Veterinary Public Health E-Bulletin

Veterinary Public Health (VPH) is defined as “The contributions to the physical, mental and social well-being of humans through an understanding and application of veterinary science” [WHO/FAO/OIE definition 1999]. Human health, animal husbandry and animal health are closely connected and VPH is a fundamental part of public health whereby human health and well-being are the main objectives. VPH is multidisciplinary and contributes to many areas of public health that are not always related to animals. In order to integrate veterinary public health into the goals of public health, it is essential to improve collaboration between human and veterinary medical science, environmental science and other related fields - in accordance with ‘one health’ principles.   NEWS LATEST OUTBREAKS – VPH AFRICA (Egypt): Avian Influenza virus infection in humans April 21, 2011. On 16 April 2011, the Ministry of Health of Egypt notified WHO of two new cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus [...] ASIA (Bangladesh): Avian Influenza (HPAI) April 19, 2011. A total of 6, 000 poultry birds were culled and 29, 000 eggs destroyed following outbreak of bird flu at a hatchery at Kashada village under Shivalaya upazila last week [...] ASIA (Cambodia): Avian Influenza virus infection in humans April 21, 2011. The Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia has announced a confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus [...] ASIA (Indonesia): Avian Influenza (HPAI) April 26, 2011. Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia has reported 18 new outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI, all of them in the Gorontalo region during the month of April, 2011 [...] ASIA (Mongolia): Avian Influenza (HPAI) April 21, 2011. One new outbreak of H5 HPAI has been reported from Sukhbaatar region among wild species of Whooper swans [...] ASIA (Vietnam): Avian Influenza (HPAI) April 26, 2011. Vietnam reports new outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI in villages in the Vinh Long and Quang Tri regions [...] [...] AUSTRALIA (New South Wales) Leptospirosis April 21, 2011. Four cases of leptospirosis have been confirmed in the Murrumbidgee Local Health Network [...] To view reported cases of animal diseases visit the EMPRES-i website. EMPRES-i is a global animal health information system of the FAO's EMPRES programme that focuses on the user need to easily find and collect in one place all the information available for animal health and transboundary animal diseases. EMPRES-i compiles, stores and verifies animal diseases outbreaks data (including zoonoses) from numerous sources (e.g. FAO representatives, FAO reports, OIE reports, official government, European Commission, FAO reference centres and laboratories) for early warning and risk analysis. LATEST NEWS – FOOD SAFETY USDA Announces Availability of Compliance Guide to Help Reduce Foodborne Illness April 25, 2011.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture´s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is providing a set of draft guidelines to help small and very small meat and poultry manufacturers reduce harmful bacteria in ready-to-eat foods [...] How to manage media over meat contamination Prompt public communication, acknowledgement of real and perceived risks, and control of stigma are key to effective management of food safety crisis, says a team of experts investigating lessons from two dioxin crises [...] OTHER NEWS World Veterinary Day - 30 April 2011 World Veterinary Day was instigated by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000 to be celebrated annually on the last Saturday of April [...] Stamping out H5N1 avian influenza could take decades Eliminating the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus from poultry in the six countries where it remains endemic will take ten or more years, according to a new FAO report [...] Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by veterinarians in Australia Research has proved that carriage of MRSA is a notable occupational health issue for veterinarians in clinical practice in Australia, particularly those who work with horses [...] Interactive database of emerging animal diseases goes live The database - established with the assistance and input of expert groups – contains 12 disease fact sheets made available for public consultation and comments [...] Study suggests avian flu risk low in falconers The risk of contracting avian influenza is low in falconry, according to a field study that involved a group of German falconers, their falcons, and the birds' avian prey [...] ONE HEALTH NEWS One health: the small companion animal dimension. Veterinary Record 167, 847-849 [...] One Health News [...] One Health Newsletter [...] ANNOUNCEMENTS IDF World Dairy Summit 2011 – Call for Abstracts IDF World Dairy Summit would be held at Parma, Italy from October 15 – 19, 2011. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is April 30, 2011 [...] Colloquium on Zoonoses and Neglected Infectious Diseases of Africa - First Announcement This colloquium organised jointly by the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM, Belgium) and the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases of the University of Pretoria (DVTD, South-Africa) will be held from 1 to 4 November 2011 at Johannesburg, South Africa. The deadline for abstract submission is 15 May 2011 [...] Towards Global Health Equity: Opportunities and Threats 2012 - Call for Abstracts The 13th Triennial World Congress on Public Health would be held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 21-29, 2012. Abstract Submission Deadline is Friday, October 21, 2011, Midnight Pacific [...] IV International Giardia and Cryptosporidium Conference 2012 Organisers have announced the IV International Giardia and Cryptosporidium conference that would be held at Wellington, New Zealand from 30th January to 3rd February 2012 [...] 15th International Congress on Infectious Diseases 2012 Bangkok has been selected by the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) as the venue for the 15th International Congress on Infectious Diseases in June 13-16, 2012. The deadline for the submission of abstracts would be February 12, 2012 [...] AGA e-newsletter To receive regular updates by email on all issues relating FAO's work on animal production and health, subscribe to the AGA e-newsletter. It contains information on upcoming events, publications, programme activities, articles and press releases [Click here to subscribe]   EVENTS 1. May 17-20, 2011. International Conference on Animal Health Surveillance at Lyon, France [...] 2. June 12 – 15, 2011. International Symposium on Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases at Barcelona, Spain [...] 3. June 13 – 17, 2011. Role, Impact and Welfare of working animals at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy [...] 4. June 20 – 22, 2011. Safe Pork Conference 2011 at Maastricht, The Netherlands [...] 5. July 8-10, 2011. ISID-Neglected Tropical Diseases meeting 2011 at Boston [...] 6. July 10-13, 2011. 4th Biennial Australian Animal Studies Group Conference 2011 – “Animals, People – a Shared Environment” at Brisbane, Qld Australia [...] 7. July 26-29, 2011. 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Animal Agriculture for Developing Countries at Nachonratchasima, Thailand [...] 8. August 21- 25, 2011. 23rd. International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology would be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina [...] 9. August 31-September 1, 2011 International Symposium on EID and Zoonoses at Shanghai [...] 10. September 7-9, 2011. Global Conference on Rabies Control: Towards Sustainable Prevention at the Source at Seoul [...] 11. September 7-9, 2011. 1st International Congress on Pathogens at the Human-Animal Interface (ICOPHAI): Impact, Limitations, and Needs in Developing Countries at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [...] 12. September 14-18, 2011. XXIVth World Congress of Hydatidology at Urumqi, China [...] 13. October 10-14, 2011. 30th World Veterinary Congress 2011 “Caring for Animals: Healthy Communities” at Cape Town, South Africa [...] 14. October 16-21, 2011. 22nd International Conference on Rabies in the Americas (RITA) in San Juan, Puerto Rico [...] 15. October 27, 2011. 27th meeting of the task force on zoonoses data collection at Rome [...] 16. October 27-29, 2011. The Second Chinese Veterinary Conference 2011 2011 at Xiamen, Fujian Province [...] 17. November 21-24 2011. 2nd World Conference on Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning at Mar del Plata, Argentina [...]   PUBLICATIONS 1. Vector-borne Infections [...] 2. The WVA veterinary schools and faculties database [...] 3. International Veterinary Information Service [...]   TRAINING   EMPLOYMENT 1. FAO – Senior Livestock coordinator, Nairobi, Kenya – Closing date: April 27, 2011 [...] 2. FAO – Programme Officer (FAOR Network), Santiago, Chili – Closing date: May 5, 2011 [...] 3. FAO – Food Safety and Quality Officer, Rome, Italy – Closing date: May 22, 2011 [...]