BIOSAFETY MEASURES IN DONG NAI WILDLIFE FARMING – LESSONS LEARNT WORKSHOP

The workshop was organized by the University of Hanoi Public Health (HUPH), in collaboration with the Dong Nai Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and Health for one day at Aurora Hotel Plaza, 253 Pham Su Manh Street, Bien Hoa Municipal, Dong Nai province. Participated in the workshop were also media agencies, Dong Nai Television, Viet Nam Agriculture Television, non-governmental organizations, universities, interested individuals, and research institutes from inside and outside the country.

Opening remark by Deputy Rector of HUPH

The Activity 2.2.2.1 - Pilot implementation of selected biosafety of trial improved practices (TIPS) in commercial farming of four wildlife species, including civets, bamboo rats, porcupines, and sambar deer, at the household farms was under the 3^rd Year Plan of the STOP Spillover Project approved by the Ministry of Health and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These biosafety measures were prioritized for immediate implementation by the wildlife farmers of those four species to prevent the high potential transmission of coronavirus from animals to humans. Representatives from the district FPDs – the direct partners to implement Activity 2.2.2.1 at the registered wildlife farms – shared the results and their experiences in implementing TIP1 (masks, boots, gloves, protective clothing), TIP2 (Treatment of farmed animals wastes with Balasa N01 probiotic yast), and TIP3 (Monitoring health of farmed animals and farmers) over the past few months. These results and experiences were discussed in a panel discussion at the conference with leaders of the provincial DARD, HH, FPD, HUPH and AH. Fondly commented on results of the TIPs pilot and its feasibility to replicate those TIPs in Dong Nai province, the Deputy Director of Dong Nai DARD, Mr. Tran Lam Sinh said, "In Dong Nai, a number of projects related to wildlife have been implemented, but only the STOP Spillover has taken the One Health approach and provided TIPS interventions at the household farm interface that has been identified as the root cause of disease outbreaks and high risk of disease transmission from animals to humans. The results and lessons learned so far will serve as an essential basis for the province to continue and scale up the model that has already been adapted suitable for the province's household farming situation." He further added "The farmed wildlife waste management model has brought positive benefits to farmers, and the inter-agency coordination regulations supported by the project have brought together the FPD, AH, HH at all levels of management and wildlife farmers in proactively preventing, detecting, and responding to diseases and outbreaks at wildlife farm interfaces."

Participants of Dissemination Workshop

After three months of implementation, the project has successfully trained 25 key personnel from FPDs, HHs, AHs at both provincial and district levels. In addition, it has provided training for 50 local-level veterinary, health, and forestry officers, along with 16 wildlife farmers, focusing on some critical selected biosafety measures (TIPs) and common diseases associated with four high-risk animal species.

The project has achieved significant milestones by reaching out to 20 out of 57 civets household-based (HHB) farming facilities, 17 out of 50 bamboo rats HHB facilities, 6 out of 30 porcupines HHB farming facilities, and 20 out of 154 HHB sambar deer facilities. Impressively, all participating households are operating at a large scale, collectively representing 42% of the total farmed civets population, 58% of the total farmed bamboo rats population, 55% of the total farmed porcupine population, and 25% of the total farmed sambar deer population across the three pilot districts.

In close cooperation and coordination with provincial and district AHs and farmers, the project has successfully documented diseases commonly found on farmed civets, bamboo rats, porcupines, and sambar deer in Dong Nai as well as initial recommended workable treatment methods drawn from the successful farmers.  Mr. Phan Van Phuc, Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Dong Nai CDC, who has closely observed the project implementation, said “It is only when wildlife farmers fully grasp the risk of disease transmission to humans at any given moment and the potential for disease outbreaks at any time that they are driven to practice TIPs. Within a few months, the project has attracted participation of all large-scale farms, a strategic move towards risk mitigation. The One Health approach really worked in mobilizing stakeholders of healthcare, veterinary, forest rangers, and governmental resources, alongside farmers, enabling early and timely detection, contextually appropriate responses suitable for the household wildlife farming in Dong Nai.”

To address concerns about the efficiency of investing in the management of farmed wildlife waste as well as the ability of wildlife farm owners to afford the input materials, representatives of wildlife farmers from the three pilot districts affirmed, "Practicing prebiotic bedding for civets or composting porcupine waste with Balasa N01 yeast is very simple and easy to do. We can make full use of the materials available at the farms to create the composting pits. I've been doing this for three months now and have successfully produced three batches of high-quality compost. During the first three to five days of composting, the pit gets very hot, which appears to effectively kill any pathogens." Le Thanh Duc, who raised over 200 bamboo rats shared his experience.

"Since I adopted the project's recommended technique for bedding civets, I no longer have to wash the cages daily, so I've expanded this method to all of the cages. Now, I get rid of the unpleasant smell of excreta and urine of civets, and my civets, which had not been reproducing for several years, have resumed breeding. I'm very happy and want to share this practice with fellow farmers," said Vo Van Ngau Em, a civet farmer in Phú Hợp B Hamlet, Phú Bình Commune, Tân Phú District.

Concluding the workshop, Mr. Bui Minh Tan, representing the Provincial DARD, noted the highly encouraging results and the potential for expanding the implementation of the TIPS model throughout the three pilot districts and eventually extending it to all households raising these four animal species in the entire province. He also suggested the project continue to promote the practice of TIPs, improve guidance materials for disease detection and treatment in these species, and intensify communication efforts to change the behavior of wildlife farm owners, users, and the entire community to proactively prevent diseases transmission from animals to humans.

The STOP Spillover project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was designed to prepare countries to proactively detect, characterize, contain, manage, and respond to disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics highly likely transmitted from animals to humans caused by various strains of coronaviruses. The project is being implemented in six countries across Africa and Asia, with Viet Nam being one of the implementing countries. Dong Nai Province was selected as the only pilot site since October 2021. This initiative is technically supported by the HUPH, the Vietnam One Health University Network (VOHUN), and Tufts University in the United States. The project is scheduled to conclude in 2025 and encompasses five intervention groups at the farm level. The results and valuable experience insights obtained from these practices will be documented for future transfer to local authorities, ensuring the continuation of these practices beyond the scope of the project.

For further information, please contact Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, the project team leader in Viet Nam.