An informative electronic meeting of the GF-TADs for the Americas was held on April 4th. Meeting was convened after the detection and notification of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza cases in dairy cattle and goats in the United States of America, also related to the detection of the virus in humans.
Updated press releases can be accessed at Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Detections in Livestock | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (usda.gov)
Approximately 300 participants attended the meeting. Participants included WOAH Delegates and technical staff from the Veterinary Services from the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Middle East regions. In addition, representatives from technical global, regional and subregional Organizations, WOAH Regional Representatives, and Secretariats and Presidents from the different GF-TADs Regional Steering Committees attended the meeting.
Meeting was chaired and opened by Dr Jack Shere, as Regional GF-TADs President, as well as the WOAH Regional Representative for the Americas, Dr Luis Barcos and Dr Andres Gonzalez Serrano, Animal Health and Biodiversity Officer at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.
After them, a presentation on the detections and the current situation was made. Speakers included Dr Rosemary Sifford, USA WOAH Delegate, Suelee Robbe-Austerman and Mark Lyons, from USDA/APHIS/VS, as well as Dr Christine M. Szablewski, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The importance of early detection and transparency in reporting was emphasized, along with cooperation between the different national agencies.
You can access the recording at this link
Access code: LKg#9#wx
More information on the GF-TADs regional activities is available at this link https://rr-americas.woah.org/en/projects/gf-tads/
