Cairo, Egypt - With the view to identifying the capabilities and the critical interventions needed to prevent and respond to endemic and new Avian Influenza virus outbreaks, animal health experts from different background have reviewed and updated the current National Avian Influenza Preparedness and Response plan of Egypt (AI P&R plan). The revision and updating of the AI P&R plan has been taken into account Egypt’s experiences gained and lessons learned during the 14-year fight against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as well as emerging scientific knowledge.

In this regard, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through its Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) in collaboration with the General Organization of Veterinary Services (GOVS) organized a consultative meeting on November 2020 in order to further enrich the revised P&R plan.

The current National AI Preparedness and Response plan was developed and updated to ensure that the government of Egypt is capable to manage and respond to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in poultry populations.

The validation workshop was attended by animal health experts from GOVS, National Laboratory for Quality Control of Poultry Production (NLQP), veterinary faculty of Cairo University, poultry association and FAO, who also agreed on way forward for finalizing the P&R plan.

“Having a P&R plan to AI and other zoonotic diseases has been one of GOVS priorities and an important area of collaboration with FAO since 2008. FAO has been providing a great support to control AI, which has improved and led to decrease the number of AI cases in Egypt. In this meeting, we’re going to update the current plan with inputs that will enrich the plan and make it valid for implementation”, Dr. Abdul Hakim Ali, Chairman of the General Organization for Veterinary Services, said.

The P&R plan presents a quick analysis of current HPAI situation and relevance of current interventions to respond to outbreaks in Egypt. It also describes the organizational structure within the veterinary services, which facilitates effective detection of and response to HPAI in the poultry industry.

“The P&R plan offers guidance on preparedness and response actions needed to effectively and efficiently control HPAI outbreaks by taking into account the lessons learned from the field and previous programs,” said Zelalem Tadesse, FAO-ECTAD Egypt Team Leader.

The validation workshop was attended by 36 experts drawn from GOVS, AHRI, Governorate Veterinary Departments, Universities and FAO.

FAO has been supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) since 2006 in the fight against highly pathogenic influenza (HPAI) by working very closely with GOVS and AHRI-NLQP in various areas and pillars for controlling AI disease under the programs that are funded by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID).