ILRI postdoctoral scientist awarded TWAS-DFG cooperation visit to Germany

Joseph Erume, a researcher at Makerere University, has been awarded a three-month cooperation visit to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany starting June 2014.

Through this visit, he will continue his research work on seroprevalence and molecular characterization of Brucella suis in pigs in central Uganda which he started under the Safe Food, Fair Food and Smallholder Pig Value Chains Development projects.

Erume’s academic background in microbiology and swine health placed him in an excellent position to contribute to these projects during his research fellowship at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

His work was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) through an in-region postdoctoral fellowship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The cooperation visit will also provide the opportunity to discuss research collaboration with German scientists, possibly including some preliminary experiments, with the ultimate goal of developing longer-term collaboration through other DFG programs.

The cooperation visit program of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) provides postdoctoral researchers from sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) with the opportunity to make a three-month cooperation visit to a research institute in Germany.

We congratulate Erume on the successful application for this prestigious award and the placement at FLI Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses which also hosts the World Organization for Animal Health and national reference laboratory for porcine brucellosis.

Erume’s application was supported by ILRI scientists Danilo Pezo, Delia Grace, Fred Unger and Kristina Roesel.

 

ILRI joint appointee scientist wins Queen’s University Marty memorial scholarship

ILRI joint appointee scientist Natalie Carter and the son of a smallholder pig farmer in Uganda (photo credit: ILRI/Natalie Carter).

We are pleased to congratulate Natalie Carter, a PhD student at the University of Guelph and joint appointee at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), who has been awarded the 2014 Queen’s University Marty Memorial Scholarship.

She beat 30 highly competitive candidates to win the scholarship that was awarded in recognition of her exemplary research on gender and global development.

In 2013, Carter joined an ILRI-led project on smallholder pig value chains development in Uganda. Her research is focused on appropriate feed options for smallholder pig farmers in Uganda, many of whom are women.

“I am really excited about the scholarship as it will help pay for my university tuition,” said Carter.

“It will also enable me to attend a summer training workshop of the Canadian community of practice in ecosystem approaches to health. The workshop will provide valuable training that I will apply in my research”.

The Marty Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of Dr Aletta Marty and her sister Sophie Marty, a distinguished graduate of Queen’s University. It is awarded annually by the Queen’s University Alumni Association to a woman graduate of Queen’s University for one year of study and research.

 

New article outlines pathway to develop business case for One Health

Livestock farming in the highlands of Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

One Health refers to the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. Although the usefulness of the One Health approach is widely appreciated, thanks to a growing body of evidence, its uptake remains limited and health management is still largely organized by sector.

How, then, can One Health proponents build a compelling business case for it? A new article published in the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research (23 April 2014) may be of help; it outlines a pathway to develop the business case for One Health.

It also identifies five key areas where One Health is likely to make a difference. These are:

1. sharing health resources between the medical and veterinary sectors;
2. controlling zoonotic diseases in animal reservoirs;
3. early detection of and response to emerging diseases;
4. prevention of pandemics; and
5. generating insights and adding value to health research and development.

The literature reviewed suggests that every dollar invested in One Health would yield five dollars worth of benefits. Therefore, increased investment in One Health on a large scale has the potential to transform the management of emerging and neglected zoonotic diseases and save the lives of millions of people and animals.

The article is authored by Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and food safety specialist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). She heads ILRI’s research program on food safety and zoonoses as well as the agriculture-associated diseases theme of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

Access the article here

Citation
Grace D. 2014. The business case for One Health. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 81(2), 6 pages.

 

 

ILRI graduate fellow to attend international training course on modelling of epidemiological data

John Muthii Muriuki, ILRI graduate fellow attached to the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa project (photo credit: ILRI/John M. Muriuki).

The South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) has invited John Muthii Muriuki, a graduate fellow at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), to attend its fifth annual clinic on the meaningful modelling of epidemiological data. The clinic takes place on 2-13 June 2014 at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa.

The highly competitive training course is offered in collaboration with the International Clinics on Infectious Disease Dynamics and Data (ICI3D) program and AIMS. Participants will include graduate students, postdoctoral students and researchers from Africa and North America.

The clinic focuses on the use of data in understanding infectious disease dynamics. Participants will work on epidemiological modelling projects that use real data to grapple with practical questions in a meaningful way.

Muriuki is studying for a Master’s degree in veterinary epidemiology and economics at the University of Nairobi. He was attached to the Kenya team of the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa project that is exploring the drivers of Rift Valley fever in the country and took part in sampling and community surveys in Garissa and Tana River.

He is excited at the opportunity to take part in the clinic and expects to learn more about modelling the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases.

“This clinic could not have come at a better time because I’m now developing a malaria transmission model in an irrigated set-up. Through this training, I expect to get more ideas to refine the model,” said Muriuki.

“I have a lot of interest in epidemiological modelling. The knowledge and skills gained from the clinic will enable me further my research work in this noble area,” he added.

Bernard Bett, a veterinary epidemiologist at ILRI and one of Muriuki’s supervisors, is confident that the training will enable Muriuki to refine the malaria transmission model being developed.

“It will also be a good opportunity for him to build networks with other professionals working on infectious disease research,” said Bett, who also leads the Kenya team of the Dynamic Drivers of Disease project.

 

ILRI publishes three policy briefs on ecohealth approaches to managing zoonoses in Southeast Asia

A live chicken vendor weighs a chicken in Hung Yen province, Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Nguyen Ngoc Huyen).

More than 6 out of 10 human infectious diseases are zoonotic (can be passed from animals to people). Southeast Asia is considered one of the hotspot areas for the emergence of zoonotic diseases. The rapid growth of economies and human populations have led to livestock intensification, land use changes and disruption in wildlife habitats, all of which are ideal for the emergence of zoonotic diseases.

From 2008 to 2013, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) led an action research project on zoonotic diseases in six countries in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Each country team comprised individuals and institutions with knowledge of ecohealth, representing multiple disciplines carrying out research on zoonotic emerging diseases. The project aimed to build ecohealth capacity and learn about the process of adopting the ecohealth approach in the country contexts.

The project has published three new policy briefs that highlight some of the key outcomes on stakeholder engagement processes, raising awareness of zoonotic diseases, and capacity building in One Health and ecohealth in Southeast Asia.

• Engaging stakeholders to manage emerging zoonotic diseases in Southeast Asia
• Increasing awareness of zoonotic diseases among health workers and rural communities in Southeast Asia
• Outcomes in building capacity and strengthening networks: Ecohealth in Southeast Asia

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) funded the project.

Visit the project website for more information

 

ILRI and FAO host meeting of regional food safety experts to strengthen collaboration

Participants at a food safety stakeholder meeting held on 24 February 2014 and hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (photo credit: ILRI/Samuel Mungai).

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on 24-25 February 2014 to discuss increasing collaboration in the area of food safety. 

The meeting was linked with the recent signing of the memorandum of understanding between CGIAR  and FAO to strengthen ties between the two organizations for translating science to policy.

The first day was attended by over 25 representatives from more than 10 institutions including Kenyan government institutions, academia, international organizations and research institutions.

The representatives shared information regarding the work of their respective institutions in the area of food safety, identified some key areas for support, and provided an open forum to discuss food safety challenges.

During the discussion, ILRI and FAO presented an overview of ongoing or planned activities related to food safety.  Some of the key areas for support outlined by the stakeholders included food safety surveillance, generation of data, capacity building and improving collaboration across the wide range of stakeholders involved in managing food safety at the national level.

The second day was specifically for ILRI and FAO to discuss in detail possible areas for collaboration.  Each organization had outlined a wide range of topics to discuss including:

• multifactorial framework for policy decision-making in food safety;
• food safety risk analysis training opportunities;
• food safety surveillance including early warning and rapid alert systems; and
• practical food safety application in informal markets.

By the end of the meeting, the two organizations agreed on a number of activities that could benefit from joint efforts and for future collaborative work.

FAO representatives also had the opportunity to tour the ILRI campus facilities and discuss food safety issues with other ILRI colleagues outside of the Food Safety and Zoonoses team, including the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub which supports the use of biosciences to address food safety and security challenges in Africa such as aflatoxins.

The two-day meeting was highly successful, with both organizations expressing support for increased collaboration in the area of food safety at global and regional levels.

This meeting is timely given the increasing momentum of food safety globally and in Africa, as evidenced by the proposed development of a food safety coordination mechanism and the generation of the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa under the leadership of the African Union, among numerous other initiatives.

Download the workshop report

 

Farmers in Uganda gain from training in pig production and marketing

Pig production is an important livelihood activity for some 1 million smallholder households in Uganda, given the growing demand for pork in both rural and urban areas.

However, many smallholder pig farmers are constrained by lack of adequate information on animal health, feeding and breeding that can help them improve their pig husbandry and scale up their operations towards commercialized production and greater profits.

Pig Production and Marketing Uganda Limited works with pig farmers – from smallholder to large-scale – to increase productivity and create a reliable market for pig farm produce. The organization also offers technical support to pig farmers in Uganda.

As part of its efforts towards improving pig husbandry in Uganda, the organization held a training workshop on 14-15 February 2014 in Matugga, Wakiso District for some 70 farmers.

The aim of the workshop was to share knowledge on modern pig farming methods and good agricultural practices in pig husbandry. Other topics included feeding, breeding, pig health, management of pig diseases, farm management and record keeping.

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) were invited to participate in the workshop as part of the team of facilitators.

Danilo Pezo, coordinator an ILRI project on smallholder pig value chain development in Uganda, gave the opening address. Kristina Roesel, coordinator of the ILRI-led Safe Food, Fair Food project, facilitated a session on pig and pork zoonoses in Uganda.

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The event received media coverage in the Daily Monitor newspaper (Piggery: Farmers urged on best practices, 19 Feb 2014)

Related blog post: Ugandans and pork: A story that needs telling (ILRI News blog, 19 Feb 2014)

 

ILRI to lead pilot study on livestock identification and traceability system for IGAD region

Participants of a workshop on developing a livestock identification and traceability system for the IGAD region (photo credit: ILRI/Liya Dejene).

A livestock identification and traceability system will soon be piloted in the Intergovernmental Agency on Development (IGAD) region, following discussions at a workshop held last week (4-5 February) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to review existing national systems and identify practical options towards a harmonized system for the region.

The IGAD region is home to 336 million ruminants and the livestock sector contributes significantly to the economy of countries in the region and to the livelihoods of millions of pastoralists and smallholder livestock keepers and traders.

Regional harmonization of livestock identification and traceability systems, based on international standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), would improve coordination of surveillance and control of transboundary animal diseases, thereby enhancing regional trade in livestock and livestock products.

Some 35 participants attended the workshop, drawn from both the public and private sectors. Tanzania, although not a member of IGAD, was also represented at the meeting. In addition to chief veterinary officers and national experts in livestock identification and traceability from IGAD member countries, representatives were present from the following institutions and programs:

• African Union – Interafrican Bureau on Animal Resources (AU-IBAR),
• Agricultural Growth Program-Livestock Market Development (AGP-LMD)
• CNFA South Sudan Cattle Program
• East African Community,
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),
• IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD),
• Kenya Livestock Marketing Council,
• Kenya Meat Commission, and
• Northeast Africa Livestock Council.

Presentations were made on the status of livestock production and trade in the region, an ongoing project on standard methods and procedures in animal health, and the status of livestock identification and traceability systems in the respective countries in the IGAD region.

The Standard Methods and Procedures in Animal Health (SMP-AH) project is coordinated by AU-IBAR and IGAD with financial support from the East Africa regional program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is a four year project (2012-2016) being carried out in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania to support harmonization and coordination of disease surveillance, and the prevention and control of trade-related transboundary animal diseases.

Among the expected outputs of the SMP-AH project are:

• the establishment of a framework for surveillance and control of trade-related animal diseases;
• harmonization of laboratory testing procedures for the priority animal diseases in the region;
• the establishment of standards for regional quarantine stations; and
• enhanced technical and coordination capacity of participating countries and the IGAD region at large.

The presentations on the status of livestock identification and traceability systems in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania covered the current activities in the respective countries, the interventions that the countries would need to improve the already existing systems, the foreseen challenges in the implementation of the proposed system, and the steps that can be taken towards regional harmonization of systems in the IGAD region.

During the discussions that followed, participants were able to share their experiences and learn from other countries. In addition, a status review of animal identification and traceability systems in other countries in Africa – in particular Namibia and Botswana that have highly specialized systems – and in the United States of America helped to give a wider outlook on continental and global scale.

Based on the plenary presentations and discussions, the participants identified the livestock identification and traceability options that can be used to design a regional system. In order of priority, the options are as follows:

• Visual tamperproof ear tags with ISO coding
• Visual tamperproof ear tags (with ISO coding) plus hot-iron branding in insecure areas
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags
• RFID bolus (for ruminants)
• Microchip implants (for controlled trials) with hot-iron branding to deter theft

From the presentations, discussions and consensus reached, the workshop came up with the following general recommendations:

1. Develop a pilot project on a livestock identification and traceability system for the IGAD region (including Tanzania) based on the criteria listed below:
   • Areas with identified target market and export facilities such as quarantine stations and abattoirs
   • Areas with confirmed security concerns
   • Areas with cross border movement
   • Areas with fairly advanced livestock identification and traceability systems
   • Areas with confirmed animal health concerns
   • Areas with major livestock trade routes
2. Develop an IGAD umbrella body that would oversee the implementation of the livestock identification and traceability system in the region.
3. Develop guidelines, procedures and regional coordination mechanisms by the umbrella body in conjunction with states that have current and proposed livestock identification and traceability activities.
4. Encourage international and regional organizations such as OIE, FAO and AU-IBAR to hasten the development, finalization and dissemination of guidelines on livestock identification and traceability systems to assist the developing countries.
5. Encourage the member states to establish and strengthen their livestock identification and traceability systems as an important tool for trade and disease control.
6. AU-IBAR and IGAD should organize exposure visits to areas with reasonably advanced livestock identification and traceability systems.

For more information about this work, contact Florence Mutua (f.mutua@cgiar.org) or Bernard Bett (b.bett@cgiar.org) of ILRI, or James Wabacha of AU-IBAR (james.wabacha@au-ibar.org).

Access the workshop proceedings

 

ILRI to host workshop on regional livestock identification and traceability system for IGAD countries

A batch of Somali goats destined for export markets. A harmonized livestock identification and traceability system in the IGAD region can improve efficiency of livestock marketing (photo credit: Terra Nuova).

Livestock identification and traceability systems enhance livestock production and trade by enabling improved surveillance and management of transboundary animal diseases. These systems can also be used to deter stock theft in areas that are prone to cattle rustling.

The livestock sector plays an important role in the economy of countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. However, there is currently no harmonized system for livestock identification and traceability in the region, as countries are at different stages of setting up the required legal and institutional frameworks.

To address this issue, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the African Union – Interafrican Bureau on Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development have convened a regional workshop on 4-5 February 2014 at the ILRI Addis Ababa Campus, Ethiopia.

The workshop brings together some 40 stakeholders from the public and private sectors in the IGAD region including chief veterinary officers, livestock producers, traders and transporters, meat processors, researchers and policymakers.

The objectives of the workshop are to:

• review the current livestock identification and traceability systems in the IGAD member states and the extent to which these systems have been used in the surveillance and management of transboundary animal diseases in the region;
• develop a consensus on the role of livestock identification and traceability systems in the region, given the existence of diverse livestock production systems, marketing channels and infrastructure; and
• identify practical options and approaches to develop a harmonized livestock identification and traceability system in the IGAD region.

For more information about the workshop, contact Florence Mutua (f.mutua@cgiar.org) or Bernard Bett (b.bett@cgiar.org) of ILRI, or James Wabacha of AU-IBAR (james.wabacha@au-ibar.org).

 

New study published on risk-based assessment of pork safety in Nagaland, Northeast India

A woman feeds her pigs in Nagaland, India (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

The first risk-based study of food safety in the pork value chain in Nagaland, Northeast India has identified several important microbiological hazards and assessed their impacts on human health.

Nagaland has the highest density of pigs in India and the highest pork consumption levels. Therefore, information on pathogens in pigs and pork in the region, and their health impacts, is useful for decision-making on interventions aimed at improving food safety and safeguarding the health of consumers.

The study investigated samples from pigs and pork sourced at slaughter in urban and rural environments, and at retail, to assess a selection of food-borne hazards. In addition, consumer exposure was characterized using information about hygiene and practices related to handling and preparing pork.

The food-borne pathogens identified include Listeria spp. and Brucella suis. A risk assessment framework assessed the health impacts of three representative hazards or hazards proxies, namely, Enterobacteriaceae, Taenia solium cysticercosis and antibiotic residues.

The study found that by using participatory methods and rapid diagnostics alongside conventional methods, risk assessment can be used in a resource-scarce setting.

The findings are published in a special issue on food safety and public health in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

View the article

Citation
Fahrion AS, Jamir L, Richa K, Begum S, Rutsa V, Ao S, Padmakumar VP, Deka RP and Grace D. 2014. Food-safety hazards in the pork chain in Nagaland, North East India: Implications for human health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 11(1): 403-417.