Wildlife farm surveillance and significance of results
Wildlife farming is known to have been present in Viet Nam since the 1800s, but the practice has increased dramatically in scale and scope over the past decade. In 2005, according to government records, 579 farms were registered in the whole of Viet Nam. By 2013, 360 wildlife farms were registered in the Hanoi metropolitan area alone, with thousands of farms registered across the nation. The highest concentration of wildlife farms is in the southern region of Viet Nam.
PREDICT-2 will continue to focus on the wildlife farm interface in Viet Nam as part of a One Health approach to understanding the dynamics of zoonotic virus evolution, spillover from animals to people, amplification, and spread to inform prevention and control.
The main activities of the project include:
Capacity Building: PREDICT provided lectures on the risks of zoonotic disease emergence associated with wildlife trade practices in Viet Nam at two trainings in Dak Lak Province and Da Lat City, organized by DAH-FAO and WCS respectively. The Dak Lak training engaged animal health, public health and environment officials and stressed the critical importance of a coordinated One Health approach in reducing the threats of infectious disease emergence, while the training in Da Lat included wildlife law enforcement officers working along Viet Nam’s borders with Cambodia and Lao PDR, and highlighted the important role they play in preventing the spread of pathogens and pandemic disease emergence by preventing illegal wildlife trade. PREDICT-2 training activities to date have involved 113 individuals (78 male, 35 female).
Surveillance and Field Activities:PREDICT conducted surveillance along the wildlife trade animal value chain in Viet Nam by working with government agencies and local rescue centers to collect samples from wildlife confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade.
Laboratory Development/Testing: PREDICT partner laboratories in Viet Nam (RAHO6, NIHE and VNUA), received the PREDICT-2 Protocols and Universal Control this period. Laboratory capacity assessments were performed at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City (PI-HCM) with plans to extend PREDICT laboratory protocols to PI-HCM for testing of human samples as part of the LISN project in Viet Nam. The PREDICT protocols and University Control provide the technology required to identify novel viruses in specimens collected from humans, wildlife or domestic animals.
Stakeholder Engagement and Partner Coordination
• PREDICT participated in the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) external technical review meeting held April 26-27, 2016, in Hai Phong City.
• PREDICT provided technical inputs in the multi-stakeholder process to develop the Viet Nam Coordinated Surveillance for Influenza and Other Viruses with Pandemic Potential (LISN) network.
• PREDICT also participated in consultations organized by the Viet Nam One Health Partnership for Zoonoses (OHP) by providing reviews and recommendations on studies regarding the economic cost of rabies and developing a risk analysis and assessment program for food safety and zoonotic disease.
