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The Livestock Revolution, Sustainable Development, Zoonotic Disease
Conference Audio and Video - Vincent Martin
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Vincent Martin, DVM, MSc EMPRES Group, FAO
Audio of Dr. Martin's lecture (MP3 format; 29 minutes) Video of Dr. Martin's lecture (RealVideo format; 29 minutes) |
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Biography Vincent Martin is a member of the animal health service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. His responsibilities are in the area of early warning and response to disease emergencies. Dr. Martin graduated from the National School of Toulouse, France, obtained his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1993 and then entered the French National School of Veterinary Services, where he studied veterinary public health and animal disease control and worked with various disease surveillance and disease control programs, including at the epidemiology unit of the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Zimbabwe. Dr. Martin also earned a masters degree in animal production in tropical regions and a post-graduate certificate in exotic disease and epidemiology. |
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Abstract Farming systems, Trade and Cultural Practices in Developing Countries that Influence the Emergence of Avian Influenza The emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), H5N1 strain in Asia and its subsequent spread to other continents is the result of years of fast and unregulated development of animal production to meet the increased demand in animal protein. Highly concentrated domestic poultry production in densely populated regions, a rapid evolution of animal and farming production systems in the region associated to centuries-old cultural practices that place humans and poultry in close mutual proximity, as well as the constant evolving nature of the virus have provided the ideal conditions for the emergence of new pathogenic strains of avian influenza.Understanding the underlying farming and cultural practices that influenced the emergence and spread of avian influenza in developing countries has been instrumental in developing effective risk-reduction measures. Indeed, through a better understanding of farming systems, trade and market chains as well as cultural practices in Asia, it has been demonstrated that control efforts should be focused on production sectors with low biosecurity standards, namely sectors three (free-ranging chickens and ducks, pond ducks) and four (scavenging chickens and ducks), which represent a greater challenge, from a disease management and cultural point of view, for reducing the risk of avian influenza occurrence and subsequent human health infection. |
