Assessment and Implementation of WOAH Day 1 Competencies (AID-1C): a cyclical methodology for curriculum harmonization with international standards.

Introduction: The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Day 1 Competencies for Graduating Veterinarians provide a standard framework to guide Veterinary Educational Establishments (VEEs) in improving their veterinary public health and population medicine curricula. However, pursuing a curriculum revision to incorporate these standards may be daunting, especially for institutions with limited resources or experience. This manuscript describes a methodology for targeted curriculum revision specifically focused on the WOAH Day 1 Competencies. Phases of the AID-1 process: The Assessment and Implementation of WOAH Day 1 Competencies (AID-1C) is a six-step, cyclical, collaborative methodology that encompasses a series of tools and processes that help a VEE to evaluate their curriculum, identify and prioritize gaps, and develop and implement an action plan based on the results. The six phases of the AID-1C process include: (1) Assessment of the proficiency of the VEE's graduates in Day 1 Competencies using a structured Evaluation Tool; (2) A systematic curricular review and evaluation; (3) Identification and prioritization of interventions through a group problem-solving and prioritization exercise called Focus Forward; (4) Design and development of interventions to address identified gaps; (5) Curricular implementation; and (6) Monitoring and evaluation. The AID-1C methodology relies upon active involvement of senior students, recent graduates, faculty, instructional staff, and employers throughout the process. Conclusion: The AID-1C methodology provides a systematic, participatory, collaborative approach that simplifies the planning and execution of the curricular revision, making a complex process more manageable. This enables VEEs to improve their curricula, while moving toward harmonization with WOAH standards. The result is a curriculum that allows a VEE to train well-rounded and competent veterinarians, with the requisite skills to support the veterinary services in their country.

Assessment of the Implementation of Pakistan's National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in the Agriculture and Food Sectors.

The agriculture and food (agrifood) sectors play key roles in the emergence, spread, and containment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Pakistan's first National Action Plan (NAP) on AMR was developed to guide One Health interventions to combat AMR through 2017-2022. To improve subsequent iterations, we assessed the implementation of Pakistan's NAP in the agrifood sectors (NAPag) in October 2022, using the Progressive Management Pathway on AMR tool developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The assessment tool addressed four crucial focus areas of the NAPag: governance, awareness, evidence, and practices. Each focus area contains multiple topics, which involve four sequential stages of activities to progressively achieve systematic management of AMR risk in the agrifood sectors. High-level representatives of the NAPag stakeholders provided information for the assessment through pre-event documentary review and workshop discussions. The assessment results showed that Pakistan's NAPag had an overall moderate coverage (59%) of the anticipated activities. Gaps were particularly notable in strengthening governance, good practices, and interventions in non-livestock sectors. Furthermore, only 12% of the evaluated activities were fully executed and documented, consistently remaining at the planning and piloting stages in the livestock sector across all the examined topics. Insufficient attention to non-livestock sectors, inadequate regulation and enforcement capacity, and resource constraints have hindered scalable and sustainable interventions under the current plan. This assessment provides valuable insights to strengthen the inclusiveness and contribution of the agrifood sectors in the next NAP iteration. In the short-to-medium term, strategic prioritization is necessary to optimize the use of limited resources and target the most critical gaps, such as improving awareness among key stakeholders and fortifying regulations for prudent antimicrobial use. In the long term, integration of AMR into the country's broader health, development, and agricultural transformation agendas will be needed to generate sustainable benefits.

Advancing One Health through veterinary education: a mixed methods needs assessment for implementing a WOAH-harmonized national veterinary medicine curriculum in Ethiopia.

Introduction: International organizations now actively promote and implement One Health collaborative approaches to prevent, detect, and control diseases in humans and animals, recognizing the critical importance of the veterinary and agricultural sectors. Moreover, Veterinary Services are chronically under-resourced, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Given the importance of National Veterinary Services to food security, nutrition, poverty alleviation, and global health security, strengthening veterinary capacity is a priority for the international community. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) outlines a set of minimum competencies veterinarians need to support National Veterinary Services effectively. To improve the quality of veterinary education, Ethiopia has developed a new 2020 national curriculum that is harmonized with the WOAH competencies. Methods: A mixed methods needs assessment was conducted to identify barriers and challenges that Ethiopian veterinary medicine programs have faced in implementing the new WOAH-harmonized national curriculum. Representatives from active veterinary programs granting a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree were invited to share their experiences via an online survey and follow-up focus group discussion. Results: Fourteen veterinary programs, representing 93% of eligible programs nationwide, participated in the needs assessment. Quantitative analysis indicated that the most difficult topics associated with the new curriculum included Organization of Veterinary Services (Competency 3.1), Inspection and Certification Procedures (3.2), and practical applications of the regulatory framework for disease prevention and control (multiple competencies). Challenges associated with specific instructional methodologies, particularly the facilitation of off-site (private and public sector) student training, were also perceived as barriers to implementation. Focus group discussions elucidated reasons for these challenges and included limitations in faculty expertise, resource constraints (e.g., supplies, infrastructure), and access to off-site facilities for hands-on teaching. Conclusion: The results of this needs assessment will be used to identify and prioritize solutions to implementation challenges, helping Ethiopian veterinary medicine programs move the new WOAH-harmonized curriculum from theory to practice. As veterinarians are integral partners in advancing One Health, strengthening the capacity of Veterinary Services can ultimately safeguard animal and human health, grow economies, and improve lives.

Evolution of influenza A viruses in exhibition swine and transmission to humans, 2013-2015.

AIMS: Swine are a mixing vessel for the emergence of novel reassortant influenza A viruses (IAV). Interspecies transmission of swine-origin IAV poses a public health and pandemic risk. In the United States, the majority of zoonotic IAV transmission events have occurred in association with swine exposure at agricultural fairs. Accordingly, this human-animal interface necessitates mitigation strategies informed by understanding of interspecies transmission mechanisms in exhibition swine. Likewise, the diversity of IAV in swine can be a source for novel reassortant or mutated viruses that pose a risk to both swine and human health. METHODS AND RESULTS: In an effort to better understand those risks, here we investigated the epidemiology of IAV in exhibition swine and subsequent transmission to humans by performing phylogenetic analyses using full genome sequences from 272 IAV isolates collected from exhibition swine and 23 A(H3N2)v viruses from human hosts during 2013-2015. Sixty-seven fairs (24.2%) had at least one pig test positive for IAV with an overall estimated prevalence of 8.9% (95% CI: 8.3-9.6, Clopper-Pearson). Of the 19 genotypes found in swine, 5 were also identified in humans. There was a positive correlation between the number of human cases of a genotype and its prevalence in exhibition swine. Additionally, we demonstrated that A(H3N2)v viruses clustered tightly with exhibition swine viruses that were prevalent in the same year. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that multiple genotypes of swine-lineage IAV have infected humans, and highly prevalent IAV genotypes in exhibition swine during a given year are also the strains detected most frequently in human cases of variant IAV. Continued surveillance and rapid characterization of IAVs in exhibition swine can facilitate timely phenotypic evaluation and matching of candidate vaccine strains to those viruses present at the human-animal interface which are most likely to spillover into humans.

Resistencia a las fluoroquinolonas y otros antimicrobianos en cepas de Salmonella spp. aisladas en el procesamiento de pollo entero / Fluoroquinolone resistance and other drugs in Salmonella spp. strains isolates from whole chicken processing

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar patrones de resistencia y multirresistencia de cepas de Salmonella spp. Aisladas de una planta procesadora de aves, hacia las quinolonas y fluoroquinolonas (ácido nalidíxico=Na, ciprofloxacina=Cf y enrofloxacina= Ex), así como a otros antimicrobianos: tetraciclinas (T), oxitetraciclina (O), neomicina (N), nitrofurantoina (Nf), trimetoprim (Tr) y cloranfenicol (C). Un total de 146 aislamientos de Salmonella spp. fueron obtenidos de diferentes fuentes: 34 cepas provenientes de mezclas de vísceras blancas (colón, ciegos) y vísceras rojas (hígado y bazo); 87 cepas aisladas de las canales en los procesos de desplume, eviscerado, enfriamiento y empacado; 8 cepas obtenidas de subproductos comestibles (patas, cuellos, hígados y mollejas) y 19 cepas de muestras de ambientes (agua, hielo y superficies de equipos). Se utilizaron técnicas microbiológicas convencionales, pruebas bioquímicas, serológicas y pruebas de susceptibilidad a los antibióticos por difusión en agar. Los resultados revelaron una alta resistencia para Na (73,3 por ciento; 107/146), Nf (60,2 por ciento; 88/146), T (56,2 por ciento; 82/146), O (54,8 por ciento; 80/146), Tr (54,1 por ciento; 79/146) y una menor resistencia a Ex (6.2 por ciento; 9/146), Cf (2,7por ciento; 4/146), N (2,0 por ciento; 3/146) y C (2,5por ciento; 4/146). Se encontró un porcentaje elevado de multirresistencia (65,0 por ciento; 95/146) y dentro de ellos, los más notorios fueron: NaNfTTr (42,1 por ciento), NaNfTr (26,3 por ciento) y NaNfT (10,5 por ciento). No se observó relación significativa (P>0,05) entre los patrones de resistencia y multirresistencia encontrados con el origen de las diferentes cepas de Salmonella. Estos resultados evidencian el surgimiento de cepas de Salmonellas resistentes a las quinolonas y la necesidad de programas de vigilancia de resistencia antimicrobiana.

The aim of this study was to determine the resistance and multi-resistance patterns of strains of Salmonella spp. isolated in a poultry processing plant in Zulia State, to quinolones and fluoroquinolones (Nalidixic acid=Na, ciprofloxacin=Cf, and enrofloxacin=Ex), as well as other antimicrobial drugs: tetracycline (T), oxitetracycline (O), neomycin (N), nitrofurantoine (Nf), trimetropim (Tr) and chloranfenicol (C). A total of 146 Salmonella isolates were obtained from different sources: 34 strains from pools of Intestines (duodenal and colon) and internal organs (liver and spleen); 87 strains of carcass samples collected in four different phases: carcasses after defeathering, evisceration, chilling, and final packed products; 8 strains from edible by-products (neck, liver, gizzard and legs) and 19 strains from environmental samples (water, ice, and equipment surfaces). The detection analyses were performed using conventional microbiological techniques, biochemical tests, serological and agar diffusion methods for antimicrobial susceptibility. The results showed a high resistance to Na (73.3%; 107/146), Nf (60.2%; 88/147), T (56.2%; 82/146), O (54.8%; 80/146), Tr (54.1%; 79/146) and low resistance to Ex (6.2%; 9/146), Cf (2.7%; 4/146), N (2.0%; 3/146) and C (2.7%; 4/146). There was observed a high percentage of multi-resistant strains (65.0%; 95/146) and within of them, the most common patterns were: NaNfTTr (42.1%), NaNfTr (26.3%) and NaNfT (10.5%). No significant relationship was observed (P>0.05) between resistance and multi-resistance patterns with the source of the Salmonella strains. These results are evidence of the emergence of resistant Salmonella strains to fluoroquinolones and the necessity of programs for antimicrobial resistance surveillance.