The information presented about transboundary animal diseases (TADs) in this Bulletin reflects conditions reported from October 2004 through January 2005 and is based on data available at the time of the Bulletin's preparation.
Since January 2005, the following information has been reported: outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) Asia 1 in the East Coast and northwestern regions of China ; FMD type A (A24 Cruzeiro) in Colombia ; Newcastle disease in Greece , Israel and Japan ; and African swine fever in the United Republic of Tanzania.
Another wave of avian influenza broke out in Asia around the Lunar New Year. New cases in poultry were reported in Cambodia , China , the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , Indonesia , Thailand and Viet Nam , and in wild birds in mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. Human cases of H5N1 were reported both in Cambodia and Viet Nam in the first half of 2005.
The Second FAO/OIE Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza Control in Asia , with the collaboration of the World Health Organization, was held in February in Ho Chi Minh City , Viet Nam . The final report is available at http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/documents/ai/AI_2nd_RegMtg_HoChiMinhCity_Rep.pdf
An EMPRES Expert Consultation was held in Rome in June. Experts gathered from developing and developed countries to recommend that FAO strengthen its role in fighting TADs by improving early warning systems and the capacity for effective response. The final report and recommendation will be issued shortly.
Dr Sophie von Dobschuetz
Dr Sophie von Dobschuetz joined the EMPRES group of the Animal Health Service as an Associate Professional Officer in October 2004. After having graduated in Veterinary Science at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, in 1998, Dr von Dobschuetz worked for the Tropical Animal Health Department of the university until 2001, completing her doctoral thesis on the animal reservoir of human African trypanosomiasis. During the three years prior to her appointment at FAO, she worked as a small animal surgeon in private veterinary practices in London and Northampton , United Kingdom .
