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© 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