Volume 36 South-East Asia and China Foot and Mouth Disease Campaign September 2014

This publication is made available through the generous support of the Australian Government.

Vaccination is one of the most effective tools to control FMD. Many countries in Europe and in South America were able to control and eventually eradicate FMD with the aid of vaccination. New technologies have been developed to produce effective and long lasting vaccines. Quality FMD vac-cines delivered through a good cold chain management programme and proper vac-cination techniques can provide more than 90 % protective titre for large ruminants. Although effective FMD vaccines are readily available, they are not cheap. And most countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region do not have the resources to buy them. For CMLV countries alone, the number of large ruminants to be vaccinated is around 20 million, more than 12 million of them are in Myanmar. Vaccinating them twice a year would cost up to USD 40 million a year. This does not include the operational costs needed to implement the vaccination. Thanks to the European Union-funded High-ly Pathogenic Emerging and Reemerging Diseases (HPED) Programme, 1.9 million doses of vaccines have been provided for free during the past two years to these re-source-deficient countries through the Re-gional Vaccine Bank managed by the OIE. In addition, the Australian Government-

funded Stop Transboundary Animal Diseas-es and Zoonoses (STANDZ) Programme of the OIE provided operational costs. With the EU-HPED Programme ending this year, the STANDZ will provide around 1.7 million doses until 2016. However, this volume is a drop in the buck-et. Thus, it is imperative that vaccination is implemented in the most effective way. The SEACFMD Programme is supporting two pilot vaccination projects in Northern Lao PDR and Central Myanmar. The aim is to demonstrate the effective use of controlling FMD in a specific geographic area using vac-cination as the key tool. Studies have proven the socio-economic benefits of vaccination. In a study conduct-ed in Lao PDR (Rast et al, 2010), financial losses from FMD outbreaks range from USD 1.7-1.9 per cow or buffalo for the fully vac-cinated village, USD 6.9-8.1 for the partly vaccinated village and 52.4-70.8 USD in the unvaccinated village. It is in the interest of FMD-free countries with advanced economies to invest in con-trolling FMD in endemic countries. The les-sons from FMD incursions in UK, Japan and Korea prove that the risks of FMD will al-ways be there as long as the FMDV is not eradicated at the source.

FMD vaccination in hotspots

ISSN 1685-3636

SEACFMD News is published quarterly by the OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (SRR-SEA), c/o Department of Livestock Development 69/1 Phaya Thai Road, Ratchathewi 10400, Bangkok, THAILAND Phone: +66 2 653 4864 Fax: +66 2 653 4904 E-mail: srr.seasia@oie.int

FMD project launched in Laos..…...2

Seminar on OIE standards ……….....2

SEACFMD National Coordinators

meeting in Thailand…………………....3

FMD regional situation .……...........3

Meeting reaffirms continuation of

MTM campaign………………...……….. 4

New secondee at OIE SRR-SEA ..….4

EU-HPED Steering Committee

reflects on achievements…..………..5

GF-TADs meeting notes progress

and new activities………..................5

OIE supports rabies eradication in

ASEAN.............................................6

Lab-TAG meeting notes progress on

capacity building………………... …..….6

Lab strategic plan for VRI.…………….6

New rabies project in Phils ..….….. 7

Rabies diagnosis training …………….7

FMD study in Myanmar……………… 8

Upcoming events………………………...8

DLD DG’s retirement..…..……………..8

Editorial

SEACFMD NEWS

The OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (SRR-SEA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR launched on 21 July 2014 a new project that aims to control Foot and Mouth Disease in cattle and buffaloes in the country’s northern and central provinces. With funding from the Australian Government, the USD3.4-million Northern Lao PDR FMD Project aims to vaccinate 80 per cent of the cattle and buffaloes in 26 high-risk districts in northern Lao PDR and Xiengkhouang Province. The Project’s goal is to have zero outbreaks of FMD in these provinces by 2016. The Project has been developed in order to address the enormous threat presented by increased cross-border movement of animals through North-ern Lao PDR. FMD outbreaks caused significant financial losses to farmers in the country due to morbidity, cost of treatment and mortality. Estimates of the financial cost of FMD per household could exceed USD 1,200 which took into account only the costs of treatment and losses due to morbidity and mortality. This would

go up significantly if indirect costs were considered. H.E. Dr. Phet Phomphiphak, Vice-Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, in his keynote speech, cited the many benefits the Project will bring to Lao PDR in general and to the farmers and traders in particular. Having animals that are free of FMD will bring potential benefits such as increased sources of livelihoods, poverty reduction and food security. Increased

productivity in livestock, according to the Minister, will also contribute to increased rice production given the use of buffalo by farmers as draft power in Lao PDR. Traders, he said, also stand to gain from this Project since they need increased supply of healthy animals to meet local demand for meat as well as for export to the high-end markets of Vietnam and China. The Project is being funded by the Australian Government through the Stop Transboundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses (STANDZ) Initiative implemented by the OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia. Mr. Royce Escolar, DFAT Senior Programme Manager, said that through STANDZ, Australia will provide more intensive support to the Government of Lao PDR to assist in the effective implementation of its National FMD Plan. “This project directly contributes to Lao PDR’s goal of becoming a major exporter of livestock and livestock products in the region. Creating an FMD control zone in Northern Laos will also benefit the rural livelihoods and trade prospects of its neighbouring provinces and countries in the Upper Mekong region,” Mr. Escolar said. Since 1997, Australia has supported regional FMD control and eradication in recognition of its importance for Lao PDR and for other countries in South-East Asia.

FMD mass vaccination project launched in Lao PDR

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Seminar on OIE standards in Myanmar

The OIE SRR-SEA conducted a one-day seminar on OIE international stand-ards and guidelines to about 260 participants comprising of final year students and Faculty from the Uni-versity of Veterinary Science, and rep-resentatives from the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Myanmar Veterinary Council and Myanmar Veterinary Association. OIE Special Adviser Dr. Gardner Murray introduced the organisational structure, functions, strategic object-ives and operations of the OIE. OIE SRR-SEA Representative Dr. Ronello Abila discussed the OIE PVS Pathway, while the Office Science and One Health Coordinator Dr Gordoncillo discussed Veterinary Education and Veterinary Statutory Body, with emphasis on the OIE recommend-ations for Day 1 graduating students

and the OIE guidelines on Veterinary Education Core Curriculum. Dr. Abila also introduced the develop-ment process for OIE international standards and guidelines, empha-sising on the Terrestrial Animal Health Code and the OIE Terrestrial Manual. To highlight the role of the OIE in disease control and underscore inter-national standards relevant to these, Dr. Abila used FMD as an example and presented the SEACFMD and its ongoing FMD control initiatives in the region. Dr. Gordoncillo presented the vertical and horizontal chapters of the OIE code and manual related to infection with the rabies virus, and discussed the ongoing rabies situation in and good examples of rabies prevention and control from ASEAN Member States.

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The 17th SEACFMD National Coordinators meeting was held in Chiang Rai, Thailand on 27-29 August 2014 to discuss the FMD situation and efforts to prevent and control the disease in the region, follow up on progress of recommendations from previous SEACFMD meetings, and identify priority actions for SEACFMD member countries over the coming year. The meeting also discussed the

revision of the SEACFMD 2020 Roadmap in order to incorporate the lessons learned over the past few years and to draft a new framework defining the programme strategy for the 2016-2020 period. There were 51 participants from the 11 SEACFMD Member Countries, as well as from the OIE, the Australian Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), FAO, the European Union live-

stock project in Cambodia, Massey University and Murdoch University. Dr. Gardner Murray, President of the OIE Sub-Commission for SEACFMD, and Dr. Wimolporn Thitisak, Deputy Director General of Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development opened the meeting. Dr. Murray noted the launch of new models of disease control for FMD and rabies in Lao PDR and the Philippines. Dr. Wimolporn emphasised the economic importance of trade in livestock and livestock products to Thailand. The country’s exports of livestock and livestock products reached USD 3 billion in 2013. This is expected to grow to USD 4 billion this year. FMD’s presence in Thailand, however, has prevented the country from exporting more. Thailand and other SEACFMD member countries where FMD is endemic presented the status of FMD and activities to prevent and control the disease while those from FMD-free countries presented their contingency plans. The meeting noted the importance of reinforcing the need for ongoing vaccination, livestock movement con-trol, and submitting greater numbers of high quality samples to OIE Reference Laboratories in Thailand and China. Australia’s DFAT Senior Regional Programme Manager Mr. Royce Escolar reiterated the importance of FMD control in the region and the continued support of Australia to the SEACFMD campaign.

Thailand hosts SEACFMD National Coordinators meeting

FMD outbreaks up in first 9 months

The number of FMD outbreaks in the region increased to 209 in the first nine months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 of 128 outbreaks and 2012 of 103. Data available to the OIE SRR-SEA indicates that Type O out-breaks are slightly dominant among those outbreaks serotyped, thus far reversing the trend seen in 2013 as well as in the first half of this year. As seve-ral countries are in the process of up-dating their data fully and awaiting sero typing results, the trend may change. Outbreaks caused by serotype A virus accounted for 42 or 20 percent of the total, while 55 or 26 percent were characterized as being caused by serotype O virus. The rest of the reported outbreaks are untyped or with results pending. This slight dominance of type O outbreaks follows trends previously seen before 2013. In 2013, serotype A was dominant with 42 percent of outbreaks while serotype O accounted for 26 percent of outbreaks. In 2012,

type O was identified in 29 percent of outbreaks while type A in 8 percent. This year's possible reversal may be due to several explanations which need to be studied further. However, several results are listed as "pending" at this point and these conclusions should be viewed with this in mind. One thing to note this year is that genotyping results available this year indicate that most type O outbreaks were due to the O/SEA/Mya-98 strain, while most type O outbreaks in 2010/2011 were due to the O/ME-SA/PanAsia strain. Type A outbreaks still have a wider distribution than in previous years, being seen in China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in this period. This is being studied further by the involved countries, including through characterization and vaccine matching, with the aim being appropriate select-ion of vaccines and control strategies, with some countries already having made adjustments in their vaccination antigens in response to this change.

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Meeting reaffirms continuation of MTM campaign

The Malaysia-Thailand-Myanmar Tristate Commission (MTM) met on 5-7 August 2014 in Hat Yai, Thailand to discuss the progress of FMD control in member countries and the region. The meeting reaffirmed the importance of continuing the MTM Campaign and agreed to extend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the three countries for another three years and to further strengthen their cooperation. The meeting highlights include: Malaysia’s submission of its national

FMD plan for OIE endorsement and decreasing incidence of FMD in its side of the MTM zone; Thailand’s strategies and goal to achieve FMD freedom in its side of the MTM zone by 2016; and, Myanmar’s report of continued FMD-free status in its area of the MTM initiative. Myanmar reported that outbreaks were last seen in the buffer zone in 2010 and in the control zone in 1999. Presentations focused on the OIE Code relevant to zoning in the MTM initiative; FMD risk-based control in

the MTM region; FMD vaccination and post-vaccination monitoring in the SEACFMD region. Participants from member countries decided that they need to further develop in-country risk assessments based on approaches workshopped at the meeting and to regularly share risk information. Malaysia and Thailand presented their electronic movement mechanisms, which in their experience has enhanced animal movement manage-ment and facilitated trade. Countries then discussed using bilateral coordi-nation mechanisms to harmonise ani-mal movements and to set conditions for import and export that are streamlined between countries and in accordance with OIE standards. The idea of having meetings of local veterinary officers and traders in the MTM zones (both within and across countries) and joint outbreak investi-gations was also discussed. Key recommendations adopted during the meeting included the extension of the MoU for another three years, joint outbreak investigations, and the use of a risk-based approach in developing FMD control strategies, particularly for vaccination. Participants expressed their appre-ciation for the opportunity to learn more about risk-based approaches and how they can be applied, saying that they would take lessons from this to refine their approaches.

PhD student learns SRR-SEA’s work

Dr. Tomokazu Tamura joined the OIE SRR-SEA on 4 August 2014 for a one-month’s assignment on secondment from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido Univer-sity, Japan. Dr. Tamura is a PhD student studying on the molecular pathogenesis of classical swine fever. However, the aim of the secondment is to learn the implementation of the OIE in the control of FMD for improved understanding of the general disease control. During his secondment, Dr. Tamura was able to observe regional disease control activities and strategies, including zoning approaches and the use of the OIE Terrestrial Code and Manual. Dr. Tamura also learnt about the use of qGIS (quantum Geographical Infor-

mation Systems), studied the principle of risk analysis in the context of disease control that leads to develop-ment of a risk pathway for FMD intro-duction in currently free countries. Dr. Tamura returned to the university with a broad appreciation of the important role of disease control and knowledge of the key activities of the OIE SRR-SEA.

EU-HPED Steering Committee reflects on achievements

The Steering Committee of the EU-HPED Programme met for the last time on 15-17 July 2014. As the HPED Programme will conclude in December 2014, following a one-year no-cost extension, the meeting took stock of the programme’s accomplishments and reflected on the steps to be taken for sustaining its impact. The representatives of the European Union (EU) and the three implementing partners, FAO, OIE and WHO, recognised the importance and high relevance of the Programme, which encompass multi-country and multi-sectoral coordination, in line with the One Health approach, disease control and its contribution to human health and food security, strengthening of ASEAN and SAARC, and tripartite coordination at the regional level. The meeting then reviewed the recommendations of the previous SC meeting, and of the status of implementation of the partners’ respective component: Regional Vaccine Banks, PVS Pathway, capacity building and visibility activities for the OIE; establishment of the ASEAN and SAARC Regional Support Units, development of epidemiology and laboratory networks and support to the establishment of the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Animal Health and Zoonosis (ACCAHZ) for the FAO; collaborative activities with ASEAN and SAARC, regional activities on priority zoonoses such as rabies and strengthening of surveillance and response capacities and coordination between human and animal health sectors at country level for the WHO. The three organisations underlined the quality of the tripartite collaboration at the regional level. The meeting acknowledged the added value of a tripartite collaboration,

and the need for increasing the involvement of all stakeholders for strong political support. Collaboration and sharing of information, stability of the partners and leverage with other programmes were identified as main success factors. Draft recommendations adopted by the meeting include the following: that national governments ensure an appropriate balance to investments made to the human and animal health sectors; that future activities focus on supporting countries operationalize a One Health approach at the national level, by enhancing collaboration and coordination among the various sectors and making use of existing mechanisms and frameworks; that the three implementing partners, build on the investments and achievements to date. The EU acknowledged the successful implementation of the programme and the tripartite organisations reiterated their commitment to pursue collaboration and advocacy to sustain the ongoing activities. The meeting was attended by 52 participants from OIE, FAO, WHO, Regional Organisations, namely ASEAN and SAARC, as members of the Steering Committee, and by representatives from Secretariat of the Pacific Communities, Donors and some countries in the Region as observers.

GF-TADs’ progress and new activities

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The FAO/OIE Regional Steering Committee Meeting on the Global Framework for Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) met on 16-17 July 2014 in Bangkok to discuss the progress of the initiative at the global, regional and sub-regional level. There were 60 participants, including representatives from OIE, FAO, WHO, Regional Organisations, namely ASEAN, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Secretariat of the Pacific Communities, SEACFMD and Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia, donors (Australia, EU, NIAH, USDA-APHIS,USAID, IFAH, JICA), as well as

some countries in the Region as observers. Two discussion sessions were conducted. The first one was on Perspective, Ogoing and New Activities

on TADs Control where each group was asked to raise three important implementation issues. Common key issues from the groups are resource and coordination. The second discussion was on emerging animal diseases trends in the Region. PPR, ASF and Influenza H7N9 were the

focus of discussion. Donors (Australia, USDA-APHIS, IFAH, China and JICA) presented their perspectives, as well as their ongoing and new activities.

OIE supports regional rabies eradication in ASEAN

Lab-TAG meeting notes progress in capacity building

The OIE SRR-SEA is working with member countries and technical partners in rabies prevention and control in the ASEAN region. Through the STANDZ Programme funded by the Australian Government, OIE has deve-loped a Rabies Programme to support rabies elimination in endemic countries in the region. The programme provided technical support in the development of the Rabies Elimination Strategy for ASEAN. It also financed the vaccination activities in Lao PDR, Myanmar and the Philippines which received rabies

vaccines from another OIE programme supported by the European Union. The EU-funded regional vaccine bank which is managed by the OIE has delivered almost three million doses of rabies vaccines to 10 countries in Asia since 2012. The bulk of these went to Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Myanmar which received around 2 million doses. The EU-funded programme also provided poster, leaflet, T-shirts and caps to Viet Nam in support of its public awareness campaign. During the World Rabies Day event

organised by Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development on September 28, Dr. Ronello Abila, OIE SRR-SEA Representative, congratulated Thai-land for its efforts to bring rabies cases in both dogs and humans down from 433 and 24 in 2009 to 111 and 7 last year. Dr. Abila said countries should work together against rabies. “We can’t defeat the enemy if we work alone. With countries in ASEAN, technical partners and international donors working together, the vision of a rabies-free ASEAN by 2020 is, indeed, possible,” Dr. Abila said.

The Regional Animal Health Laboratory Technical Advisory Group (Lab-TAG) held a meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 2 to 3 September 2014 back to back with the ASEAN Laboratory Directors Forum. The meeting noted the importance of diagnostic capacities, quality laboratory services and information sharing for effective control of emerging, re-emerging and priority animal diseases in the region. Dr. Jaruwan Kampa, OIE SRR-SEA Coordinator for the USAID funded IDENTIFY Project, presented the key activities supported by OIE which include assisting eight countries to develop and improve their laboratory strategies and policies that are aligned with the ASEAN Laboratory Framework. The meeting acknowledged the progress made by the relevant partners in supporting technical assistance on improvement of laboratory capacity building and networking among the Regional Laboratory Network laboratories; facilitation of the Regional Quality Assurance (QA) and Proficiency Testing (PT) programme for Avian Influenza, NDV, FMD, CSF, PRRS, ASF and Rabies as well as the Regional Biosafety programme; improvement of overall laboratory capacities, quality, and biosafety management of countries in South-East Asia; and progress of activities relevant to the major goals of the ASEAN Regional Strategic

Framework for Laboratory Capacity Building and Networking in ASEAN Member States.

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The Veterinary Research Institute of the Department of Veterinary Services, Malaysia developed a strategic plan for 2015-2020 during a workshop organised by the OIE SRR-SEA’s IDENTIFY Project on 18-22 August 2014 in Ipoh. The plan identified key strategic areas for VRI namely: VRI is accredited with quality management system complying to international standards; research conducted by VRI are relevant to the current issues/diseases problems; VRI staff are competent on diagnostic methods; good cus-tomer service practice within VRI. VRI is recommended to review the draft plan and priori-tize strategies and actions. Working groups should be as-signed to prepare the operational plan for each strategy and start implementing them. Other recommendations include leadership development programs for key man-agement personnel; active participation of representa-tives from regional labs and develop a roadmap for ca-pacity building.

Lab Strategic Plan for VRI

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Australian-funded rabies project launched in the Philippines

Rabies diagnosis training for ASEAN members

The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA), the Australian Government and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) launched on 1 September 2014 in Legazpi City a rabies control project that aims to reduce and ultimately eliminate dog rabies cases in the Philippines. The Australian Government is providing around USD$1 million to the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA) under the regional initiative called Stop Transboundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses (STANDZ) Programme implemented by the OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia. The Philippines reported around 1.2 million animal bites from 2009 to 2012 and more than 200 human cases annually. Considering that rabies is 100% preventable, these are unwarranted losses of human lives. The support will allow the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry to implement a rabies control project for 2014-2016 that will vaccinate 300,000 dogs annually, raise public awareness on the importance of responsible pet ownership, and strengthen intersectoral collaboration among partner NGO and local government units in the Bicol region. Successful control of rabies in the pilot areas in Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Masbate Island is expected to contribute to the national eradication efforts of the Department of Agriculture and reinforce rabies elimination in the Bicol Region in partnership with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control who is currently working in Sorsogon. The Philippines has developed the National Rabies

Prevention and Control Program (NRPCP) which aims to fast-track rabies elimination in the whole country by 2016. This target requires enormous resources. Undersecretary for Agriculture Jose Reaño said a multi-sectoral effort is needed to combat rabies in the Philippines. Vaccination is just the start. To sustain the reduction in the number of cases, we need people’s involvement from the communities to the local, provincial and national levels of government. “For the national rabies strategy to work, it needs support from the communities in terms of monitoring and reporting of rabies cases. The provincial and local governments need to implement ways to combat rabies including creating ordinances that will compel people to have their dogs vaccinated,” he said. Australian Embassy Philippines Chargé d’Affaires Dr David Dutton said, “Australia is supporting this project to assist the Philippines in eventually eliminating the public health threat of rabies in the country by 2016. The success and lessons learned from this important project will serve as a model of rabies control for other ASEAN countries still grappling with the disease.”

The OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (OIE SRR SEA) in collaboration with the Veterinary Bureau (VB) of the Ministry of Agricul-ture of the People’s Republic of China, organised a regional rabies diagnosis workshop for ASEAN Member States (AMS) at the OIE Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) last 18-22 August 2014. Attended by representatives from the ten AMS, the workshop was opened by Dr Wanming Guo, Deputy Director General of VB. The Director of the Division of Science, Technology & International Cooperation, Dr Song Junxia, speaking on behalf of the VB, noted the importance attached to

rabies by the Chinese government and the initiatives being taken to address this major zoonoses.

The hands-on workshop, designed to place emphasis on rabies diagnostic tests as outlined in the OIE Inter-national Standards for rabies diag-nosis, covered theories and practical laboratory sessions on sample prepa-ration and processing for fluorescent antibody test (FAT) for rabies, cell culture and mouse inoculation test, RT-PCR and one step real time PCR for rabies diagnosis. The participants were also trained on rabies antibody detection using ELISA, fluorescent antibody viral neutrali-sation test (FAVN), and immuno-chromatographic testing. Sample collection using the straw method was also introduced in the workshop.

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Farmers recount their experiences with FMD outbreaks

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The SEACFMD Newsletter is published quarterly by the OIE Sub-Regional Representation for South-East Asia (SRR-SEA) for the SEACFMD Campaign. © All photographs are copyrighted to the OIE SRR-SEA.

SEACFMD LabNet/EpiNet meeting

6-8 October 2014 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Outbreak Investigation & Management Training

18-21 November 2014 (Siem Reap, Cambodia)

Meeting on the SEACFMD Roadmap

1 December 2014 (Bangkok, Thailand)

Meeting on the Socioeconomic Impacts of FMD

2 December 2014 (Bangkok, Thailand)

U Ahmar, 61, runs a small dairy farm with four cattle in Lat Pan village, Mandalay. He had seen FMD outbreaks al-most every year during the past ten years. The disease made his cattle produce less and less milk so that he had to sell them and buy new ones. FMD also infected U Aung Maung’s 4 draft cattle and 3 dairy cattle for eight days when an outbreak hit Tha Yet Khan vil-lage, Sagaing in June 2012. He had to hire replacement cattle and a tractor to prepare his land for planting. His dairy cattle produced less milk during this period. Although he did not want to sell them, he had no choice. “If the crop production was good last year, I won’t sell them. But last year was not a good year for farmers due to drought.” It was a hard decision. If he did not sell them, he would need to borrow money which he did not want to do. “I sold 4 draft cattle and got very low price for them. Normally, the price is 7 lakhs per cow but I got only 2 lakhs because of FMD. I have lost nearly 20 lakhs because of FMD,” U Aung Maung said. (1 lakh is around USD 100.) In another village of Sagaing, all 11 cattle owned by U Yin Aung were infected with FMD for three months. One cow he used for draft power died and fetched only 1 lakh when

he sold it to the slaughterhouse. He spent nearly 2 lakhs to treat the rest. During these three months, he had to hire other draft cattle to plow his land, and borrowed money from the bank and other lenders for 5 lakhs. These are some of the preliminary findings of a socioeco-nomic study of the impacts of FMD at the household level in Myanmar. Commissioned by the OIE SRR-SEA, the study was conducted with 294 cattle owners (28 per cent of them women) from 12 villages in Mandalay and Sagaing Regions. These regions had FMD outbreaks during the last two years. The study found that FMD occurs more frequently than oth-er diseases such as Anthrax, Blackleg or Hemorrhagic Scep-ticimia at two to three years interval in some areas and al-most every year in other villages. FMD, according to the study, caused damaged hooves, infertility, abortion and loss of milk production. In addition, owners of infected animals suffered losses due to postponement of agriculture work, cost of treatment and labour, reduced milk production and crop yield, and hiring of replacement cattle.

Upcoming Events

SRR-SEA wishes DLD DG Dr. Tritsadee a happy retirement

The OIE SRR-SEA staff led by Dr. Ronello Abila, OIE SRR-SEA Representative, paid a courtesy call to Dr. Tritsadee Cha-osuancharoen, Director-General of the Department of Live-stock Development (DLD) of Thailand’s Ministry of Agricul-ture and Cooperatives, on 29 September 2014. They wished him well in the next chapter of his career and thanked him for his support to the work of the OIE.

Dr. Tritsadee who is also Thailand’s Delegate to the OIE re-tired at the end of September after several years at the helm of DLD. Dr. Tritsadee has provided valuable support to the work of SRR. It was during his term that the OIE office in Thailand was transformed from a Regional Coordination Unit to a Sub-Regional Representation Office.