90 livestock and health care staff have been trained on COVID-19 cases detection, investigation and management, during a series of three successive workshops organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), from 21 to 28 April 2021 in Douala.

This training aimed at equipping veterinary services with capacities to help and support the public health services in the activities of investigation, detection or control of the COVID 19 pandemic. Conducted studies have equally provided evidence of the susceptibility of some pets to the virus. As the pandemic has been unfolding, it was observed that limitations of a sectorial approach in the management of health events are calling for a collaborative multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach to combat the spread of the virus.

Given the trend of the pandemic and its impact on the human health public system, it has become handy to expand diagnosis services to veterinary laboratories. To support veterinary services and protect livestock value chain from the present COVID-19 pandemic, FAO through the World Bank funded Pandemic emergency financing facility (PEF) implemented by World Health Organisation (WHO), has formulated the project: “COVID-19 cases detection and reporting in livestock value chain actors in North-West and South-West regions, Cameroon”. This projectintends to provide support for COVID-19 cases detection and disease surveillance through capacity strengthening of frontline agents.

Participants to the completed training were veterinary agents and health care staff coming from the North West and South West regions, staff from LANAVET, the faculty and Veterinary school, and the National center for veterinary and fisheries zootechnical school. Thus, the general objective of these training sessions was to equip participants with skills in collecting samples and epidemiological data for the surveillance of COVID-19 in animals and other priority zoonotic diseases. Moreover, the purpose was to build the capacity of the personnel of the National veterinary laboratory annex of Yaounde and antenna of Douala, and other animal and human health personnel operating in the North West and South West regions in the area of COVID-19 cases investigation and laboratory detection.

With due compliance to COVID-19 protection measures, each training was carried out in three phases. A theoretical phase including thematic presentations, discussion in plenary sessions and practical exercises. As usual and, in order to lay out the path of what was to be done during these trainings, generalities on COVID-19 and thematic topics were presented to the trainees. Presentations and demonstration were made on emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 laboratory detection, surveillance and investigation, risk communication, prevention and response, demonstration of the use of rapid tests,  epidemiology and current epidemiological situation of the disease in human and animal health, cases management and elements for diagnosis in humans. In addition, participants were sensitize on how to improve COVID-19 surveillance according to the “One Health” approach.

At the end of these workshops, trainees expressed their satisfaction for such initiatives. For Mrs. Grace-Mary Burinyuy, Director of Veterinary Service in Bui Division, North West: “this is a great opportunity and beneficial session as it permitted me to recycle myself on biosecurity measures, a very important step for one’s security when we are to proceed with sample collection, especially in this period of COVID-19”. Her counterpart from the health district service of Kumbo Mrs. Keng Clarise Suiven added that: “the courses provided additional knowledge in cases investigation and epidemiological surveillance. This will enable me in particular to better identify and handle potential cases at the level of my health district”.

As the training was closing up, several recommendations were made amongst which the need to intensify testing of people working with animals such as breeders and veterinary agents.  Participants equally recommended the systematic screening of animals from COVID-19 patients as well as the development of a case definition for animals to better detect and test.

Through the Emergency centre for transboundary animal diseases (ECTAD), the organisation brings additional knowledge in areas of emergency and resilience, animal production and livestock-based development, in order to provide a unique multi-disciplinary perspective and approach in the response to Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and Emerging diseases. It is in this line that, FAO contributes to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon by reducing the spread, control of morbidity and mortality related to the virus.