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Welcome to CaribVET, the website of the Caribbean Animal Health Network!
This website aims at disseminating information on the animal health situation in the Caribbean and providing useful resources for animal health professionals.
If you want to know more about the network, click on CaribVET in the menu banderol.
If you want to get an overview of the surveillance network in a country, click on Surveillance. |
| - HEALTH NEWS - |
• Newcastle disease in Peru (notification to OIE)
Newcastle cases are detected in backyard flock in Peru (Cajamarca), 18th January and reported to OIE, 25th February. The suspected source is the introduction of new live animals or illegal movement of animals. Control measures are being applied: stamping out, quarantine, screening, disinfection of infected establishments, vaccination of 571 birds in response to the outbreak.
More information about this event are available on the OIE report.
• Classical swine fever in Guatemala (notification of OIE)
The classical swine fever virus was detected in swine the last february 6th in farm from Guatemala.
On 248 susceptible swine, 30 cases were reported, 18 deaths and 230 destroyed.
For more information, see the OIE report or the OIE website .
• Distribution map of Teschen disease in Haiti
The final map about the distribution of Teschovirus encephalomyelitis (previously Teschen disease) in Haiti is now available in the "technical cards" of this disease on the CaribVET website. Thank you Dr. Phanord for this information.
For more information on this disease, the presentation of Dr. Maria-Teresa Frias-Lepoureau is always available.
• H1N1 in California Turkey Flock (USA)(promed)
The California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza infection on 28 Dec 2009 in a turkey breeding flock in California's Central Valley. There had been no clinical signs of illness in the flock other than a decrease in egg production. See promed post of the 08-JAN-2010.
In the United States, turkeys have previously tested positive for the H1N1 virus in Virginia. They have also tested positive in Canada and Chile. Recent attempts to experimentally infect turkeys with the pandemic influenza virus strain carried out in Europe and the USA have been unsuccessful. Preliminary results of one of these studies have shown a certain susceptibility of quails to the pandemic influenza virus. So far, natural infection of turkeys with the pandemic influenza virus is believed to have most likely occurred by airborne virus transmission from infected humans to turkeys.
For more information, see the site EUROPA and the page H1N1 on this website. .
See recommendations of OIE and FAO.
See the map of cases on the website of EMPRES.
• Bovine tuberculosis in South Dakota (USA) (Promed)
A Yankton County cattle herd has been found positive for bovine tuberculosis after a 3-year-old cow from the herd was confirmed to be infected with the disease. See promed post of the 7-JAN-2010.
Bovine tuberculosis limits livestock production, and affects their quality. The etiological agent, Mycobacterium bovis, is transmitted to humans through contaminated milk and dairy products, being the source of primary tuberculosis in children and infants (mainly extra pulmonary forms: milliary, meningeal, or lymphatic nodes- localized). The respiratory route is the transmission origin of pulmonary TB cases in exposed adults, like slaughterhouse and meat processing industry workers.
For more information, click here.
Currently in USA, California and Minnesota are not cattle TB-free, and areas in Michigan and New Mexico have specified zones that are not TB-free. Cases were detected in cattle in Texas, Nebraska and in deer in Indiana in 2009 too.
Bovine tuberculosis exists in most of the countries in the Latin American Region (LAC), with variable relevance and especially concentrated in dairy cattle. Control and surveillance activities are performed in all LAC countries; and several of these are already achieving the eradication phase (Cuba , Costa Rica , Panama , Uruguay). See the site of OIE and the map of repartition.
• Rabies in wildlife in Arizona (USA)(Promed)
Two persons were exposed to rabies in Arizona at the end of December 2009.
A man near Oracle was attacked by a bobcat while walking his dog 23 December 2009. 2 days later, a dead bobcat was found in a neighbor's yard. State lab officials determined the animal had rabies, according to a statement of the Pinal County Public Health Services District.
Another man was exposed to a rabid skunk near San Manuel.
See promed post of the 01-JANV-2010
11 animals submitted to the state lab by Pinal County have tested positive for the disease this year [2009]. Among the animals were the bobcat, 7 bats, and 3 skunks.
Each year, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collect information about cases of animal and human rabies from the state health departments and publish the information in a summary report.
In 2008, 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico tested over 121,000 animals and reported 6,841 cases of rabies in animals and 2 human cases to CDC (Hawaii is the only state that is rabies free) : 93% of reported cases were wildlife species (mainly bats, skunks, foxes).
In this century, the number of human deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has declined from 100 or more each year to an average of 2 or 3 each year.
For more information, see the CDC site and the press article of medical news.
Rabies is widely distributed across the globe. In America, countries of Central and South America and of the Carribean region are at risk. For more information, see the website of WHO and the map of countries or areas at risk.
• Influenza H1N1/2009 in swine in Carolina (USA) (Promed)
The US Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory [NVSL] has confirmed the presence of the novel H1N1 2009 influenza virus in samples taken from pigs at 2 North Carolina Farms, 23th December 2009. Pigs presented signs of mild illness.
North Carolina joins Minnesota, Indiana, and Illinois with confirmed cases of novel H1N1 flu in pigs. The virus also has been identified in cats in Iowa, Oregon, and Pennsylvania; ferrets in Oregon, turkeys in Virginia, a dog in New York, and a cheetah in California. In all these cases, it appears the animals caught the virus from humans.
See promed post of the 28-DEC-2009
So far, no evidence has suggested that animals play any particular role in the epidemiology or the spread of the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus among humans. Instead, investigations led by competent national authorities point to possible human–to–animal transmission in most cases. For this reason, the OIE considers that it is sufficient to certify the healthy state of animals for international trade during the relevant period before their exportation and maintains its position that no specific measures, including laboratory tests, are required for international trade in live pigs and other susceptible animal species and/or their products (see the press release of the 4 November 2009 by OIE).
Experimental data on pig infections with this strain indicate that infection is localised to respiratory tract (see the website of USDA). So People cannot contract H1N1 from consuming pork or pork products, according to the WHO/OIE/FAO and CDC.
For more information, see recommendations of OIE and FAO.
See the page on this website.
See the map of cases on the website of EMPRES.
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| - EVENTS - |
• SNAT Cuba, 23th to 27th February 2010
SNAT (Surveillance Network Assessment Tool) was conducted in Cuba from 23 to 27 February 2010 by Dr Victor Gongora, Dr Kathian Hackshaw and Marion Petit Sinturel.
During this assessment, an initial presentation of the network was proposed by the veterinary services to Cuba. In a second step, a meeting with farmers and farmers' associations has occurred, with the different surveillance projects of the 15 provinces of Cuba. A port, airport and a slaughterhouse were visited to see the different surveillance and control measures established by the veterinary services in these areas with a major risk of introduction of animal diseases. The CENSA laboratory was visited to see the different protocols for the diagnosis of animal diseases.
At the end of all these interviews, the SNAT consultants have exposed their findings and their recommendations to improve their surveillance systems.
• New technical disease cards on-line (OIE)
Paris , 08 February 2010
Collaboration among scientists from OIE Reference Laboratories around the world and other relevant experts has led to an updated compilation of 33 technical disease cards, including 32 OIE-listed priority diseases such as foot and mouth disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza, rift valley fever and bluetongue. The update was possible thanks to a much appreciated support from USDA-APHIS (USA).
The cards which are available online in English will also be translated into French and Spanish. They are mainly directed to a specialised scientific audience and as such represent OIE’s constant effort for scientific excellence. In the coming months the OIE intends to publish an illustrated “Atlas of Transboundary Animal Diseases” which will be based on the work already finalised and will be completed with a major addition of technical disease specific pictures.
In an attempt to make the information contained in some of the cards easily understandable also for a broader audience the OIE has furthermore published disease information on selected animal diseases, including zoonoses in a “questions and answers” format, available online in three languages.
Thanks to Dr Gongora for this information
• First Newsletter 2010
Dear colleagues,
The first newsletter of 2010 is now available here.
It provide you the events and the programme meetings and trainings of the differents working groups and other partners for the year 2010.
• Earthquake in Haiti
All CaribVET members give their full support to their Haitian partners after the earthquake that occurred in the island.
• First training/exercise on tracking outbreaks of swine diseases in the Dominican Republic
2 to 4 December 2009
It was conducted from 2 to 4 December 2009, the first training/exercise on tracking outbreaks of swine diseases in the Dominican Republic, organized by the control and eradication of CSF program in DR, USDA-APHIS, IICA and the VEP project.
This training took place in the province of San Francisco de Macorís in the northeast region of the country, it involved all the regional veterinary officers working in different animal health programs, where implemented what they learned about research disease outbreaks and monitoring of cases.
This was a great experience for the participants and organizers to work together and achieve unify criteria in conducting epidemiological research on animal diseases.
Dr. Wendy M. Gonzalez
For more information, see the "regional activities" part in this website
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