Download Messages from the farm

© FAO / Hoang Dinh Nam
Stories from the field
Bangladesh
Messages from the farm
T
ime is crucial when avian influenza strikes.
Unless the right steps are taken without
delay, the damage can be catastrophic as the
virus spreads to more birds on more farms and,
even worse, to people. Many farmers in rural
parts of Asia, however, have little to no contact
with officers of the public veterinary services or
veterinary practitioners. Few have access to the
Internet or other sources of information on the
disease and what to do about it.
Since 2010, poultry farmers in rural Bangladesh
have been able to receive help fast when highly
pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1 HPAI) strikes
because of a programme developed by FAO
with the support of the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID).
The programme makes use of one technology
almost every farmer in Bangladesh has these
days: a mobile phone. The models are usually
cheap and rudimentary. Nonetheless, they are
capable of sending and receiving information
by the Short Messaging System (SMS) at
a low cost.
FAO developed an SMS Gateway that allows
farmers to alert Upazila (subdistrict) Livestock
Officers and Veterinary Surgeons at the first sign
their poultry may be infected. A rapid response is
then launched. A team is dispatched immediately
to the farm to conduct an investigation and take
appropriate measures to prevent the virus from
spreading. Meanwhile, specimens are sent to
a laboratory in the capital Dhaka and results are
transmitted back through the SMS Gateway
within 24 hours.
One morning in 2011, when chickens started
dying on a farm owned by Ghiasuddin in Dohar
Upazila, he notified officials through the SMS
Gateway. By 9 a.m. the team had arrived. By
nightfall the Dhaka laboratory confirmed the
outbreak. Ghiasuddin’s flock of 4 000 chickens
was culled, but he was compensated for his
losses. More importantly, the rapid response
prevented the virus from infecting birds on three
other farms just 150 metres away. The outbreak
had been contained.
The SMS Gateway system is demonstrating its potential to transform the speed
and quality of the response to emerging disease threats. In 2010, 74 percent
of Bangladesh’s 31 outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI were reported through the SMS
Gateway. In 2011, the performance was even better. Of 171 outbreaks, 87
percent were reported using this transformative technology.
The proprietary software for using the SMS Gateway technology in the fight
against H5N1 HPAI was developed by a team of FAO computer technologists
with inputs from epidemiologists and veterinarians from the FAO Technical Unit
for the Avian Influenza Programme.
The SMS Gateway has made responses more effective, reducing response time
to 1.43 days in 2011 from 4.8 days in 2007. It helped to dramatically prevent the
highly infectious disease from spreading further. Because it uses the existing
telecommunications technology and human resources in Bangladesh, it is easy
to sustain, especially as the government is fully supporting the programme and is
committed to its expansion.
The programme is not limited to responding to outbreaks. It is also a means
of imparting knowledge and gaining from lessons learned. “Although I lost
everything I owned, this incident has taught me the importance of biosecurity,’’
Ghiasuddin said. “My new farm will be a model of biosecurity and health safety
for my chickens. I have followed every step and procedure to ensure that I never
have an outbreak like that again.”
CONTACT
Subhash Morzaria
Regional Manager for the
Emergency Centre for
Transboundary Animal
Diseases (RAP-ECTAD)
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations,
Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific
Address: 39 Phra Atit Rd
Bangkok, 10200, Thailand
Tel: (+66 2) 697 4138
E-mail: [email protected]
LINK
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/
programmes/en/empres/ah1n1/
Ectad.html
*Project: Support to the FAO ECTAD Communication Unit to conduct
strategic, multi-disciplinary HPAI communication research for policy
advocacy and capacity building (OSRO/GLO/707/USA)
Donor and budget: USA; total funding US$2 056 729
For a world without hunger
The FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing
countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate
agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information.
We help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve
agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all.
Since our founding in 1945, we have focused special attention on developing rural
areas, home to 70 percent of the world’s poor and hungry people.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Tel: (+66 2) 697 4000
Fax: (+66 2) 697 4445
Email: [email protected]
www.fao.org
www.fao.org/world/regional/rap