Conference Room Document 33 English only

second fao/who global forum of food safety regulators

Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 October 2004

Activities of the WHO Global Salm-Surv: Asian Regional Center

(Prepared by WHO Global Salmonella Surveillance-Asian Regional Center)

Introduction:

The Center for Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring in Foodborne Pathogens in Thailand (ARM-Asia) was established with the cooperation of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1999. The Center's objectives were;

• Establishing a laboratory for antimicrobial resistance monitoring of foodborne pathogens
• Supporting standardization of antimicrobial susceptibility testing in important foodborne pathogens isolated from food-animals and food of animal origin in Asian countries
• Assisting in development of sustainable national policy for prudent use of antimicrobial in food-animals

In the year 2000, ARM-Asia became part of the World Health Organization -Global Salmonella Surveillance Programme (WHO Global Salm-Surv) which has been established since 2000 by a collaborative effort of World Health Organization, the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research (Denmark), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA), Reseau International des Instituts Pasteur, Health Canada, Animal Sciences Group-Netherlands, the US Food and Drug Administration, and Enter-net. The objectives of WHO Global Salm-Surv are to reduce foodborne diseases through enhancement of lab-based surveillance and outbreak detection and response. Currently, WHO Global Salm-Surv consists of four established regional centers and five training sites. These centers and sites work in conjunction with Steering Committee Partners to help build infrastructure in a region and affect change. One center currently exists in Bangkok, Thailand, and operates for the Asian Region. (For more information of the WHO Global Salm-Surv. Homepage, please visit www.who.int/salmsurv.)

Activities of WHO Global Salm-Surv: Asian Regional Center :

(1) International Training Courses

The aims of the training courses are to provide training in epidemiology of foodborne diseases; provide standardized laboratory methods for isolation, serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of certain specific foodborne pathogens; and build or maintain national and international integrated networks of laboratorians, epidemiologists and other stakeholders.

Though ARM-Asia was not an official Regional Center when the courses began, WHO Global Salm-Surv International Training Courses have been held in Asia since 1999. The training courses in Asia have been successfully completed with the collaboration of WHO (Geneva), the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research (Denmark), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA), Animal Sciences Group-ID-Lelystad (the Netherlands), and WHO-Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO).

Since 1999, five regional training courses have been hosted by AMR-Asia (Figure 1) with participants from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand.

Figure 1 The WHO Global Salm-Surv International Training Courses at Asian Regional Center

Level-1 : Surveillance of Salmonella and Antimicrobial Resistance in Foodborne Pathogens
Level-2 : Surveillance of Salmonella & Campylobacter and Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring
Level-3 : Surveillance and Epidemology of Salmonella and other Foodborne Diseases
Level-4 : Surveillance and Epidemiology of Salmonella and other Foodborne Diseases (PCR-Technique)

(2) Other Roles of WHO Global Salm-Surv : Asian Regional Center

As stated in the WHO Global Salm-Surv's strategic plan (2001-2005), the tasks of the center include the followings :

• To develop a regional strategy to provide high-quality antisera for national Salmonella reference laboratories.
• To lead regional communications about foodborne disease and pathogen surveillance, including activities related to WHO Global Salm-Surv. This role involves fostering communications between microbiologists and epidemiologists working in multiple disciplines such as human health, veterinary and food-related disciplines.
• To serve as a regional reference centre for national Salmonella laboratories; this role includes quality control and reference testing services.
• To lead region-relevant research projects.
• To develop methodologies for national foodborne disease and pathogen surveillance systems.
• To provide training for national foodborne disease microbiologists and epidemiologists.

Conclusion:

The WHO Global Salm-Surv: Asian Regional Center has revealed an ideal feasible interdisciplinary network for food-safety program. However, the success of this program in the region and in individual country member in the region can not be depended only on the international aid, but also the effort from each country governmental agencies whom involved in the food-safety chain.

(For more information of the WHO Global Salm-Surv : Asian Regional Center, please contact Dr. Thongchai at [email protected])