1. FAO Partnerships on health risk and
control of influenza and emerging
zoonoses
Yilma Jobre Makonnen
SAAHRI Meeting, April 3, 2013
Cairo, Egypt

2. Presentation Outline
 FAO - Animal Health Service
 FAO’s Partners and collaborations
 Emphasis on OFFLU
 An overview on ‘One Health’
 The situation in Egypt
 Current and planned work

3. FAO - Animal Health Service
Functional Units
EMPRES-Animal Health
ECTAD – AGA and TCE
CMC-AH – AGA and TCE
Regional support units
VPH Group – zoonotic diseases, food-borne,
endemic disease burdens (‘neglected
zoonoses”)
Parasite/Vector Group (endemic disease burdens;
production diseases)

4. FAO’s Partners and collaborations
 GOs (MoALR, MoHP,….)
 NGOs
 UN Agencies (WHO, UNICEF, UNSIC, …)
 Other International Organizations (NAMRU-3,
CDC, … )
 Donors

5. FAO-WHO-OIE Collaboration
GF-TADs – FAO/OIE
GLEWS – FAO/OIE/WHO
OIE’s WAHIS and WAHID Contributes
INFOSAN (WHO-FAO) National and regional food safety
issues
OFFLU – OIE-FAO Expertise in Animal Influenza
OIE Thematic Working Group –Animal Production and Food
Safety (FAO-WHO participate)
FAO Biological Safety Risks (WHO contributes)
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) – Joint FAO-WHO
Food standards Program (OIE Contributes)

6. The Global Framework for Progressive Control of
Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs)
 GF-TADs is a joint FAO/OIE
initiative
 Combines the strengths of
both organizations to achieve
agreed common objectives.
 It’s a facilitation mechanism
that will endeavour to:
 empower regional alliances in
the fight against TADs
 provide for capacity building
 assist in establishing
programmes for the specific
control of certain TADs based
on regional priorities
 Major contribution to the global
eradication of Rinderpest

7. Cont…
 With EUFMD
Secretariat at FAO
HQs, FAO and OIE
promote PCP for
FMD control

8. OIE official data
FAO animal Health information
Unofficial information - Rumors
8

9. The Global Early Warning
System (GLEWS)
It is a joint system that builds
on the added value of combining
and coordinating the alert and
disease intelligence mechanisms
of OIE, FAO and WHO for the
international community and
stakeholders to assist in
prediction, prevention and
control of animal disease
threats, including zoonoses,
through sharing of information,
epidemiological analysis and
joint risk assessment

10. OFFLU
 It’s an OIE-FAO global network of
expertise on animal influenza
 Aims to reduce the negative
impacts of animal influenza viruses
by promoting effective
collaboration between animal and
public health sectors
 Implemented the vaccine efficacy
project with NLQP and other
Partners
 Currently partnering in the DOC
vaccination study

11. OFFLU Objectives
• Offer technical advice and veterinary expertise to
Member Countries
• Exchange scientific data and biological materials
between vet labs
• Highlight, promote development and ensure
coordination of avian influenza research needs
• Collaborate with the WHO influenza network

12. OFFLU Technical Expertise
 Ten OIE/FAO Reference Laboratories (and CC) for
Avian/animal influenza and Newcastle
 Open network; expertise from diagnostic laboratories,
research and academic institutes (virology, epidemiology,
vaccinology, and molecular biology)
 Two OFFLU focal points (FAO and OIE)
 OFFLU dedicated scientists
 OFFLU geographical focal points (regional)
 Expert groups for technical activities
 Technical meetings with OFFLU contributors, mailing

13. OFFLU network animal influenza
laboratories
OFFLU laboratories include OIE Reference Laboratories for avian
influenza and for equine influenza, FAO Reference Centres for avian
influenza, and OFFLU regional laboratory contacts for swine
influenza and avian influenza

14. OFFLU technical activities
1. Biosafety and biosecurity*
2. Applied epidemiology*
3. Diagnostic kits
4. H5 standard sera
5. RNA standards*
6. Vaccines/Vaccination
7. Proficiency testing*
8. Capacity building
9. Swine influenza group*
* activities which involve WHO
10. Gene observatory*

15. 7. Proficiency testing (PT)
 Guidance on harmonisation of approaches
to PT for AI diagnosis
 A questionnaire sent to organizers of proficiency tests
to see how OFFLU labs organize them and how to
standardise
 Review of PT results in various regions
(Africa, Europe, SE Asia, the US) to provide
a global picture of vet labs
 First PT for OIE/FAO Ref labs/centres
(organized by NVSL and FLI) in 2011

16. 8. Capacity Building
To harmonize training and improve training efficacy
 Development of an OFFLU training
facility on the OFFLU website (links,
videos, e-learning influenza module)
 Tools for candidate selection
 Follow-up of training
 OFFLU directory of trainings and
trainees

17. 9. OFFLU swine influenza
group
 Created in 2010
 Group includes leading animal health and public
health researchers
• To address targeted influenza surveillance in pigs,
harmonize approaches, advocate for increased
targeted surveillance in pigs, and provide a platform for
data exchange

18. 10. Gene Observatory ‘One Flu’
 great role to be played by the animal health
sector at the human-animal interface
 based on strengthened linkage between
epidemiology geo/temporal and molecular
data
 support risk assessment for animal/human
influenza threats

19. The genetic module of the FAO
Empres-i database

20. Automatic transfer of data
Sequence ID number
Virus information Virus information
EMPRES-i OpenFluDB

21. OFFLU technical projects
• 2 projects on selection of avian influenza
vaccines types/strains: Indonesia and Egypt
(implemented by FAO)
• 1 project on validation of LAMP testing
(implemented by FLI)
• Evaluation of a pseudotype-based neutralization
assay (30% FAO funded, implemented by IZSVe)

22. Sharing of information and
material
 OIE Resolution (May 2008) ‘Sharing of AI viral
material and information in support of global AI
prevention and control’
 Ongoing collaborative projects and exchanges
 Encourage the use of several publicly available
databases that meet OFFLU’s needs
 Supporting shipment of materials
(empres-shipping-service@fao.org)
 MTA available on OFFLU website

23. OFFLU and sequence
databases
 OFFLU advocates the use of publicly
available sequence databases
 A list is of databases is available on
the website
 Scientists should choose the one that
best suits their needs

24. Collaboration with WHO:
animal-human interface
 Sharing of important surveillance data and
technical information (GLEWS platform)
 Joint OFFLU-WHO
meetings/conferences/projects
 OFFLU involvement in WHO meetings and
vice-versa
 Joint decisions (eg virus nomenclature)

25. OFFLU/WHO Technical collaboration
 WHO influenza Vaccine Composition Meeting
 Formalization (since January 2010) of OFFLU contribution
 Develop a mechanism; coordination with OFFLU contributors
 3 OFFLU labs: AAHL, IZSVe, VLA for Hi testing with ferret
antisera
 FAO : technical platform for collection and review of epi and
virus information
 Examine implications of WHO frameworks for animal
health labs, eg PIP framework
 OFFLU experts participate in WHO working groups
and WHO experts to OFFLU Technical Activities
 Contribution to the WHO Influenza Research Agenda

26. One Health
Human
Animal
Health
Health The ‘One Health’ approach can be best defined
as a collaborative, international, cross-sectoral,
multidisciplinary mechanism to address threats
and reduce risks of detrimental infectious
Ecosystem diseases at the animal-human-ecosystem
Health interface.
Disease emergence can no longer be seen in isolation but must now be viewed
alongside a continuum of climatic changes, natural resource management, agricultural
intensification, land utilization patterns, trade globalization, and shifting farming, food
distribution and marketing systems.

28. Multidisciplinarity of One Health
Animal Health
and Food Safety
Policies and
Fisheries Legislation
Domestic
Wildlife
Animal Agro-Ecosystems
Production and and Land Use
Feed Safety
Socio-Economics
Policies and
Legislation
Marketing and Trade

29. WHO
public health
FAO/WHO
Codex food waste
scavengers -
food safety birds
food rodents
chain food carnivores
cycle bats
health insects
OIE eco-health
farming
IUCN, MEA, UNEP
animal health
farming natural
landscape landscape
IPM
AGAH
IPPC
IFA – EMPRES/
FCC MF

30. One
Health
Economic and Social Animal Health Forestry
Development and Food Safety
Policies and
Fisheries Legislation
Legal Service
Fisheries Domestic
and Aquaculture Wildlife
Animal Agro-Ecosystems
Production and and Land Use
Technical
Feed Safety Cooperation
Socio-Economics
Policies and
Legislation
Marketing and Trade
Natural Resources Mgmt
Communications and Environment
Agriculture and Consumer
Protection

31. Setting the scene - Egypt
•High poultry population and density
•A/H5N1 reportedly introduced in 2006, currently widespread and
endemic
•Weak biosecurity
•Huge mistrust between the public and private sector – weak PPP
•Disease prevalence high and sporadic human infections
•Heavy reliance on AI vaccination without any monitoring (currently 41
vaccines on market)
•Various measures put in place proved ineffective
• need to reinvigorate the entire animal health system and create an
enabling environment for disease control

32. Revised Strategy
 Joint United
Nations
Assessment of Animal Health and Livelihood
Sustainability Strategy
Government of Revised 2010
Egypt H5N1
Control Efforts
6-16 December
2009

33. Animal Health and Livelihood Sustainability
Strategy (Revised 2010)
• Paradigm shift in thinking: From emergency to longer-term risk
reduction
• Phased approach of critical measures along the poultry value and
market chain
• Control
• Consolidation
• Elimination/eradication
• Challenges in implementation
• Strategy is still valid and serves as reference for HPAI endemic
countries

34. Current and planned work
• Sustaining essential animal health activities (Epidemiology,
Biosecurity and coordination) – awaiting the enabling
conditions for full-scale implementation of the revised
strategy
• Rationalizing the AI vaccination strategy in Egypt
• Advocate for close collaboration with the private sector
• Promote and value effective vaccine/vaccination and
monitoring - with an exit strategy
• Assess the potential use of DOC vaccine using HVT AI
Vectored vaccine for the control of A/H5N1 HPAI in Egypt
• Promoting public-private partnerships (PPP) and 4-way
linking between the animal and public health sectors
• Strengthen institutional capacity and harmonization of
response actions