Pacific Paravet Training Project | Non-profit organisation

Pacific Paravet Training Project

Phone: +61 2 6933 2559

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25.01.2022 Yesterday was the launching of the Plant health Laboratory Biosecurity containment level 3 in Fiji. The laboratory is the first of its kind and was established with financial support from ACIAR,. The plant health laboratory aims to support the Fijian agriculture sector to protect regional food security against the rising threat of pests and diseases.

25.01.2022 Interesting research by ACIAR into the potential zoonotic spread of malaria between monkeys and people in Indonesia. This may also become relevant to the Pacific as there are concerns about monkeys becoming established as an introduced species on the island of New Guinea https://aciar.gov.au/project/ls-2019-116

23.01.2022 Today we would like to introduce you to Dr. Nicola Wunderlich, who is the amazing Project Manager of the the Pacific Paravet Training Project. Nicola has a keen interest in plant pathology and her early career focused on conducting laboratory and field based research at CSU and DPI in Wagga Wagga. She completed her PhD through CSU and the National Wine and Grape Industry Center on a fungal pathogen in grapevines. She has vast experience in supporting capacity building in dev...eloping countries, involved in projects on crop protection and disease identification, consult for capacity building projects, extend scientific outcomes to its end-users, search for the best knowledge transfer pathways and tools to facilitate adoption in the quest of improving farmer’s livelihood and minimizing the spread and impact of disease. When asked about what motivated her to be a part of the Pacific Paravet training project, Nicola says; "I like challenges and reality checks and can see lots of commonalities between the plant health, animal health and human health sectors in developing countries, in particular the constraints to knowledge transfer, accessibility and sustainability of training resources and adoption. This becomes particularly exciting when being presented with obstacles that require innovation and thinking outside the square."

23.01.2022 This is great news! Diagnostic lab capacity is essential in the pacific islands for the early detection of animal, zoonotic and plant diseases, so that rapid and effective measures can be developed to control the spread or eradicate the disease."

21.01.2022 Andrew Peters, our project lead, first visited PNG in 2009 and immediately loved the cultural and natural richness of the Pacific. He works across a range of animal health areas, especially in wildlife health, and is passionate about sharing and mobilising knowledge. Andrew is excited to be leading this project and to work together with colleagues across the region to develop useful training resources for animal health officers in this amazing part of the world.

21.01.2022 Associate Professor Jane Heller is involved with the Pacific Paravet Training project as a Co-investigator. She has vast experience in the field of veterinary epidemiology, veterinary public health, and years of teaching experience. 'I am motivated to be part of this project by the opportunity to contribute to development of capacity and response capabilities with respect to animal disease in the pacific and also to support the use of a One Health approach in doing so, which will ultimately support both animal and human health." said Dr. Heller. We are glad to have her on the team!

20.01.2022 We would like to introduce Associate Professor Marta Hernandez-Jover who is a Co-investigator with the Pacific Paravet Training Project. Marta has extensive experience in Epidemiology and Veterinary Public Health, and teaches epidemiology, public health and food safety to veterinary and animal science students. Her main interests and current research focus on biosecurity in the livestock industries and epidemiology and risk analysis methods applied to infectious animal disea...ses and public health. Marta says "Supporting capacity building in animal health in our neighbours is crucial for helping these countries being better prepared for managing outbreaks of significant diseases that could impact animal and public health and as such support peoples’ livelihoods. Better animal health management in these countries will also minimise the risk of introduction of exotic diseases into Australia" We are so excited to have her on the team!

18.01.2022 Do not let ASF kill our pigs. Learn about ASF, its symptoms and how to stop it. Call 180 1332 to report sick or dead pigs. #StopimASF

18.01.2022 ZAPPA which stands for Zoonotic Arthropod-borne virus Project PNG-Australia is a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. They are using a "One-Health approach", with local organisations in PNG and in Australia to develop a surveillance system for mosquito-borne diseases such as Japanese encephalitis. Part of their project also includes surveillance on African Swine Fever in PNG.

13.01.2022 We would like to introduce Dr. Shubhagata (Shubho) Das who is a Co-investigator of the Pacific Paravet Training Project. Shubho worked as a full time academic and pathologist at Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Bangladesh, before starting his research career at CSU in 2014. His doctoral and postdoctoral research was focused on molecular virology and developing vaccine for Psittacine Beak and feather disease (PBFD), a key threatening process for the endan...gered and vulnerable avian species of Australia. Shubho has comprehensive teaching and research experience in veterinary pathobiology and molecular virology. He says, "The multidisciplinary nature of this project has intrigued me to be a part this project and I am interested in the diversity and dynamics of animal pathogens in these geographically secluded island nations." We are so excited to have him on the team!

11.01.2022 There is a great One health Seminar coming up on Thursday the 17th of September!

10.01.2022 Freshly graduated Vet from Charles Sturt University, Dr. Tania Areori is our Project Officer and will be based in PNG. Tania said " I was motivated to be a part of the project, as being a Papua New Guinean I understand how important the land, environment and animals are in our culture and way of life. Paravets play an important role in the delivery of animal health services especially in countries where there are limited number of trained Veterinarians. I am looking forward to supporting animal health capacity building in the country."

10.01.2022 Have a listen to the Pacific Paravet Project lead, Dr. Andrew Peters as he talks about his journey, experiences and how birds and bats can contribute to the spillover of zoonotic viruses and disease to humans and the social, physical and environmental factors that play a role. https://soundcloud.com/user-83/ep-1-andrew-peters-the-covid

10.01.2022 For our first official post on our page. The Pacific Paravet Training Project would like to introduce our incredible Lead Content Developer Dr. Victoria Brookes. Victoria is a veterinarian who has worked in practice in the UK and Australia. After completing her PhD to develop a stakeholder-driven framework for preparedness for exotic diseases of pigs, Victoria continued research into disease preparedness for rabies in Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. Victoria’s resea...rch interests are diseases of livestock, zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases, and the application of disease modelling and risk analysis. Dr. Brookes says that, "I’m motivated by our need to ensure that our Pacific partners have the capacity to detect and respond to animal disease emergencies this project is a first step to building that capacity." #pacificparavettrainingproject #Animalhealth #onehealth

09.01.2022 ACIAR is providing Pacific Agriculture scholarships and support progammes for students at University of South Pacific and Fiji National University. These scholarships have achieved significant results and strengthened the agricultural innovation system in the Pacific.

09.01.2022 The Australian Government’s commitment to providing COVID-19 vaccine access to the Pacific is an important step towards protecting human health in the region.

08.01.2022 "One Health Day" Did you know? According to WHO (2020), Rabies a zoonotic disease is estimated to cause 59 000 human deaths annually in over 150 countries, with 95% of cases occurring in Africa and Asia. Due to under reporting and uncertain estimates, these numbers are likely a gross underestimate.... (https://www.who.int/health-topics/rabies#tab=tab_1) As we celebrate "One Health" day. We recognize the important interconnections between Public health, Veterinary health and Environmental health. All of us in different walks of life, need to play our part collaboratively to achieve optimal global health outcomes. #OneHealthDay #veterinaryhealth #publichealth #environmentalhealth

06.01.2022 What’s sociology got to do with it? Listen to this great interview of our project manager Dr. Nicola Wunderlich, in a podcast by Dr Sarina Kilham, to find out just how much sociology underlies what our project is doing.

05.01.2022 Copyright: NAQIA Biosecurity Facebook page

04.01.2022 African Swine Fever is a contagious disease of pigs, spreading rapidly across countries with no vaccine available. The Global Control of ASF Initiative, has recently been launched under the GF-TADs umbrella, which supports actors at every level to coordinate and strengthen control measures to reduce the impact of this complex and challenging disease. https://www.oie.int//oie-and-fao-kickstart-global-initia/

03.01.2022 We are pleased to introduce another Co-investigator of the Pacific Paravet Training project, Professor Shane Raidal. Shane first visited PNG in 2013 when conducting a "Wildlife Health training course" in Goroka. He is an experienced Veterinary pathologist with years of research and extensive teaching experience. Shane says " There is a great need in the pacific region to improve animal health and welfare as well as disease diagnosis and surveillance". We are so glad to have him on the team!

02.01.2022 We are so pleased to introduce Dr. Marie Bhanugopan who is a Co-investigator with the Pacific Paravet Training Project. Marie's first job as an academic started in Lae, PNG where she had the opportunity to live and work for 2.5 years. She has years of teaching experience and has been immensely involved in the development of veterinary teaching resources. Marie says, "As an educator, transferring knowledge and building capacity in a region where I have lived and worked is what motivated her to be a part of the project."