Report on FMD in Africa

Outline

• Introduction

• Epidemiological situation in Africa

• Undertaken and ongoing activities

• Upcoming activities

• Way forward

• Conclusion

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Introduction• Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is the most contagious

transboundary animal disease (TAD) affecting cloven hoofed animals.

• On the global scale FMD causes enormous damage and hampers developments (USD 5 billion per year; Rushton, 2012: “A food system problem”) and of public interest.

• Significant economic losses are produced by its high morbidity and the export trade restrictions imposed on affected countries.

• There are seven recognised serotypes of FMD (O, A, C, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3) that differ in distribution across the world. Serotypes A and O have the widest distribution, occurring in Africa, Asia and South America.

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Introduction (2)• Types SAT 1, 2 and 3 are currently restricted to Africa only and

Asia 1 to Asia; the capacity to invade free areas is common to all types and periodically SATs are introduced into the Near East, and Asia-1 into western and eastern parts of Eurasia.

• The world is a global village; risks for FMD-free countries will only increase

• Fighting the disease at source should be part of the prevention strategy of FMD-free countries – based both on solidarity and well-understood own interest

• Infection or vaccination against one serotype does not provide protection against the other serotypes.

• The role of wildlife in the epidemiology of the disease makes the control of the disease very difficult

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Consequences

Introduction (3)

•FMD-endemic countries should be better aware of the damage caused by FMD and the opportunities lost –more socio-economic studies needed

•FMD control is not an utopia: we can do much better with existing means and methods

•History (Europe, South America, SE Asia) has shown that regional approaches will be successful •Regional approaches should include possibilities to combine several disease control efforts and take into account regional difficulties (for instance wildlife issue in eastern and southern Africa)

Consequences

Farm level

• Dramatic milk yield drops

• Draught animals incapacitated over a long period/permanently

• High mortality, especially of new born and young animals

National/Regional level

Loss of livelihoods all along livestock chains

Shortages of meat and increased exposure to food insecurity

Closing of access to Regional and/or international markets

Mobilization of vast resources for multiple vaccinations and contingency plans.

Epidemiology of FMD• In 2011, FMD has been reported in all the regions in Africa

and still being reported in 2012 (among priority listed diseases)

• The epidemiology of FMD is poorly understood ......

• Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is endemic in most parts of Africa causing massive but in apparent socio-economic costs in Africa (mastitis, productivity losses, trade restrictions etc.)

• FMD serotypes O, A, SAT1, SAT2, endemic in eastern Africa

• The epidemiology of FMD is poorly understood in Africa due to:

– Limited capacities to collect and fully analyse samples

– Studies in wildlife not well-established

– Under-reporting8

Epidemiological situation in Africa• FMD status in 2012

• Serious epidemic has been threatening livestock population in North Africa since beginning of 2012 (SAT 2 and type O)

• 205/215 of Egypt's districts have been affected by the disease

• Endemic in most of the affected countries

• Source AU-IBAR Pan African Animal Health Yearbook, 2010

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Risk of spread........

SADC region (Southern Africa)• Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland

maintain certain free zones without vaccination

• Seychelles may be reported free from FMD by May 2012 based on the PCP pathway and needs assistance in dossier preparation

• Other countries are either FMD endemic or has pockets of infection: Angola, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

• Freedom status without vaccination has been maintained in Mauritius and Madagascar

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Eastern Africa region (2012)• The disease was reported in Burundi, DRC,

Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda (confirmed)

• Somalia (unreported and undiagnosed outbreaks), risk assessments ongoing

• No reports from Djibouti

• Samples from Eritrea sent to the WRL for confirmatory diagnosis. Many unreported outbreaks

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Central and west Africa

• FMD is endemic in the West and Central Africa. Over the years serotypes O, A, SAT1 and SAT 2 have been detection in various outbreaks in different countries

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North Africa• Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (20 May

2011), filed an article to have official recognition as being on the official FMD PCP and approved in 2012– Morocco without vaccination– Algeria / Tunisia with vaccination

• Egypt and Libya infected

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Epidemiological situation inAfrica in 2010

Source AU-IBAR data management

Year Number of countries reported

Numbers of outbreaks

Numbers of cases

Numbers of deaths

2010 24 454 276,628 3,335

Activities undertaken• FAO/OIE Sub-Regional Seminar on the progress towards FMD Control and OIE

recognised status of SADC Member States (16th to 18th March 2011, Gaberone Botswana)

• SADC secretariat is assisting the countries in the region to harmoniseregional approach to the FMD-PCP complemented by the SADC TADs project to achieve regional integration

• EuFMD regional network workshop and FMD-PCP Road map (March 2012,Nairobi, Kenya) that also strengthens diagnosis

• EuFMD organised a training course on laboratory diagnosis of FMD in Cairo attended by staff from Egypt, Libya, the Gaza strip and the West Bank

• The WCA FMD sub-network contacts focal persons regularly and collates reports on FMD into quarterly and annual reports for the coordination centre / RESOLAB website and also EU/FMD

• The RESOLAB FMD sub-network advocates for the training of field officers on appropriate sampling and diagnosis of FMD

• CMC-AH mission to Libya

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Ongoing activities• Improvement of Veterinary Services through the Vet

Governance project will support the FMD PCP as they go hand in hand

• Information sharing through regional laboratory and epidemiology networks in the four regions in collaboration with EuFMD/FAO

• Training in the form of Real-Time training courses (EuFMD/FAO)

• Scattered research projects in individual countries including wildlife surveillances....

• Individual country efforts progress in PCP (Identification of risks and developing strategic FMD control plans).

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Upcoming activities• FAO/OIE/AU-IBAR as partners in the management of the

disease should assist in the coordination and provision of technical support to the MS on the FMD PCP process

• Finalization of the developed FMD control strategies at National level

• Formulation of regional projects and resource mobilisation

• Continued support to capacity building for surveillance, diagnosis, communication and containment in African Countries

• Harmonization of Standards, Methods and Procedures for surveillance and laboratory diagnosis in the various RECs through the support of Regional Support laboratories

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Way forward

• There is need to reach a better understanding of the epidemiology of FMD in Africa and matching vaccine viruses with those currently circulating and constantly evolving in different buffalo populations that present major difficulties.

• It is proposed that a regional approach be adopted to achieve progress on these issues e.g. – SADC has mandated various countries to develop road maps

depending on their PCP stage.

– Application in North Africa on the current outbreaks of SAT 1 and O

• SADC MS must prepare the appropriate documentary evidence as required by the FMD PCP in support of their current stage

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Benefits of Regional Approach

• Facilitates long-term planning• Strategic management of events• Risk-based method of selecting vaccines• Earlier identification of threats, facilitates

preparedness and response

Regional approach: clear evidence of effectiveness

The Global Strategy

Expected to produce three results:

• FMD is controlled in most countries and eliminated in some of them

• Veterinary services and their infrastructures are improved

• Prevention and control of other major diseases of livestock are improved

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Conclusion

• Relentless Global support, regional approach andharmonized efforts will go a long way in helpingrealise PCP roadmap goals

• Majority of countries will be wholly or zonallybeyond stage 1 by 2016 and at least in stage3 by2022

• If all efforts envisaged in the regional andindividual national plans are fully implemented,vision 2022 might be a reality

Thank you

Merci

Asante