The 2021-2023 workplan of the EuFMD for Pillar II and Pilar III countries aims to reduce risk for Member Nations’ in the European neighborhood against the threat of Foot-and-mouth and similar transboundary animal diseases (‘FAST’), and enhancing progress in the roll out of the GF-TADs Global Strategy for FMD control.

Specifically, the workplan for component 2.3 (Pillar II) aims to improve, develop and implement a program for capacity building that supports national and regional activities for improved PCP-FMD progress and FAST disease control in the European neighborhood, while the workplan for component 3.3 (Pillar III) aims at improving national and regional capacity for progressive control of FMD through delivery of high impact training. 

The course was delivered in close collaboration with the FAO-ECTAD regional team based in Accra (Ghana).  

The Learning Objectives are to: 

• Explain the pathogenesis of FMD; 
• Explain how to diagnose FMD in cattle, small ruminants and pigs; 
• Describe how to age FMD lesions;
• Explain which samples should be collected to enable laboratory diagnosis of FMD; 
• Explain how to conduct an epidemiological investigation on a premises where FMD is suspected; 
• Explain how to enter and leave a premises suspected of FMD in a biosecure manner;
• Explain the key requirements for a successful vaccination programme for FMD;
• Outline the key features of the Progressive Control Pathway for FMD Control (PCP-FMD). 

The topics covered include: 

• Epidemiology of FMD;
• Clinical and laboratory diagnosis of FMD;
• Lesion ageing;
• Outbreak investigation and management;
• Biosecurity;
• Overview of FMD control at multiple levels.