The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry disseminated the Standard Operating Procedure for Wildlife Health Surveillance in Lao PDR to prevent and reduce disease risks to human, animal and environmental health
Relevant government sectors from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Wildlife Conservation Society launched the Wildlife Health Surveillance Standard Operating Procedure during a dissemination meeting in Vientiane to establish a functional surveillance network in response to disease events in wildlife through a One Health approach.
Maintaining and monitoring wildlife health is important for conservation, ecosystem integrity, sustainable development, and biosafety and biosecurity. There is a global understanding that the health of human beings, animals, and the environment are intrinsically connected and are profoundly impacted by human activities.
Outbreaks of diseases originating in wildlife such as Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19 have served as devastating reminders that to protect human health, we must monitor and reduce the risk of emerging zoonoses. Other diseases shared between livestock and wildlife, such as African Swine Fever, can have catastrophic consequences for both agricultural livelihoods and for vulnerable wild species.
It is, therefore, essential for countries to promptly detect and manage issues related to wildlife health, and to build an early warning system to investigate and respond to wildlife morbidity/mortality events which may have widespread health implications for people and/or their domestic animals, wildlife populations themselves, and the environment.
The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Wildlife Health Surveillance in Lao PDR has been designed to be the standard technical document for the implementation of wildlife health surveillance in the country. This SOP is to be applied when wildlife is found sick or dead of unknown causes in natural habitats, wildlife farms, zoos, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers, circuses, along the trade chain, in communities, or otherwise.
The purpose is to provide technical guidance to relevant stakeholders, including government, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations working in wildlife conservation, in the surveillance, investigation, and control of, and response to, wildlife morbidity and mortality events and disease outbreaks with aims to reduce disease risks to human, animal, and environmental health and the associated impacts on the economy and livelihoods.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Souphavanh Keovilay, Deputy Director General of the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said “the Standard Operating Procedure forwildlife health surveillance in Lao PDR is critical to ensure early detection of and response to disease events in wildlife. I would like to thank the various stakeholders for their involvement and input to the development of this SOP to ensure that it meets the needs of all parties involved.”
The SOP defines the responsibilities of each relevant agency and outlines the procedures to follow when detecting incidents of unusual wildlife morbidity and/or mortality and wildlife disease outbreaks. This includes procedures for data collection, reporting lines, sampling and carcass collection, and diagnostics to determine the cause of illness or death, as well as basic guidelines on wildlife disease outbreak management, cooperation with relevant parties, and wildlife health data management procedures.
“I would like to congratulate the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in developing and adopting this SOP into national policy, the first of its kind in Lao PDR, which will have a significant impact on the country in responding to disease outbreaks in wildlife and preventing further transmission to humans, livestock, and wildlife”, expressed Dr. Bounheuang Kounnavong, Public Health Specialist, U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).“I wish a successful implementation and dissemination of this SOP in all 18 provinces across the country”, he added.
As part of the dissemination meeting, an overview and content of the SOP was presented by Dr Watthana Theppagna, Deputy Director of the National Animal Health Laboratory Center, Department of Livestock and Fisheries, and followed by questions and inputs from participants to effectively implement the SOP on the ground. Roles and Responsibilities of the National Wildlife Health Surveillance Steering Committee were also presented with a view to cooperate with relevant sectors to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this SOP and to establish central level governance.
Lastly, WCS Lao PDR Program presented upcoming projects and future direction in the framework of the implementation of the National Wildlife Health Surveillance.
Dr. Santi Saypanya, Country Director of WCS Lao PDR Program added “This SOP led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society Lao PDR Program and in extensive consultation with experts and technicians at both central and local levels, will allow to strengthen the capacity of both government stakeholders and communities in addressing emerging health threats through inter-sectoral collaborations in Lao PDR”.
The implementation of this SOP will allow wildlife health surveillance in Lao PDR to be in line with international standards and guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). The successful development of the SOP was made possible thanks to the support from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) under the United States Department of Defense.
The dissemination workshop, held at the Lao Plaza Hotel, was attended by over 80 people from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Department of Forestry, Department of Forestry Inspection), the Ministry of Health (Department of Communicable Disease Control), The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Department of Environment), Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices of 18 Lao provinces, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Development Partners, international organizations and the National University of Laos and funded by the U.S Department of State.