Regional Workshop for Avian Disease Prevention and Control

Regional Workshop for Avian Disease Prevention and Control in Asia and the Pacific

Background

Poultry provides a valuable source of protein for many communities in the Asia-Pacific region. Diseases in poultry continue to impact commercial and small-scale poultry production negatively.

Avian influenza continues to cause severe losses in domestic poultry and wildlife and poses a zoonotic threat to human populations in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Many countries have experienced highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtypes such as H5N1, H5N2, H5N6, H5N8, and H7N9 outbreaks. The risk extends beyond animal populations, evident from human infections with zoonotic influenza, especially avian influenza virus subtypes H5N1 and H7N9 in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. These outbreaks greatly impacted animal and public health, trade, and economy in affected countries.

At the 90^th General Session of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), a dedicated Animal Health Forum was organised for the first time within the framework of the General Session. At the Forum, experts and country representatives discussed the challenges in coordinating an animal health response to avian influenza and how to minimise impacts through preventive and control alternatives. The Forum provided a unique platform for participants to reach a consensus on strategically tackling avian influenza and limiting its adverse effects on society.

In the Asia-Pacific region, annual regional workshops have been organised to review progress in preventing and controlling various animal diseases and define how to strengthen multi-sectoral and international coordination and collaboration. Experts working on avian diseases in Asia-Pacific have recommended that more opportunities are required to collaborate and share surveillance data and details on viral information.

In the last regional workshop in Geelong, Australia, on October 31 – November 2, 2022, participants discussed continuing disease surveillance and monitoring activities in domestic and wild birds, improving information sharing and diagnostic capacity, and strengthening regional collaborations. Experts recommended that the regional expert network on Avian diseases meet physically in the fall of 2023 back-to-back with a workshop on avian diseases for WOAH members in Asia-Pacific.

With these recommendations, the WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific (RRAP) proposed to organise a regional workshop for avian disease prevention and control in Asia and the Pacific on August 29 – 31, 2023, with a time slot dedicated to an avian disease expert network meeting.

The meeting provides an opportunity for all the regional reference laboratories on avian diseases and WOAH Members to meet in person and share scientific data and research on avian influenza and other avian diseases present in the region.

Objectives

to provide updates on recent outbreaks, surveillance data, and the impact of avian diseases over the past year
to provide an update on OFFLU (global network of expertise on animal influenza) and other activities, following the recommendations from the previous meetings
to update on diagnostic techniques and sampling for avian influenza in both domestic and wild birds
to discuss effective prevention and control of avian influenza and other avian diseases in the region