The SEACFMD National Coordinators Meeting was held in Qingdao, China on 26-27 August 2015. A total of 48 participants (34 male, 14 female) attended including the SEACFMD National Coordinators from 11 Member Countries, donors, partners and observers.
The Meeting objectives were to: review progress of the SEACFMD Sub Commission Manila Meeting in March 2015; finalise the 2020 SEACFMD Roadmap and agree on how best it should be managed; draft a Regional Implementation Plan; consider Progressive Control Pathway (PCP) self evaluations; recommend on FMD vaccine strains for the OIE Vaccine Bank; discuss vaccine and post vaccination monitoring strategies; and review the findings and recommendations of the Animal Management Movement Meeting held on the 24th August. Given the range and complexities of many of these issues, facilitated Workshops were utilized to aid discussion and analysis.
In his opening remarks, Dr Gardner Murray, President of OIE Sub-Commission for FMD Control in South-East Asia and China, emphasised the importance of this Meeting in assessing progress that had been made since the Sub-Commission Meeting in March 2015 and working on strategies for the future, including finalisation of the SEACFMD 2020 Roadmap. Dr Wang Gongmin, Deputy Director General, Veterinary Bureau, Peoples Republic of China, in welcoming participants to the Meeting, highlighted the strong performance of SEACFMD over past years and expressed his expectation that SEACFMD cooperation and success would continue.
It was agreed that significant and substantial progress had been and was being made in implementing the recommendations of previous Sub Commission Meetings. To provide context, presentations were made on the global, regional and national FMD situation. A major point of discussion was the change in FMD trends in the region with a decreased incidence of FMDV type A outbreaks and an increased incidence and spread of FMD type O/SEA/Mya-98. Countries were requested to submit more samples to the Regional Reference Laboratory in Thailand for characterisation. Increased efforts to improve vaccine matching were encouraged.
Refinements to the SEACFMD 2020 Roadmap were agreed including the inclusion of country Annexes that will describe indicative national targets for FMD control. It was anticipated that the Roadmap would be published in October 2015 and will provide strategic direction for Phase 5 (2016-2010) of the SEACFMD Program. The Roadmap will be supported by a number of operational documents that will be reviewed on an annual basis so that Program directions can be modified if this is deemed necessary.
A mapping and resources database developed by the OIE Sub Regional Representation South East Asia (SRR SEA) to support FMD control and capacity building in the Region was described. This will require regular updating and will assist in determining resource allocations and needs. Based on discussions as well as presentations on National Implementation Plans, a framework Regional Implementation Plan describing key targets and. indicators was drafted. The Plan will be tabled for endorsement at the SEACFMD Sub Commission Meeting in Thailand, March 2016.
Given the critical importance of vaccination, a facilitated workshop was held to consider vaccination strategies and post-vaccination monitoring. FMD vaccine strains considered important to the Region for possible inclusion in the OIE FMD Vaccine Bank were discussed. Recommended strains were: O1 Manisa, O Cathay, O PanAsia-2, A 22 Iraq, A Malaysia 97, A Iran 05 and Asia 1 Shamir. It was suggested that FMD vaccine producers be asked to recommend for consideration additional virus strains given their knowledge of FMD in the Region.
The Meeting supported the Recommendations of the Animal Management Meeting held on the 24th August; and concluded with a field trip to the China Animal Health and Epidemiology Centre where participants visited the Facility and heard a range of presentations on research and related Centre activities.
