INSIDE

RIFT VALLEY FEVER
Reducing the risk of Rift Valley fever transmission in trade exchanges
Meeting on surveillance and control in West Africa

CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA
Meeting on diagnosis and control of CBPP in Africa

BRUCELLOSIS
Brucellosis now a serious public and animal health problem in Kosovo

REGIONAL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IN AFRICA
SADC epidemiologists meet outside Pretoria

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FAO REFERENCE LABORATORIES AND COLLABORATING CENTRES

NEWS

REDUCING THE RISK OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER TRANSMISSION IN TRADE EXCHANGES

FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held an expert consultation at FAO headquarters, Rome on 15 and 16 May 2001. Six international experts on Rift Valley fever (RVF) plus invited observers discussed issues directed to improving the management of the risk to humans and livestock that is posed by Rift Valley fever. The main objective of the meeting was to develop guidelines to reduce the risk of RVF transmission from animals to humans and between animal populations.

Omdurman cattle market in the Sudan
PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER ROEDER

REGIONAL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IN AFRICA

A joint EMPRES-South African Development Community (SADC) workshop on disease surveillance and early warning was held in Pretoria from 26 to 30 March 2001, funded by FAO under a regional project, TCP/RAF/8932. The workshop was attended by national veterinary epidemiologists from eleven SADC countries. It concentrated on matters related to surveillance and the collection and analysis of survey data; subjects covered included surveillance methods, surveillance management, information management and a brief introduction to EMPRES TADinfo software.

DIAGNOSIS AND CONTROL OF CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA IN AFRICA

The Third Research Coordination Meeting of the FAO/International Atomic Energy Agency Coordination Research Programme for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia was held in Nairobi from 18 to 22 June 2001.