ILRI presents at the 13th conference of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics

Boran cattle at Kapiti Ranch, Kenya. Research by ILRI on the prevention and control of Rift Valley fever in Kenya featured during the 13th conference of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (photo credit: ILRI).

Some 12 scientists from the Markets, Gender and Livelihoods theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) attended the recently concluded 13th conference of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (ISVEE13) where they presented research findings on various topics related to veterinary epidemiology and economics including prevention and control of zoonotic diseases, the economics of animal disease control interventions, risk assessment in informal food markets and participatory disease surveillance.

The ISVEE13 conference took place on 20-24 August 2012 in Maastricht, the Netherlands under the theme, Building Bridges – Crossing Borders, highlighting the importance of embracing multi-disciplinary approaches to solve research problems related to veterinary epidemiology and economics.

Below are links to the posters and PowerPoint presentations (in SlideShare)

Posters

• Assessment of exposure to Vibrio in shellfish consumed in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
• Classical swine fever: Incidence and impact on pig production system in Northeast India
• The contribution of agricultural research to managing zoonoses and foodborne diseases
• Key messages from Safe Food, Fair Food
• Evaluating a group based intervention for improving meat safety in a Nigerian wet-market
• Participatory disease surveillance: Cost effectiveness relative to passive surveillance in Kajiado County, Kenya
• Risk of exposure to Campylobacter through consumption of ready-to-eat roast beef and poultry meat in informal outlets in Arusha municipality
• Prerequisites for HACCP in poultry processing in Maputo, Mozambique

PowerPoint presentations

• Collaborative response to the 2010 foot and mouth disease outbreak in Miyazaki, Japan between veterinary and psychiatry experts
• Economic analysis of Rift Valley fever prevention and control options from a multi-sectoral perspective in Kenya
• Evaluation of participatory disease surveillance  for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Africa and rinderpest in Pakistan
• Newcastle disease vaccination: From technology to poverty reduction
• Participatory prevalence estimation: A pilot survey in Kenya
• Persistence of Rift Valley fever virus in East Africa
• Spatial-temporal analysis of the risk of Rift Valley fever in Kenya

For more information on ILRI’s research on animal health, food safety and zoonoses, please contact Delia Grace (d.grace @ cgiar.org)

Tackling bird flu in Egypt: ILRI and FAO develop manual for practitioners in community-based animal health outreach

The Strengthening Avian Influenza Detection and Response (SAIDR) project in Egypt was implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support efforts by the Government of Egypt to detect and respond to the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

This United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project conducted a number of training courses in HPAI participatory disease surveillance, later elaborated to be community-based animal health outreach (CAHO), for 108 veterinarians (making 54 teams) in 15 governorates.

It also developed a training manual to serve as a reference guide for veterinarians during and after CAHO training. Although the manual focuses on HPAI, the methods can be easily adapted and applied to address other livestock diseases.

The manual will also be translated into Arabic to further adapt it for use in the Egyptian context.

Download the manual

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Featured publication: Manual for participatory disease surveillance practitioners

International congress to discuss impact of zoonotic diseases in developing countries

A Maasai father and his son tend to their cattle herd. Addressing the impact of zoonotic diseases on humans, animals and the environment will benefit smallholder livestock keepers in developing countries. (Photo: ILRI/Mann).

Regional and international experts on public health and infectious diseases will meet at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15-17 September 2011 for the first international congress on pathogens at the human-animal interface (ICOPHAI) to deliberate on the impact of infectious diseases and explore the limitations and needs of developing countries.

The congress will have a keynote speaker on One Health with a focus on zoonoses (animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans) as well as plenary speakers in the following eight thematic areas:

• Emerging zoonoses and wildlife interface 
• Drug discovery and antimicrobial resistance 
• Respiratory diseases and global impact 
• Parasitic zoonoses and environment 
• Enteric food and waterborne infections 
• Genomics and molecular epidemiology 
• Immunology and vaccine development 
• Policy, capacity building and other significant issues

Participants are expected to include academicians, government and industry research scientists, policymakers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

The conference is organized by a consortium of regional and international academic and research organizations comprising:

• Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
• Chiang Mai University, Thailand
• Federal University of Paranà, Brazil
• Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
• International Livestock Research Institute 
• Kenya Medical Research Institute
• National Semi-Arid Institute, Brazil
• Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
• University of Gondar, Ethiopia
• University of Nairobi, Kenya

The Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) will be represented at the meeting by Dr Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and leader of ILRI's research team on animal health, food safety and zoonoses, and Dr Kohei Makita, veterinary epidemiologist on joint appointment at ILRI and Rakuno Gakuen University in Japan.

Dr Makita is scheduled to present a paper on "Use of participatory methods in food safety risk analysis of informally marketed livestock products in sub-Saharan Africa: Advantages and challenges".

For more information, please visit the ICOPHAI 2011 website.

Bird flu fear in Asia: IFPRI and ILRI offer research-based disease control options for developing countries

Amid fears of resurgence of avian influenza in parts of Asia, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Livestock Research Institute are helping governments in developing countries to make informed decisions on how to control the spread of the disease and minimize its economic impact on the poor. (Photo: IFPRI)

The H5N1 form of avian influenza that has recently swept through Asia and into parts of Europe and Africa poses an extraordinary challenge for the international community.

And now the United Nations has warned of an imminent resurgence of avian influenza in parts of Asia, following the detection of a mutant strain of avian influenza in China and Vietnam. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged "heightened readiness and surveillance against a possible major resurgence of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza".

While a strong global response is necessary to control the spread of this disease, efforts in developing countries have shown that conventional approaches to disease control and prevention may not always work in the case of avian influenza.

There is considerable uncertainty throughout the developing world about the disease’s spread mechanisms, as well as the timing, extent, and severity of potential outbreaks.

This gap in knowledge, however, does not change the fact that developing countries are faced with critical decisions about how to defend against and recover from a potential outbreak of avian influenza.

Researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are spearheading a new research program to study the patterns and determinants of the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the economic impacts of an HPAI outbreak on different populations, and cost-effective HPAI control and prevention strategies.

The goal of the project, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID),  is to help governments in developing countries make more informed decisions about how to control the spread of HPAI and how to minimize the impact on different populations, particularly the poor, of both the disease and the measures taken to control an outbreak so as to ensure optimal compliance.

The project is implemented in Ethiopia,Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria.

For more information and to download the project publications, please visit the project web page.

Ecohealth approaches can improve food safety management in Vietnam

Pork seller at a market in Vietnam: One Health and Ecohealth approaches can improve the management of food safety and zoonotic diseases in Vietnam. (Photo credit: ILRI).

Food safety is a major concern for the government of Vietnam. According to the World Health Organization Representative Office in Vietnam, the human costs of food-borne diseases, lost production from diseases and related market losses surpass USD 1 billion per year, an amount equivalent to 2% of Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product.

The topic of food safety management in Vietnam featured at the Second Food Safety and Zoonoses Symposium for Asia Pacific that was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 21-22 July 2011.

A presentation by Dr Hung Nguyen-Viet of the Hanoi School of Public Health, Vietnam and researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) considered the challenges, costs and benefits of One Health and Ecohealth approaches to food safety in Vietnam.

Ecohealth and One Health approaches assume that human, livestock, wildlife and environmental health are integrally related.

The presentation also highlighted a number of food safety research projects by ILRI in Vietnam, including the project on ecosystem approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in Southeast Asia which is coordinated Dr Jeffrey Gilbert, a veterinary epidemiologist with ILRI’s research team on animal health, food safety and zoonoses.

Linking research and management of food safety within One health/ecohealth context in Vietnam: Concepts and applications

View more presentations from ILRI

Citation
Nguyen-Viet H, Grace D, Lapar ML, Unger F, McDermott J and Gilbert J. 2011. Linking research and management of food safety within One Health/Ecohealth context in Vietnam: Concepts and applications. Presentation at the 2nd Food Safety and Zoonoses Symposium for Asia Pacific, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 21-22 July 2011.

Risk maps for bird flu in Africa: French version now available

A couple of months ago, this blog featured an output of the project on Early Detection, Reporting and Surveillance of Avian Influenza in Africa, namely, a report containing risks maps for bird flu in Africa that were developed using multi-criteria decision modelling.

An initial set of risk maps was prepared in 2009; these were refined to produce the final maps contained in the report.

The French version of the report is now available.

Download the French version

Citation
Stevens, K.B., Costard, S., Métras, R., Theuri, W., Hendrickx, S. and Pfeiffer, D.U. 2010. Amélioration de la surveillance de l’influenza aviaire de type H5N1 – Cartographie du risque d’influenza aviaire de type H5N1 en Afrique: Rapport final et cartes de risqué d’influenza aviaire. EDRSAIA (Early Detection, Reporting and Surveillance for Avian Influenza in Africa) project. 

New journal article: Economic and poverty impacts of animal diseases in developing countries: New roles, new demands for economics and epidemiology

Value chain analysis and information economics can improve our understanding of the economic and poverty impacts of animal diseases, particularly in developing country contexts.

These new 'bottom-up' approaches are analyzed in a paper published online on 15 September 2010 in the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine.

The authors, Karl Rich and Brian Perry, highlight the issues affecting different value chain actors and examine how best to align incentives for sustainable control of animal diseases.

"Both value chain analysis and information economics hold particular promise and relevance towards impact assessments that are more robust and thorough than past ones, particularly in the context of the roles of incentives," the authors observe.

Karl Rich is on joint appointment with ILRI and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). Brian Perry is an honorary professor of veterinary medicine at the Universities of Edinburgh and Pretoria, a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, and formerly leader of ILRI's research team on animal health and food safety for trade.

Read the abstract here

Citation
Rich KM and Perry BD. 2011. The economic and poverty impacts of animal diseases in developing countries: New roles, new demands for economics and epidemiology. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 101(3-4): 133-147.

Featured publication: Risk maps for bird flu in Africa

More than 85 percent of households in rural Africa raise poultry for food, income, or both, and many people live in close contact with their birds. The possibility of an epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 is therefore a major concern. Since 2006 bird flu has been introduced into at least 11 countries in Africa, and over 600 outbreaks reported.

Vigilance is key to limiting the disease but animal health personnel cannot monitor everywhere at once. This risk-mapping project was designed to help prioritize their efforts by showing in which places outbreaks are more likely to occur.

A risk map is a complex, computer-generated image that shows the spatial distribution of the predicted risk of a disease. It is based on the spatial distribution of 'risk factors' associated with an increased risk of disease, and the relative importance of each of these factors. In the case of virulent bird flu, risk factors include major transport routes, markets where poultry may be traded, and wetlands with the possibility of contact between poultry and wild birds.

Researchers in this project, Early Detection, Reporting and Surveillance for Avian Influenza in Africa, have prepared risk maps for bird flu in Africa using multi-criteria decision modelling. In this way they have integrated data and information from such diverse sources as published scientific literature, maps available in the public domain, field surveys and expert consultations. An initial set of risk maps was prepared in 2009. These maps were then refined to produce the final maps contained in the current report.

Project partners include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the African Union - InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), regional animal health centres, and other national animal health services and veterinary authorities throughout Africa and abroad.

Download the report

Featured publication: Decision-support tool for prevention and control of Rift Valley fever epizootics in the Greater Horn of Africa

The August 2010 supplement of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene features a decision-support tool for the prevention and control of Rift Valley fever in the Greater Horn of Africa.

The tool was developed under a project managed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and funded by the Emergency Coordination Office for Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It was developed by a consultative group for Rift Valley fever decision support comprising individuals from FAO, ILRI, the Kenya and Tanzania Departments of Veterinary Services, United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Vétérinaires sans Frontières (VSF) Suisse and VETAID.

Download the report

Citation
ILRI/FAO. 2008. Decision-support tool for prevention and control of Rift Valley fever epizootics in the Greater Horn of Africa. Version 1. ILRI Guide 28 pp.

New journal article: Epidemiological assessment of the Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya and Tanzania in 2006 and 2007

Livestock keepers can play a key role in veterinary surveillance as part of preparedness and response plans for future outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in East Africa, according to new research published in the August 2010 supplement of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Researchers from the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), together with partners from the veterinary services of Kenya and Tanzania, carried out epidemiological studies shortly after an outbreak of RVF in the two countries in 2006-07.

The objective of the studies was to document the key lessons learned from the outbreak as tools to inform veterinary preparedness and response plans for future outbreaks of RVF in East Africa.

Pastoralist communities, especially the Somali of Northeastern Kenya, made key epidemiological observations such as unusually heavy rains and flooding before the outbreak, as well as unusually high cases of illness and death in their flocks consistent with RVF.

These changes were observed well in advance of the detection of RVF by the veterinary surveillance system.

Similarly, human cases consistent with RVF were noted by the livestock-keeping communities well in advance of the detection by the public health surveillance system.

The studies also found that emergency vaccination to control the spread of RVF in response to an early warning may not be a cost-effective strategy, given the constraints linked to timely manufacture and procurement of large quantities of vaccines and delivery to affected areas.

"Priority should be placed on developing combined economic and epidemiologic models that evaluate the economic benefits achieved by different disease prevention and control decisions at critical points before and during outbreaks," the authors conclude.

Read the abstract here

Citation
Jost C, Nzietchueng S, Kihu S, Bett B, Njogu G, Swai ES and Mariner JC. 2010. Epidemiological assessment of the Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya and Tanzania in 2006 and 2007. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 83(2 Suppl): 65-72.

Indonesia stakeholders review outputs of study on bird flu risk reduction

Stakeholders in Indonesia have called for education of poultry farmers, traders and transporters; greater public awareness; and strengthening of institutional capacity as key measures towards implementing pro-poor risk reduction strategies against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.

The call was made during a final project workshop held in Bogor, Indonesia last week (5-6 August 2010) to mark the end of research activities of the Indonesia component of a project on pro-poor HPAI risk reduction strategies.

The two-year project is supported by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and is implemented in Asia (Indonesia) and Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria).

The workshop was held to review project activities and key research outputs, as well as to propose key recommendations for future research collaboration.

About 40 participants were in attendance, drawn from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

Also present were stakeholders from local universities such as Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Bogor Agricultural University, poultry industry/farmers, and international researchers and donors implementing or supporting similar projects in the country.

Project activities whose results were reviewed included

• qualitative and quantitative assessment of the risk of transmission of HPAI between small-scale broiler farms;
• value chain analysis focusing on a range of poultry products including local and commercial live birds, eggs, spent layers and ducks;
• analysis of degree of compliance of backyard and small-scale poultry producers with HPAI control measures;
• review of institutional response capacity to HPAI;
• qualitative and quantitative assessment of impacts of HPAI on livelihoods;
• analysis of willingness to pay for control measures;
• cost-benefit analysis; and
• communication and advocacy activities.

The key recommendations discussed at the workshop included the need to encourage uptake of basic biosecurity measures through education, provision of targeted subsidies, development of professional producer and trader associations with certification schemes, and identification of ways of encouraging prompt reporting of outbreaks.

Livelihoods studies highlighted the need for campaigns to improve the level of awareness of HPAI risks and encourage behaviour change.

The meeting also acknowledged that the ad hoc institutions that were set up after the initial HPAI outbreaks played a key role in the dissemination of information.

The Indonesia National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (KOMNAS FBPI) is one such institution, which brought together animal and human health authorities in implementing a joint response to the pandemic.

It was recommended that these types of institutions be integrated into the relevant government departments throughout the country’s administrative units. These recommendations will be further developed in consultation with the MoA.

IFPRI will take the lead role in developing and disseminating communication and advocacy materials. The project will also develop an 8-minute video to capture the main messages generated. Future research and potential publications will be discussed in a feedback meeting with the MoA scheduled for October 2010.

In a courtesy meeting during the workshop, the Director General for Livestock Services in Jakarta, Dr Tjeppy Soedjana, was briefed about the project objectives and achievements and emphasized his interest in future collaboration with ILRI, IFPRI and RVC.

For more information about the project and to view the project reports, please visit the project web page.

Contributed by Bernard Bett and Fred Unger

Featured publication: Manual for participatory disease surveillance practitioners

As part of the Early Detection, Reporting and Surveillance for Avian Influenza in Africa project which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a number of training courses in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) participatory disease surveillance (PDS) have been conducted in western and eastern Africa in 2008 and 2009.

Produced in September 2009, the purpose of this manual is to provide a reference for veterinarians and animal health workers during and after PDS training. The main focus of this manual is on HPAI PDS but the methods can easily be adapted and applied to address other livestock diseases.

The project was implemented by the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and Vétérinaires sans Frontières - Belgium (VSF-B).

Download the manual

Blog launched: Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health

The Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health (PENAPH) has launched a blog to share news, training materials and other useful resources related to its work.

Started in 2007, PENAPH connects groups and individuals who apply participatory epidemiology methods in the control of emerging and existing diseases. PENAPH works to improve livelihoods by contributing to solve the world's most pressing health challenges.

PENAPH's partner institutions have a wealth of experience in participatory epidemiology and participatory disease surveillance, as well as interests in promoting One Health approaches. These partners are:

• African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Royal Veterinary College, University of London (RVC)
• Vétérinaires Sans Frontières - Belgium (VSF-B)
• Veterinarians Without Borders - Canada (VSF-C)
• World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

To find out more about PENAPH, please visit the blog at http://penaph.net.

ILRI holds training seminar on livestock disease risk assessment in the Horn of Africa

Between 26 and 30 October 2009, some 30 participants attended a training seminar on livestock disease risk assessment in the Horn of Africa.The seminar was organized by the Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and held at ILRI’s headquarters in Nairobi.

The participants were drawn from Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan and included representatives from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) Cairo and USDA-APHIS Dakar.

The seminar was co-organized by ILRI, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/East Africa and the African Union–Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

John McDermott, ILRI's deputy director of research, and Jeffrey Mariner, leader of ILRI's research team on animal health and food safety for trade, facilitated the training.

Preventive Veterinary Medicine publishes paper on participatory epidemiology study among Turkana pastoralists

The 01 August 2009 edition of the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine features a paper on a participatory epidemiology study carried out to determine the relative incidence of livestock diseases and their impact on the livelihoods of pastoralists in Turkana South District, Kenya.

The paper was written by Bernard Bett, Christine Jost and Jeffrey Mariner of ILRI’s Markets theme, and Robert Allport of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium.

According to the study findings, interventions aimed at improving the productivity of goats and controlling diseases like mange, peste des petits ruminants and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia are likely to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of pastoralists in Turkana South district.

Nomadic pastoralism, limited access to veterinary services and livestock theft were identified as unique challenges that tend to frustrate effective disease control interventions. “These challenges need to be addressed in development and disease control interventions,” the authors conclude.

Citation
Bett B, Jost C, Allport R and Mariner J. 2009. Using participatory epidemiology techniques to estimate the relative incidence and impact on livelihoods of livestock diseases amongst nomadic pastoralists in Turkana South District, Kenya. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 90:194-203.

Access the paper

New approach to bird flu control in Indonesia featured in 'Science' journal

An article in the 5 January 2007 issue of Science features ILRI's Jeffrey Mariner and partners who are using a new approach -- participatory epidemiology -- in the fight against avian influenza in Indonesia.

The article by Dennis Normile, Indonesia taps village wisdom to fight bird flu, is available online at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/315/5808/30.