Training of trainers in Laboratory analyses for the diagnostic of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
FAO Sub-Regional Office for North Africa in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis organized as part of the project “Emergency Assistance for the control of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry and other domestic birds in Libya (TCP / LIB / 3501)”, a training of trainers in “Laboratory analyses for the diagnostic of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza”, in Tunis from Monday 13 to Friday 17 March 2017.
The official closing was chaired by the Director of the Institut Pasteur de Tunis (Hechmi Louzir) and the FAO Sub regional Coordinator for North Africa and Representative in Tunisia (Thiombiano Lamourdia) and the Health and Animal Production Officer (Mohammed Bengoumi) in presence of 4 Libyan participants, Veterinary Doctors, and the team of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Veterinary Microbiology of Institut Pasteur de Tunis.
The objective of this training was to strengthen the capacity of the Libyan veterinarians in laboratory analyses for the diagnostic of avian influenza virus.
The training program for the week was divided in two parts:
- Theoretical training illustrated by detailed presentations of the measures that must be adopted to work in optimal conditions, to avoid / minimize all risks of contamination and thus to guarantee the safety of the operator and his environment.
- Theoretical and practical trainings in serological, virological and molecular diagnostic techniques of avian influenza infection.
The discussions between the members of the laboratory in the presence of external experts made it possible to focus exchanges on problems that may be encountered in their structure.
Some recommendations were made, such as:
- Dividing this kind of training in periods with enough time to each part for better understanding and mastering all technical details;
- Other types of training with enough time, especially RT-PCR and sequencing techniques and interpretations (+software handling…).
