High level FAO expert committee comprising Dr David Castellan, Regional Veterinary Epidemiologist, FAO; Dr Leo Loth, Chief Technical Advisor, FAO India; and Dr M.V. Subba Rao, National Project Consultant, FAO India, on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) visited the GADVASU on 25.11.2010 to strengthen the Field Veterinary Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP-V) for Epidemiology of Transboundary and Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases in the Country. The meeting was chaired by Dr V K Taneja, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU and he welcomed the FAO experts. Dr Taneja emphasized on creating extra manpower force for epidemiology and control of diseases. He is also of the opinion to give them some incentives. In this way more and more people can be involved in the mission. He also suggested that the economics of the whole project must be considered carefully.
Dr David Castellan gave a talk and presentation on Field Veterinary Epidemiology Training Programme. He highlighted the linkage between academic and field veterinarian training programme.
Dr Leo Loth said that the course on epidemiology, data analysis, animal disease monitoring and disease model will be taught in the training programme.
Dr Subba Rao emphasized the need of field visit for the trainees of the programme to attend the outbreak of diseases and collection of data.
Heads of Departments from Vety Microbiology, Vety Public Health, Vety Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary Pathology alongwith senior professors from these departments actively participated in the discussion and were of the opinion that the above said programme will be highly useful to control the emerging and transboundary animal diseases due to Globalization.
Dr Simrat Sagar Singh, Dean, COVS and Dr K S Sandhu, DSW-cum-EO-cum- Director of Extension Education thanked the FAO experts and faculty.
