In 2010 and 2012, outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) were reported in several regions of Mauritania. These cases occurred after exceptional rainfall conditions during winters, which created favorable conditions for the development of mosquitoes (RVF vectors). In 2010, the desert northern part of the country was affected, and in 2012, outbreaks were reported in 24 rural communities in the south. Fatal human cases were reported as well as significant losses in livestock.

These events showed the existing difficulties for early detection of virus circulation: in some areas, human cases have been reported before confirmation of infection in small ruminants and camels.

In this context, USAID, in collaboration with the SPS Advisor USAID / West Africa USDA and FAO - ECTAD Bamako organized a border meeting on 6 and 7 June 2011 in Bamako, with the chiefs of veterinary services and experts from veterinary laboratories in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. This meeting aimed at discussing the reinforcement of RVF national monitoring networks in the 3 countries . A representative of Sub-regional FAO office in Tunis attended the meeting.

Since the 2010 outbreaks, FAO and WHO have provided assistance to the Mauritanian authorities to implement measures to monitor and control the disease. In this context, sentinel herds of the Mauritanian epidemiological surveillance of animal diseases network (REMEMA) were reactivated and new sentinel herds installed in areas now considered at risk to better monitor virus circulation during the rainy season.

Moreover, the FAO/OIE regional coordination unit of REMESA proposed to the Joint Permanent Committee of REMESA, to implement a project for Strengthening the national and regional capacities to prevent and control RVF introduction and dissemination in the western Mediterranean. This project, co- elaborated and co-funded by OIE and FAO, aims at consolidating and, where appropriate, harmonizing practices in the fields of laboratory diagnosis , epidemiology and entomology. FAO component of this joint project is the GCP/SNE/001/FRA project, funded by the French authorities.

USAID, in collaboration with the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute (ISRA) decided to organize a scientific and technical regional workshop on RVF entomology for Mauritanian and Malian veterinary services. FAO office in Tunis, on behalf of the Regional Coordination Unit, proposed to USAID that an expert from each of the central Maghreb countries involved in the OIE/FAO project (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia ) can participate in this training.

  

Objectives: The objective of this training was to provide the required skills (theoretical and practical) to conduct entomological surveys in the framework of surveillance, prevention and control of RVF in North Africa.

Target people: the participants were experts with knowledge in entomology, having been involved in entomological surveillance programs for other vector borne diseases.

Main sessions: the workshop consisted in

• in-room training

• field practical training for the capture, collection and preservation of mosquitoes

 

• practical work on the identification of vectors.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the trainer (Assane gueye Fall) or the trainees (contact details in the right column) 

The workshop was co-funded by USAID, FAO and OIE.

We thank the FAO representation in Senegal for its logistical support.

(Editor: Lilian PUECH, FAO-ECTAD-AN)