2 March 2007.
The Workshop was attended by 71 participants from 13 countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, Japan and USA) and 6 regional and international organisations (Asian Development Bank, ASEAN, UNSIC, FAO, WHO and OIE).
Dr Azmi Akhir, ASEAN Secretariat AI Coordinator, welcomed the participants. Opening remarks were made by Dr Jacques Jeugmans, ADB Practice Leader, Dr Laurence Gleeson, FAO Regional ECTAD Coordinator, and Dr Shiro Yoshimura, OIE Senior Deputy Regional Representative. A keynote address was given by Dato’ Seri Haji Mohd.Shariff b. Haji Omar, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Malaysia.
The presentations on (1) Emergency Preparedness, (2) Disease Containment/Prevention Measures, (3) Stamping Out Operations including Compensation, Carcass Disposal and Animal Welfare and (4) Vaccination, were made by international organisations and ASEAN member countries (AMCs) which have experiences in those topics.
The participants were then divided into groups to discuss the four topics and produce outcomes, and those were finalised by the final plenary session. (Conclusions)
<WORKING GROUP 1: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS>
Stock-taking/ Experience-sharing: It was gathered through the sharing of experiences among the AMCs representatives that all AMCs are implementing their respective Emergency Preparedness Plans, including the specific SOPs for investigation, reporting and rapid response. The organisational structures are generally multisectoral throughout the different administrative levels of government down to grassroots levels, and include designations of Rapid Action Teams (RATs) and application of community participatory approaches. While various trainings have been conducted, further trainings are still required across several areas. Simulation exercises have also been carried out and have resulted in improvements in the general outbreak responses.
Output/ Recommendations to Advance the Regional Framework: The milestone recommendation made is that on enhancing regional harmonization of operational practices through the conduct of joint regional training among the AMCs, which entails mobilizing resources and expertise. The specific areas of training are detailed in the output recommendations, it covers various outbreak response procedures and the conduct of simulation exercises.
Note: The drafting of a regional model system for emergency preparedness was considered unsuitable in this group due to the natural tendency for AMC plans to vary depending on each country’s governmental, socio-economic and cultural conditions.
<Working Group 2: DISEASE CONTAINMENT>
Stock-taking/ Experience-sharing: From the sharing of experiences, it is clearly reflected that while AMCs have the general disease containment systems in place (legal frameworks, biosecurity, etc.), there is still a need to formulate specific regulations and procedures for sectors 3 and 4 production systems, including the control of live bird movement/ marketing and quarantine particularly along shared borders. Currently, border issues are discussed at bilateral levels but regional discussions on issues such as free trade at borders is to be considered. A general concern is the lack of personnel, particular relating to law enforcement and border control. The AMCs expressed similarities in how they implement procedures within outbreak containment zones (infected and control zones), though the sizes of the zones somewhat differ. Putting more resources on conducting trainings was identified as a priority.
Output/ Recommendations to Advance the Regional Framework: A key output from this group is the Regional Model System/Guidelines for Disease Containment and Prevention, which contains several major points of agreement arrived at through a consensus among the participants. These agreements include the following:
- Recognition of the need to impose strict regulatory control throughout the poultry production and marketing chain in a way that effects on livelihood are considered.
- Identification of the priority items for enhancing regulatory control, including specifically the closure and disinfection of live bird markets supplying urban areas on a once or twice monthly basis.
- The description/ definition of outbreak control zones, including specifically the sizes of these zones and the quarantine and animal movement control procedures that should be implemented within the zones. It was agreed that infected zones and control zones are at least 1 and 5 kilometers in span, respectively.
- The period of isolation of stamped out farms/premises prior to restocking was agreed to be at least 30 days from the last culling and disinfection day.
- Enumeration of the general farm-to-market biosecurity measures, and the minimal biosecurity considerations for sector 4 production systems.
The main milestone recommendation made is for AMCs to recognise the stipulations (including recommendations) in the above regional model system, and the policies and priorities set therein. These specific recommendations are detailed in the output recommendations relating to the Regional Framework on Disease Containment and include the need for conducting training in handling emergencies (e.g. the Incident Command System), interagency cooperation and dealing with media.
<WORKING GROUP 3: STAMPING OUT>
Stock-taking/ Experience-sharing: The AMCs related that stamping out is a mandatory procedure, and the plans and procedures for it are in place, including the command structures in declaring stamping out, and organised stamping out teams. Stamping out was agreed upon to be the key HPAI outbreak control measure, that may be supported by additional measures should it appear to be inefficient and ineffective on its own, considering that lack of adequate logistics to conduct massive stamping out is a general regional predicament. Stamping out is apparently not being done outright solely based on a report of an isolated human case/s. The main concerns identified include effective and safe culling methods, carcass disposal, and decontamination, and resource availability. Countries somewhat varied in the implementation of stamping out procedures, as these are determined by existing capacities and resources. In support to effective stamping out, compensation or other forms of financial and resource relief are being applied, but have been rendered inefficient in some instances due to limited resources.
Output/ Recommendations to Advance the Regional Framework: As in Group 2, a key output from this group is the Regional Model System/Guidelines for Stamping Out. The major points of agreement arrived at by the group include the following:
- Recognition of the need to immediately notify the Veterinary and Public Health authorities upon confirmation of the presence of HPAI.
- The standard composition of stamping out teams, which should serve as basis for resource allocation.
- The description/ elaboration of the entire stamping out process including the entering and leaving the site of operation, culling of poultry, carcass and waste disposal, and decontamination and disinfection procedures.
- Recognition of the need for AMCs to adopt their individual Standard Performance Indicators for carrying out effective stamping out operations, and for each response component to be evaluated against these indicators.
- Recognition of the importance of instituting some form of relief system that may take the form of compensation, or other forms of financial or resource support to assist enterprise or livelihood re-habilitation. And that these should be related to the broader impact of stamping out policies on livelihood, gender and social elements.
The main milestone recommendation made is for AMCs to recognise the stipulations in the above regional model system, and the policies and procedures set therein. The related specific recommendations are detailed in the output recommendations relating to the Regional Framework on Stamping Out and include the periodic review of the model system and the holding of a specific workshop on relief (compensation) system.
<WORKING GROUP 4: VACCINATION>
Stock-taking/ Experience-sharing: The AMCs recognise poultry vaccination to be amongst the important HPAI control measures currently available. However, the adoption of vaccination policy would be in accordance to each country’s situation, taking note of the extent and risk of HPAI transmission, the levels and type of poultry production and the capacity to apply and monitor vaccination. Vaccination is to be considered as an additional measure only if other primary control measures fail, and if applied, it must be in line with OIE/FAO recommendations. Currently, only Viet Nam and Indonesia have adopted targeted vaccination across all poultry production sectors, and some vaccines used have been produced from local field strains (Indonesia). Amongst the concerns in using vaccination are vaccine quality monitoring, training of personnel, and inadequate capacities and resources (including local vaccines). Post-vaccination monitoring is done using unvaccinated sentinel birds. The 8 countries not vaccinating have found their present control measures to be adequate. Countries generally agree that vaccination is difficult to carry out, especially if the production system is predominantly sector 4.
Output/ Recommendations to Advance the Regional Framework: The milestone recommendations generated include the following:
- Implementation of poultry vaccination should be based on risk assessment, and that vaccines to be used are manufactured and quality controlled to ensure compliance with international standards, including the use of low pathogenic seed viruses for production. Knowledge of circulating field strains is needed to determined vaccine strains. An inventory of regional capacity in vaccine production and testing should be developed
- AMCs need to enhance training in the various facets of vaccination, as well as the resources and capacity to effectively carry out mass vaccination and post-vaccination monitoring. The specific areas of training are detailed in the output recommendations.
Note: The drafting of a regional model system for Vaccination was considered unsuitable for this group due to the limited shared experiences on extensively applying poultry vaccination among the AMCs.
- UNSIC = United Nations System Influenza Coordination