New Year Message 2005 from AVIS College
A Tragic Year
The year 2004 started with the outbreak of the highly virulent avian influenza H5N1 strain in East Asia. This disease has been the dominant feature in the international animal health arena throughout the year. According to the official OIE reports, the number of outbreaks reported from each of the affected countries until 24 December 2004 was as follows:
|
Country |
Number of Outbreaks |
|
Cambodia |
13 |
|
China (People's Rep. of) |
50 |
|
Hong Kong (SARPRC) |
3 |
|
Indonesia |
169 |
|
Japan |
5 |
|
Korea (Rep. of) |
19 |
|
Laos |
1 |
|
Malaysia |
10 |
|
Thailand |
1033 |
|
Vietnam |
1756 |
Furthermore, Vietnam and Thailand have experienced human cases: 44 confirmed cases with 32 deaths reported to the WHO up to October 2004.
FAO has regularly posted a detailed account of the incidence and distribution of avian influenza and the methods being applied for surveillance and control as well as the socio-economic impact of the disease in the affected countries of eastern Asia.
Elsewhere isolated outbreaks of different strains of avian influenza have been recorded in the USA, Canada and South Africa.
Ironically, the year has ended with an even greater tragedy affecting the same region - the tsunami, ocean quake that has devastated Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives and Somalia.
We extend our deepest sympathy to the victims of both tragedies.
A Year of Innovation
For the AVIS College, 2004 has been a year of substantial change to the AVIS system that started in 1994 with the support of the OIE, FAO, IAH and TELOS Ltd. A completely new template has been designed, with much greater emphasis on the needs to the decision-maker and operational manager. All this has been done without prejudice to the existing strength of AVIS in technical aspects of disease detection and control.
In consequence, we have seen the development and production of three new major programs, namely AVIS-FMD2004, AVIS-CBPP 2004 and Rabia en las Américas, the Spanish version of the Rabies Program for Central and South America. Fiebre aftosa, the Spanish language version of FMD is also now due for publication in early 2005.
A new feature which we are currently trialling is a "dash board" of information and data which sits as a management and analytical tool within AVIS programs. Initial responses are very encouraging.
A major milestone was the successful collaboration with colleagues in Tanzania to develop a special edition of CBPP for Tanzania, integrating key documents and publications seamlessly into the AVIS template. We anticipate - and very much welcome - further such collaborations in 2005 as we start to examine ways AVIS can assist in the process of strengthening capacity in national and local veterinary services.
In addition, the whole suite and structure of AVIS programs has been radically changed to reflect the modern concept of "high impact diseases" and a risk- and welfare driven approach to animal management.
Click to view demonstration loops AVIS FMD 2004 and AVIS CBPP 2004
AVIS College Chairman and Technical Director, respectively Julian Hilton and Mark Rweyemamu, have participated in two international conferences and presented papers on the new paradigm of Knowledge Management and Interoperability of Systems in Animal Health.
The College continues its program of consolidating strategic alliances with centres of excellence in the field of animal health and food safety. If your establishment is not already in our network we would greatly welcome to collaborate with you in our goal of knowledge management in animal health and food safety.
We wish all our partners, collaborating institutions and individuals, all those who have helped us in the AVIS project as well as all our esteemed readers
A Happy and Prosperous 2005
Julian Hilton |
Malika Moussaid |
Apostolos Rantsios |
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William A. Geering |
Mark M. Rweyemamu |
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