Poultry provide a valuable source of protein, through both meat and eggs for many communities in the Asia-Pacific region and diseases of poultry continue to have an impact from commercial production to backyard and subsistence farming. Avian influenza continues to cause severe loses in poultry and pose a zoonotic threat to human populations in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the region, annual regional workshops have been organised to review progress in prevention and control of various animal diseases and to define the way forward to further strengthen multi-sectoral and international coordination and collaboration. Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, hosts one of OIE Reference Laboratories for avian influenza and as such is at the forefront of scientific knowledge in the field. The OIE RRAP organised the Regional Expert Group Meeting for the Diseases of Poultry in Asia and the Pacific Region in collaboration with Hokkaido University in order to discuss on current and future issues on poultry diseases surveillance, outbreak management, national policies and their implementation to control poultry diseases in the region. This workshop brought together participants from regional Reference Laboratories, national laboratories, veterinary authories, international organisations and poultry experts in the region.
