Over 300 Russian-speaking veterinarians trained on African swine fever preparedness
Although the media attention is highly focused on the current human pandemic, African swine fever (ASF) is still a very pressing issue. To this end, a four-week virtual course starts today in the Russian language joined by 300 veterinarians from Europe and Central Asia. The course curricula and the platform used, called the Virtual Learning Centre, were developed by FAO.
Participating animal health specialist are coming from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.
Affecting domestic pig and wild boar alike, African swine fever is a real threat. Rampaging through three continents, never before in history has the disease had such a wide distribution with so many millions of animals affected. The disease comes with huge economic costs and considerable trade disruptions, and is seriously affecting rural livelihoods.
“For optimized preparedness, early detection, and response against the incursion of the disease, it is paramount to reach and train the first responders – the veterinarians, as many as possible,” said Daniel Beltrán-Alcrudo, FAO technical advisor on animal health.
Following a successful pilot course in November 2019, and a course for European countries in English language in April–May 2020, and considering the demand received from countries, FAO has expanded the virtual learning possibility to Russian-speaking veterinarians in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Veterinary services were invited to submit nominations for the course. In addition to these official nominations, half of the places were reserved for online self-nominations by veterinarians interested in the topic.
A virtual course: an easy and cost-effective tool
The course is studied entirely online and will take approximately 15 hours to complete. Up to 500 participants can take the course at the same time, which is open for four weeks, covering a different topic each week in an interactive manner.
“An online training has obvious advantages: it is easy and cost-effective to scale up, can reach hundreds of people even in remote locations (as long as an internet connection is available), and allows trainees to advance at their own pace, at the most convenient time,” added Andrii Pavlenko, manager of the FAO Virtual Learning Centre. “In the time of COVID-19 travel and meeting restrictions, online learning becomes even more valuable.”
The course starts with a live interactive webinar, where trainees can familiarize themselves with the trainers, the course, and African swine fever. Trainees then progress through seven interactive online modules covering topics on clinical and laboratory diagnosis of ASF, outbreak investigation, control measures, personal and farm biosecurity, and specifics of ASF management in wild boar. This interactive course is enriched with photographs, videos, and other visual materials, and self-test questions. During the course, expert trainers are available through a discussion forum to answer questions from the trainees and lead interactive discussions.
Trainers post questions to challenge participants and deepen their understanding of the course material. The course ends with a final course assessment and a closing webinar covering topics that were either difficult for participant or have sparked most discussion in the forum. Participants who complete a comprehensive assessment and complete the coursework are awarded a certificate. Finally, through the feedback section, participants can provide suggestions for further improvement.
9 November 2021, Budapest, Hungary