One Health partners with support from USAID-STOP Spillover conduct successful tabletop simulation exercise in Sierra Leone

The One Health partners with support from USAID-STOP Spillover conducted a table-top simulation exercise to test zoonotic disease outbreak preparedness and response systems at the community level in Kenema District. The purpose of the simulation exercise was to test interface-level preparedness and response systems/structures in the event of a Lassa fever outbreak and strengthen community capacity at the interface level. A tabletop simulation exercise, though less intense than a full-scale simulation, provides an opportunity to assess community readiness, structure functionality, and staff ability to respond to an epidemic.

During the three-day exercise, One Health partners (the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and STOP Spillover Sierra Leone, tested and trained community level personnel to respond to a Lassa fever epidemic. The team identified strengths and gaps in the outbreak management system at the community level and offered recommendations, assessed collaboration between various stakeholders for the management of an epidemic outbreak, and improved awareness of the actions needed to prepare for and respond to Lassa fever cases. In addition, the group discussed the roles that each stakeholder should play in epidemic outbreak management.

Read the Impact Brief for more information about the exercise.

Image above: Participants at the workshop. Photo credit: STOP Spillover Sierra Leone.

Wild Meat Health Webinar Features STOP Spillover Interim Project Co-Director

STOP Spillover Interim Project Co-Director, Dr. Felicia B. Nutter recently participated in the third webinar of a four-part learning series by USAID's Wild Meat Collaborative Learning Group. Entitled "Wild Meat Health," this webinar explores the connections between wild meat and One Health. Dr. Nutter is Director of the International Veterinary Medicine Program at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and has held senior positions on multiple USAID projects since 2009.

Viet Nam Country Team Lead Receives Public Health Award for Presentation

Ha Nguyen, STOP Spillover Country Team Lead in Viet Nam, presented at the 13th International Conference on Public Health in Hue City, Viet Nam from July 1-2, 2023. Ha's STOP Spillover project “One Health collaboration in the assessment of risk behavior along wildlife value chains in Dong Nai province, Viet Nam" was awarded first place for outstanding oral presentation for the One Health – Eco Health theme. Her presentation was among 99 others, with speakers from 14 participating countries.

Ha has more than 14 years of public health experience both in the field and in management. She graduated from Hanoi Medical University, Viet Nam with a master’s degree in public health. Learn more about Ha’s vision for STOP Spillover in Viet Nam.

Image above: Ha Nguyen presenting at the International Conference on Public Health in Viet Nam. Photo Credit: Ha Nguyen.

TechByte: Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)

In this section of the newsletter, we share innovations in data and diagnostics, and technologies that can be used to identify and reduce spillover risk, amplification, and spread.

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is an international team dedicated to humanitarian action and community development through open mapping. They work together to provide map data that revolutionizes disaster management, reduces risks, and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Open mapping helps people work together to understand, use, and share data to take more informed, locally appropriate action. HOT joined STOP Spillover during the proposal development stage and was prepared to support the STOP Spillover team in disease tracking and surveillance monitoring, as they have done in numerous countries and contexts. Read more about their tools and data here: Tools & Data | Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (hotosm.org) and their work in public health here: Public Health | Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (hotosm.org). In particular, their work in COVID-19 vaccination in South Sudan and Liberia, and during the West African Ebola epidemic are relevant to our work. Check out their most recent Tech Hot Spot here: Tech HOT Spot | Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (hotosm.org).

STOP Spillover Interim Project Co-Director evaluates biosafety improvements at the wildlife farm interface in Viet Nam

STOP Spillover Interim Project Co-Director Dr. Jonathon Gass recently traveled to Viet Nam to conduct site visits to wildlife farms with the country’s team on the ground. Dr. Gass, Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, is an infectious disease epidemiologist specializing in transmission dynamics of zoonotic viruses between animals and humans. Learn more about his experience by visiting the STOP Spillover Field Notes Blog.

Image above: Dr. Jonathon Gass observing bamboo rats at a farm in Dong Nai province, Viet Nam. Photo Credit: Ha Nguyen.

A bat guano farmer in Kang Meas district, northwest Cambodia, participating in Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) wearing full personal protective equipment to protect herself while sweeping up the bat guano. Using the TIPs technique allows the project to test out an intervention and refine it before rolling it out.

Photo credit: Sok Dou, STOP Spillover, Cambodia.