The ninth Meeting of the Upper Mekong Working Group on Zoning for FMD and Animal Movement Management
(Hanoi, Vietnam, 20-22 January 2010)
Background:
The Upper Mekong Working Group was formed as an outcome of the Second Workshop on Animal Movement Management in the Mekong Basin. Its membership is Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunan Province of PR China. The role of the working group is to develop a detailed project proposal for the establishment of a FMD control zone in the Upper Mekong Basin and determine its feasibility. When completed this would be used as the basis for negotiation for commitment and support by member countries and other agencies.
Progress:
The Ninth Meeting of the Working Group on Zoning for FMD and Animal Movement Management in the Upper Mekong Region was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on 20 -22 January 2010.
The main objective of the meeting was to report the progress in establishing FMD control zones in the Upper Mekong as well as to further the Upper Mekong Working group to become a Commission.
The Meeting discussed critical issues including the recommendations for the 8th UMWG Meeting that have not been implemented successfully. Since 2005, the Upper Mekong Zone has not been successful in achieving its target and has even recorded outbreaks in areas not previously affected like the outbreak in the Northern part of Lao and the emergence of type A in the Northern part of Vietnam. How to contain these outbreaks is the biggest challenge for the Upper Mekong (UM) Zone in addition to the apparent change in animal movement patterns since the establishment of the UM Zone. This scenario warrants the implementation of intervention measures in the critical points to effectively control FMD.
The member countries reported on the status of FMD, activities being undertaken to control the disease and the additional support that they need to strengthen their FMD control program. All countries identified animal movement as the main cause of the outbreaks for 2009.
Several organizations/projects presented their on-going activities relevant to the setting up of Upper Mekong FMD zone.
Among the major outcomes of the meeting was the drafting of the country action plans for 2010 which will focus on in-country meetings. These in-country meetings will involve national and provincial level staff discussing ways to progress zonal activities in their respective countries.
One of the main recommendations for the meeting is that the progressive zoning approach remains valid for the UM Zone but the boundaries will need to be reviewed in the light of disease prevalence and animal movement patterns.
The Ninth Meeting of the Upper Mekong Working Group recommends:
STRATEGIC
- NOTE the clear and excellent presentations by countries on the current status of their work in the UM zones.
- NOTE the presentations from ACIAR, Sydney University and CIRAD.
- NOTE the in-country activities for 2010.
- AGREE that the progressive zoning approach remains valid for the UM Zone but that the boundaries be reviewed in the light of disease prevalence and animal movement patterns.
- AGREE to review the SEAFMD progressive zoning approach in line with the on-going review of the SEAFMD 2020 roadmap, for endorsement in the next Sub-Commission meeting.
- AGREE to review existing field activities of the Upper Mekong Zone (UMZ), and request SEAFMD RCU to support in-country workshops involving key staff from provinces in the UMZ to discuss in more details how to progress zonal activities.
- AGREE to continue to explore the signing of an MoU to provide increased member commitment for the Program.
- NOTE that a revised UMZ Strategic Plan, incorporating the suggestions from this meeting, will be submitted to the next Sub-Commission for endorsement.
- AGREE to provide final comments on a draft SEAFMD Vaccination Strategy that will be presented for endorsement at the March Sub-Commission meeting.
- NOTE the previous indications from PR China to join the OIE Sub-Commission fro FMD Control in SE Asia and this will enhance its existing participation in the Upper Mekong zoning.
- NOTE that a socio-economic study is being undertaken to assess the impact of the SEAFMD campaign in the sub-region, including the UMZ.
OPERATIONAL and TECHNICAL
- AGREE to exert more effort to report immediately FMD outbreaks using the WAHIS Regional Core for ASEAN (ARAHIS) to enhance sharing of information and early warning.
- AGREE to improve submission of good quality samples to the National FMD laboratory and OIE FMD Reference in Pakchong, Thailand.
- NOTE the significant changes in the FMD status of the UMZ in 2009, with the appearance of serotype A in northern Vietnam.
- AGREE that surveillance and reporting need to be enhanced, and EXPLORE possibility of conducting participatory approach in gathering data from provincial/district offices, farmers and other stakeholders to get a better information of FMD prevalence. NOTE that there is an ongoing research on capture-recapture and examine its applicability for evaluation of FMD surveillance in the Region.
- EXPLORE the possibility of implementing vaccination of animals at the markets and holding yards before they are shipped for export, to ensure enough protective immunity in case challenged by FMD viruses along the movement pathway.
- NOTE observations of the latest movement patterns, including reduction of movement from Myanmar to Thailand, but an increasing movement from Thailand to Lao PDR and Vietnam.
- AGREE that SEAFMD RCU will continue to monitor animal movement patterns and coordinate with other partners/projects in examining measures to reduce risks of FMD along the pathway.
NEXT STEPS
- AGREE that the recommendations of the 9th Meeting of the UMWG be taken to the 16th Sub-Commission Meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR in March 2010 for endorsement.
- NOTE that next meeting of the UMWG and other zoning WG will be subject to discussion at the next Sub-Commission Meeting in March this year.
- NOTE the offer of Thailand to conduct a free training course on the use of NID system to member countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- THANKS OIE Asia-Pacific (Japan Trust Fund) and SEAFMD RCU (AusAID) for their generous support for this meeting.
- CONGRATULATES the officials and staff of the Department of Animal Health, Vietnam for their hospitality and excellent organization of this meeting.