It is expected that veterinary doctors, related professionals, relevant producers and stakeholders of the pork sector be aware of the emergency actions to implement in the event of outbreaks of African Swine Fever. The webinar includes the participation of five speakers of great international prestige, with the subjects: “Finding an ASF suspect: (clinical signs, early detection; epidemiological surveillance—at farm level: passive and active; epidemiological research: prospective and retrospective tracing)”, “Taking and sending samples. Requisites for laboratory diagnosis of ASF,” “Diagnosis of ASF: a vital tool in controlling the disease,” “Actions to implement in the event of confirmation of an ASF outbreak (precautionary vs. definitive quarantine; restriction of movement of animals and products; stamping out; disposal; washing, cleaning and disinfecting,)” “Eradication of ASF in Cuba, 1971 and 1980. Recommendations for managing health emergencies.”
Dr. Daniel Beltrán-Alcrudo:DVM, MSc, MPVM, PhD. Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo is a veterinary epidemiologist with twenty years’ experience in international livestock health, the last fifteen working as an animal health officer for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Before the FAO, Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo worked as a field veterinarian in the United Kingdom during the foot and mouth epidemic and the eradication of tuberculosis in 2001 and in the development and implementation of a training program in avian influenza. In the FAO, Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo has worked both in the Rome headquarters and in the field. Since 2016, he has been working at the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in Budapest, providing technical assistance to veterinarian services. Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo has worked in various aspects of transboundary animal disease management and zoonosis, including risk assessments and costs, policy development, preparation, regional coordination, surveillance, development of capacities/training, awareness-raising and development and management of animal health databases. Although he has worked with different diseases, he has focused especially on African Swine Fever (ASF). Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo started to work in ASF shortly after his arrival at the FAO, where ASF had just jumped again from Africa to Europe (Georgia). Since then, Dr. Beltrán-Alcrudo has written numerous ASF resources (risk assessments, guidelines and scientific articles), has developed tools (such as cost calculations, pork/meat value chain analysis and biosecurity assessment of hunting reserves) and has participated as an ASF specialist on FAO emergency missions (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Myanmar and Dominican Republic).
Dr. Raquel Nieto: Dr. Nieto is a graduate in biological sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Since 1999 she has worked for the INIA-CISA, working in laboratory diagnosis of animal disease and ASF knowledge transfer. Since 2006 she has done European Union reference laboratory technical work in ASF and for the FAO reference center since 2011. Throughout her career she has been involved in over twenty national and international ASF projects and as a result of these collaborations has written different scientific and technical publications, as well as presentations at congresses, international and national meeting and conferences. She has participated in thirty-nine international courses on ASF technology transfer.
Dr. Marius Masiulis: After his veterinary studies, Dr. Masiulis did a doctorate in animal reproduction. In 2008 he started working for the state food and veterinary service as Deputy Chief of the Department of Animal Health and Welfare. After four years he moved to the Emergency Response Department, which he leads to this day. As head of the emergency response division he coordinates infectious animal disease control and is responsible for writing and updating national contingency plans. He is deeply involved in writing the legislation for control measures for animal diseases, including biosecurity requisites for African pig breeders and hunters for ASF. During his career he has been involved in the eradication of CSF in 2009 and 2011, and since 2014 he has been involved in surveillance, control and eradication of ASF in domestic pigs and wild boars. He has also participated in different trainings, workshops and e-learning courses related to ASF. He is a member of different task forces and scientific committees. He has provided training to private veterinarians, officials, pig hunters and breeders on ASF and for eleven months he worked as a contingency planning officer for the European Commission for the control of foot and mouth of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy.
Dr. Carmina Gallardo: Graduate in pharmaceutical sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Carmina has a doctorate in sciences and specialty in molecular biology from Madrid, Spain, with her thesis titled Development of New Serological and Molecular ASF Diagnosis Methods, written at the Animal Health Research Center, CISA-INNIA. From 2003 to 2009 she was at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, in collaboration with CISA-INIA, researching molecular epidemiology and diagnosis and ASF technology transfer in regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2009 she has worked for CISA-INIA, coordinating European Union reference laboratory technical work, which is also recommended in the OIE Manual. She has also done research work into the development of ASF vaccines, pathogenicity and virus evolution studies. Throughout her career, Dr Gallardo has been involved in over thirty national and international ASF projects and as a result of these collaborations has written over 260 scientific and technical publications and given 270 presentations at international congresses, conferences and meetings. She has also participated in over forty international courses on ASF, organized in Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America, as coordinator. Since 2014 she has been part of the European Union expert group for ASF, participating in the community emergency teams and in the response to outbreaks of ASF and Europe in the FAO missions as response to the recent outbreaks in the Americas.
Dr. María Irian Percedo: Doctor in veterinary sciences, tenured investigator, Dr. Irian Percedo is director of the National Centre for Agricultural Health (CENSA), a collaborative center of the OIE for animal health disaster risk reduction. She has participated in control and prevention programs of endemic and emerging diseases, such as ASF when it affected Cuba in 1980, rabbit hemorrhagic disease and porcine transmissible gastroenteritis, as well as the re-emergence of CSF in 1993. She is director of the Training Center for the Reduction of Disasters in Animals and Plants, in the intersectoral multidisciplinary network affiliated to CENSA. She leads the national One Health network, and is member of the national expert risk analysis group and of the sectoral program for disaster reduction of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. She participates in the CaribVET task forces in epidemiology and pig diseases.
