Volume: 240, Published: 13 September 2023

India: Nipah alert sounded after two 'unnatural' deaths

Date: 12 September 2023; Disease: Nipah virus; Location: Kozhikode district, Kerala, India

The Kerala Health Department sounded a health alert in Kozhikode district following two "unnatural" deaths suspected to be due to the Nipah virus infection. The State Health Minister held a high-level meeting and reviewed the situation, the health department said in a statement. It said two "unnatural" deaths following fever were reported from a private hospital, and it is suspected that these were due to the Nipah virus. Relatives of one of the deceased are also admitted to the intensive care unit, it said. Deaths due to Nipah virus infection were reported in Kozhikode district in 2018 and 2021. The first Nipah virus (NiV) outbreak in south India was reported from Kozhikode on 19 May 2018. Read more at NDTV.

Iraq: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) reported

Date: 11 Sep 2023; Disease: CCHF; Location: Diyala and Baghdad governorates, Iraq

A government official announced that a new case of CCHF had been recorded in an agricultural village on the border between Diyala and Baghdad governorates. The director of Bani-Saad district said that health teams detected a new case of hemorrhagic fever in a woman in the village of Al-Saada on the administrative border between Diyala and Baghdad. He added that the veterinary teams have begun taking preventive measures to avoid the spread of infections to other areas according to the approved contexts. Meanwhile, the director of the veterinary hospital in Diyala indicated that a preventive ban was imposed on the entry and exit of livestock and sheep within a radius of 15 km within the infection area for a period of 2 weeks to avoid the transmission of any possible infection outside the area. She added that the total number of infections in Diyala reached 16 during 2023, most of whom recovered after being transferred to Baquba Teaching Hospital to receive treatment. Deaths among those infected with CCHF continue to be announced in a number of Iraqi governorates during the past few days. Read more at Baghdad Today (Translated).

India: Boy's death stokes rabies fears as strays run amok

Date: 10 September 2023; Disease: Rabies; Location: Noida-Ghaziabad, India

The tragic death of a 14-year-old boy recently from rabies has sent shivers down people’s spines in Noida-Ghaziabad. The boy who was bitten by a neighbour’s dog a month ago in the Vijay Nagar police station limits, had allegedly hidden the incident from his family. More than 400 cases of dog bites are reported every day from these two districts -- Noida-Ghaziabad. At the same time, more than 1.25 lakh dogs are seen roaming on the roads of both the districts every day. Principal Secretary Health of the Uttar Pradesh government has sought answers from the concerned medical officers of Ghaziabad in this incident. Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against the dog owner. India accounts for 36 percent of total rabies deaths in the world, that comes to around 18,000-20,000 deaths each year. Read more at Daijiworld and WIO News.

Rep of Korea: African swine fever (ASF) cases reported,

Date: 7 September 2023; Disease: ASF; Location: North Gyeongsang Province, Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea has implemented stronger quarantine steps to curb the spread of ASF upon the outbreak of the disease from wild boars in the southern region, the agriculture ministry reported. The country has reported seven ASF cases from wild boars since last week in North Gyeongsang Province, and authorities concerned held an emergency meeting to discuss joint countermeasures, according to the ministry. The government decided to intensify operations of hunting down wild boars and searching for affected animals. It has beefed up the monitoring of local farms and enhanced disinfection measures, the ministry said. At least nine ASF cases at pig farms across the country have been reported so far. Read more at Yonhap News Agency.

Pakistan: Another case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) reported

Date: 6 September 2023; Disease: CCHF; Location: Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan

Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, has reported another case of the deadly CCHF virus. The latest patient is reported to be a 25-year-old person who was admitted to Fatima Jinnah Hospital. The confirmation of the CCHF virus was made through diagnostic testing, bringing the total number of fatalities due to the virus to 11. Read more at MM News.

Philippines: 233 deaths due to leptospirosis from January to July 2023

Date: 1 September 2023; Disease: Leptospirosis; Location: Multiple locations, Philippines

The Philippines has logged a total of 2,168 leptospirosis cases from 1 January to 22 July this year, a 52 percent increase from the 1,423 cases during the same period in 2022. In an update, the Department of Health (DOH) said that the incidence rate of leptospirosis per 100,000 population has increased to 1.97 percent from 1.29 for the same period last year. The number of deaths due to leptospirosis also increased to 233 from last year's 201 from the same period. The DOH Guidelines for Leptospirosis for Hospitals defines the disease as a zoonotic infection, primarily an illness of domesticated and wild animals. Locally, leptospirosis tends to occur frequently in flooded urban cities such as Manila. Read more at PNA.

Russian Federation: Newcastle disease (ND) outbreak reported

Date: 11 September 2023; Disease: Newcastle disease; Location: Solkinsky, Russian Federation

In a recent outbreak, 71 domestic birds died of ND out of 108 birds, while rest of the 37 birds were killed and disposed of. Read more at WOAH.

Cambodia: Study reveals diverse swine flu strains circulating in Cambodian pigs for 15 years

Date: 10 September 2023

Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have made a significant discovery, identifying several previously unknown strains of swine flu viruses that have been circulating quietly in Cambodian pig populations for the past 15 years. This finding raises concerns about potential pandemic risks. Pigs play a crucial role in the emergence and spread of influenza viruses between animals and humans. Their unique biological characteristics make them ideal hosts for the exchange of gene segments between avian, swine, and human hosts, ultimately leading to the creation of new viruses. With pork production increasing worldwide and global trade and movement, the risks of a pandemic have been heightened. Read more at Khmer Times.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) vaccine tested in humans for the first time

Date: 11 September 2023

A University of Oxford study has administered a new vaccine against tick-borne virus CCHF to volunteers for the first time. The clinical trial of the ChAdOx2 CCHF vaccine aims to confirm its safety and understand how individuals develop immunity following vaccination. The study is led by Professor Teresa Lambe, Principal Investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) and Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI) at the University of Oxford. Professor Lambe co-designed the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and her team have been developing a vaccine against CCHF using similar technology for the last 5 years. The vaccine is being administered to healthy volunteers ages 18 – 55 in the Oxfordshire area, with participants receiving two doses of the vaccine 12 weeks apart. Participants are being closely monitored for the next 12 months to understand how they respond to the vaccine and whether they make antibodies against the CCHF virus. If they do, this would be the first step in creating a new vaccine against CCHF and a milestone for pandemic preparedness. Read more at Oxford University and  Technology Networks.

G20 Delhi Declaration calls for implementing 'One Health' approach

Date: 10 September 2023

The New Delhi G20 Leaders Declaration released called for strengthening global health and implementing one health approach. "Strengthening Global Health and Implementing One Health Approach. We remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture, with the World Health Organization (WHO) at its core, and building more resilient, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive health systems to achieve Universal Health Coverage, implement the One Health approach, enhance pandemic preparedness, and strengthen existing infectious disease surveillance systems," the declaration read. Read more at Dev Discourse.

Publication: A framework for gender-responsive livestock development

Date: 4 September 2023

Gender dynamics affect the ways in which the livestock sector contributes to sustaining livelihoods. Women comprise most poor livestock keepers in low- and middle-income countries, and are less represented in scaled-up production enterprises and other income-earning livestock-related activities. They also have limited access to livestock information, input and output services, as compared to their male counterparts. When production scales up, often as a result of investments or government policies to develop value chains, women can bear the brunt of increased workload and be pushed out of the accrued benefits. Such gender-based disadvantage is not only hindering the development of the livestock sector, but is also widening the gender gap. In this context, empowering women and girls is essential for both the sustainable development of the livestock sector, and for achieving gender equality. These in turn are key for building a world free from hunger, malnutrition and poverty, with resilient livelihoods for everyone. The Framework for Gender-Responsive Livestock Development was jointly developed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the aim of supporting the planning and implementation of gender-responsive policies, projects and investments related to the development of the livestock sector. It provides an overarching framework to support the formulation of action plans and guidance documents contributing to gender equality and women’s empowerment through livestock development. Read full text at FAO.

Publication: Reported global avian influenza detections among humans and animals during 2013-2022: Comprehensive review and analysis of available surveillance data

Date: 31 August 2023

Avian influenza (AI) virus detections occurred frequently in 2022 and continue to pose a health, economic, and food security risk. The most recent global analysis of official reports of animal outbreaks and human infections with all reportable AI viruses was published almost a decade ago. Increased or renewed reports of AI viruses, especially high pathogenicity H5N8 and H5N1 in birds and H5N1, H5N8, and H5N6 in humans globally, have established the need for a comprehensive review of current global AI virus surveillance data to assess the pandemic risk of AI viruses. In this context, this study aimed to provide an analysis of global AI animal outbreak and human case surveillance information from the last decade by describing the circulating virus subtypes, regions and temporal trends in reporting, and country characteristics associated with AI virus outbreak reporting in animals; surveillance and reporting gaps for animals and humans are identified. Researchers analyzed AI virus infection reports among animals and humans submitted to animal and public health authorities from January 2013 to June 2022 and compared them with reports from January 2005 to December 2012. A multivariable regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between variables of interest and reported AI virus animal outbreaks. The study suggests that AI outbreaks are more frequently reported and geographically widespread than in the past. Global surveillance gaps include inconsistent reporting from all regions and human infection reporting delays. Continued monitoring for AI virus outbreaks in animals and human infections with AI viruses is crucial for pandemic preparedness. Read full text at JMIR Publications (DOI).

WAAW: Webinar series: Knowledge dissemination dialogues on AMR

Date: 14 September 2023 (12:30–13:30 CET)

A series of data-rich monthly webinars that takes place on the 2nd Thursday and 4th Tuesday of each month,  co-organized by the FAO AMR Working Group with the FAO Sustainable Livestock Technical Network to bring participants up to date on specific scientific and technical topics related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and how to contain it. We strive to cover a variety of topics/disciplines related to AMR in food and agriculture presented by professionals from diverse geographic areas and backgrounds: including, microbiology, epidemiology, environmental or behavioral science, plant and animal production and health, animal nutrition and welfare. Participants are expected to have at least a basic knowledge of AMR. Would you like to present the findings of your research or study? Please, contact us here.

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