NEWS

IN BRIEF …

Rinderpest

In July 2003, the OIE declared Bangladesh, Kuwait and Qatar “provisionally free” from rinderpest. In October 2003, Chad, Djibouti and Yemen were also declared “provisionally free” from the disease. Finally, Burundi was declared “provisionally free” from rinderpest as well, in November 2003.

Other disease outbreak

Since the last EMPRES Bulletin (No. 23 - 2003), outbreaks of EMPRES priority diseases have been reported to OIE or FAO in different regions around the world from July 2003 to December 2003 (see Table below).

Farewell to Yves Cheneau

Dr Samuel Jutzi, Director of the FAO Animal Health and Production Division, joined colleagues and friends in wishing Dr Yves Cheneau well on the occasion of his farewell party organized last November. Dr Cheneau joined FAO in 1992 as Chief of the Animal Health Service. Among his many duties, he took on the challenge of setting up the EMPRES-Livestock Programme with exemplary commitment and technical knowledge, and was instrumental to incorporating the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP) into EMPRES-Livestock. Dr Cheneau retired from FAO on 28 November 2003, after almost 12 years of dedication and professional commitment to the Animal Production and Health Division and world animal health.

Arrival of Joseph Domenech

Dr Joseph Domenech, who took up his duties on 1 December 2003, succeeds Dr Cheneau as Chief of the Animal Health Service. He comes to FAO from CIRAD, France, where he worked for seven years. He is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Toulouse Veterinary School (1970), and has a Ph.D., as well as specialized degrees in Bacteriology, Virology, Immunology and Epidemiology, from the Pasteur Institute (Paris) and from the Faculty of Medicine in Toulouse, France. His experience is mainly in the field of the development of animal production in developing countries: vaccine production, diagnosis and research on animal diseases (Ethiopia, 1972-76; Chad, 1976-80; New Caledonia, 1981-85; Côte d 'Ivoire, 1986-92); reorganization of Veterinary Services and rinderpest eradication campaign (Nairobi, Kenya, PARC Programme of OAU-IBAR, 1992-96). He subsequently was in charge of External Relations at the Centre national d'études vétérinaires et alimentaires, Maisons-Alfort, France. From 1997 to 2003, he was Director of CIRAD-EMVT (Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine, Montpellier, France), where he was devoted to research and development components in the fields of animal production, animal health and natural resources management, including livestock and environment interactions.

Publications

Several new titles have been added to the growing list of FAO Animal Health manuals.

FAO Animal Health Manuals

1. The diagnosis of rinderpest, 1996
2. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 1998
3. Epidemiology, diagnosis and control of helminth parasites of swine, 1998
4. Epidemiology, diagnosis and control of poultry parasites, 1998
5. Recognizing peste des petits ruminants - A field manual, 1999
6. The preparation of national animal disease emergency preparedness plans, 1999
7. The preparation of national rinderpest contingency plans, 1999
8. Livestock disease surveillance and information systems, 1999
9. Recognizing African swine fever - A field manual, 2001
10. Participatory epidemiology - Methods for the collection of action-oriented epidemiological intelligence, 2001
11. The preparation of African swine fever contingency plans, 2001
12. Procedures for disease eradication by stamping out, 2001
13. Recognizing contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, 2001
14. Preparation of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia contingency plans, 2002
15. Preparation of Rift Valley fever contingency plans, 2002
16. Preparation of foot-and-mouth disease contingency plans, 2002
17. Recognizing Rift Valley fever, 2003

Manuels FAO de santé animale (French version)

5. Reconnaître la peste des petits ruminants, 1999
9. Identifier la peste porcine africaine, 2001
13. Reconnaître la péripneumonie contagieuse bovine (édition révisée), 2003
15. Préparation des plans d'intervention d'urgence pour la fièvre de la Vallée du Rift, 2002

These and other FAO documents can be purchased through FAO sales agents. A complete list of publications, prices and agents is available at www.fao.org/catalog/inter-e.htm, or contact:

Sales and Marketing Group, FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Tel.: + 39 06 57055727
Fax: + 39 06 57053360
E-mail: [email protected]

EMPRES Bulletin awarded FAO Agriculture Department publication prize for 2003

An annual prize is awarded for the best publication in the Agriculture Department (AG) produced by one or more AG staff members. All categories of publications can be considered, but the emphasis this year was on publications with a demonstrated use and outcome linked to the objectives of FAO's Agriculture Programme. In 2000, AG rewarded scientific publications, in 2001 electronic publications and in 2002 publications for the non-specialist reader.

On 16 December 2003, the Agriculture Department publication prize for the year 2003 was awarded to the EMPRES Bulletin. Dr Louise O. Fresco, Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department, presented the prize to the EMPRES group during the informal departmental end-of-year gathering.

The EMPRES group thanks all contributors and readers who made this possible. Recognition of the prize should also be extended to all the FAO officers, administrative staff, reference laboratories and collaborating centres who, since 1994, have contributed significantly to the success of the EMPRES Bulletin.