Barbados, Region scale up preparedness plan for avian influenza

By Michelle Nurse Last updated Jul 28, 2015

Regional veterinary officials are working to prevent the introduction of Avian Influenza. (Photo by FP via Barbados Nation)

VETERINARY OFFICIALS from Barbados and the Caribbean, as well as members of the poultry sector, are on high alert, and have been working tirelessly to scale up their preparedness planning to prevent the introduction and spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

The Caribbean Animal Health Network, known as CaribVET, and the Caribbean Poultry Association (CPA), convened a three-day Avian Influenza Regional Preparedness Meeting in Barbados recently to review and further develop a regional strategic plan to safeguard food security and the livelihoods of communities across the region.

Co-funded by the 10th European Development Fund Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures Project, the meeting gathered representatives from the public and private sectors, regional and international organisations involved with agriculture, research institutes, researchers and other technical experts.