For the past year, VWB/VSF has supported the development of a wildlife disease prevention program in Ecuador that focuses primarily on wild birds. Partnering with Ecuadorian biologists, pathologists and virologists, the VWB/VSF team is building a framework for monitoring and preventing the emergence of infectious diseases like avian influenza.

Backyard chicken flocks are a key source of food, trade, and income for many Ecuadorian families, particularly for those living in rural communities. Most of these backyard chickens are kept in open areas without fencing, which increases the likelihood of them to coming in to contact with other bird species and increases the risk of disease transmission. An outbreak of avian influenza in backyard chickens would result in substantial livestock losses and have devastating economic and health-related consequences for those whose livelihoods depend on them.

This wildlife disease prevention program in Ecuador is a long term project focused on sustainable capacity building. An important component of this comprehensive program is a series of training workshops that will be held both in Ecuador and in Canada, including a workshop on avian influenza diagnostics at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (NCFAD-CFIA). The goal of these workshops, and the program as a whole, is to train local Ecuadorian animal and human health professionals so that they are better equipped to monitor and prevent the emergence of infectious diseases.