Helping Poultry Farmers in Libya to Halt the Spread of Deadly Avian Influenza
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Since its introduction to Libya in December 2015, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has spread to a number of farms in the country, causing serious economic losses to poultry farmers and affecting public health. Between 2014 and 2015, the losses to farmers caused by the disease were estimated at over USD10 million. The lack of qualified human resources and appropriate equipment meant that the outbreaks were not deeply investigated, while the absence of biosecurity measures and awareness enabled the evolution of the disease in the country, reaching over 60 percent in backyard farms and leading to an increase in the number of human deaths during the cold season of 2015. To halt the spread of the “H5N1” strain and reduce its impact upon human health and food security, there was a clear need to identify the origin of the infection, control poultry along the value chain, apply biosecurity measures and manage outbreaks, as well as increasing the awareness of stakeholders and the population as a whole.
What did the project do
As an emergency project, short-term actions were proposed. These were designed to support the Libyan veterinary authorities in improving and implementing a disease monitoring strategy based on risk analysis, strengthen the capacities of the Central Veterinary Laboratory and regional laboratories for diagnosis of the disease and support an awareness campaign with public and animal health stakeholders. The actions carried out to this end included the organization of a series of discussion and planning workshops, expert missions to Tunisia, with particular emphasis on training of trainers, capacity-building and in-depth surveys.Impact
Libya’s food security has been consolidated through improved management of animal health crises, the strengthening of veterinary services and improved public-private partnership. Having contributed to halting the spread of the disease and reducing its prevalence, veterinarians and breeders in Libya are now well equipped to deal with any future outbreak and have acquired the capacity to impart the lessons learned to others in the agricultural sector.Activities
- National emergency plan discussion workshop and discussions in Tunis on the possibility of setting up an emergency fund dedicated to animal health.
- Mission to Tunisia by an expert specializing in veterinary epidemiology, in particular to train trainers on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, epidemiology, surveillance and prophylaxis. In addition, laboratory diagnostics managers trained on diagnosis and screening methods, as well as biosafety in laboratories.
- Ten training sessions aimed at veterinary services conducted, attracting over 100 public sector veterinarians. Topics discussed included monitoring, control, epidemiology and good emergency management practices.
- Regional training organized in Libya by the trainers, with more than 96 public and private sector veterinarians taking part.
- Poultry value chain analysis carried out for emergency disease control in Libya. Epidemiological investigation carried out, with 641 samples taken from different parts of Libya.