According to guidance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) joint Network of Expertise on Animal Influenza (OFFLU), it is only through implementing a field influenza virus monitoring and surveillance programme to identify new and variant strains of the H5N1 virus that it is possible to achieve successful HPAI vaccination programmes in poultry, using vaccines appropriately matched to H5N1 field strains.

This is according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which said that supported by OFFLU as well as FAO's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) Indonesia, the Government of Indonesia increased the capacity of eight animal health diagnostic laboratories since 2009 to monitor, detect and characterise avian influenza H5N1 viruses circulating in the country.

FAO writers added that, in addition, a vision was developed of the required tasks and collaboration to be conducted at national level for constant monitoring of circulating influenza strains.

An animal health laboratory-based influenza virus monitoring network took shape where laboratories detect, characterize and assess viruses via a monitoring and analysis platform and communicate their results to decision makers. From 2011, this developed into a sustainable animal health laboratory network and web-based platform for influenza virus monitoring: IVM Online.

Mr Syukur Iwantoro, Director General of Livestock and Animal Health Services (DGLAHS) at the Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, officially launched the IVM Online platform on 20 May 2014.

The event was followed by a Bioinformatics Training Workshop for members of the IVM Network of animal health laboratories, with the participation of Indonesian trainers as well as bioinformatics experts from the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and FAO headquarters.

Further Reading

You can visit the Avian Flu page by clicking here.