Students supported to attend the Timor-Leste International Veterinary Conference
May 9, 2023
Maggie Digby from Melbourne University and Freddie Mundy from Murdoch University are two veterinary students who were supported by DFAT and the Crawford Fund to attend the Timor-Leste International Veterinary Conference in March. The event was an opportunity to provide them with some on the ground experience in a developing country, and to learn and grow their network.
The main themes of the conference were:
- Regional disease situation
- Animal Health in the field
- Epidemiology in action
- Laboratory in life
Representatives from many countries throughout Oceania and the Pacific, including Timor Leste, Indonesia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, as well as Australia attended the conference. Our Victorian Committee supported a group of Pacific vets to attend the conference and we will also report on that soon.
Topics covered included major animal health diseases prevalent in these areas, such as African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease, local responses and biosecurity measures, as well as problems with antimicrobial stewardship and the progression of resistance.
In addition to the two days of conference on 14-15 March, there was a day of field visits on 16 March. Following their attendance at the event, both Maggie and Freddie indicated that further work in the Pacific would be part of their future careers!
“It was extremely rewarding to interact with the other attendees and speakers at the conference, each from very diverse backgrounds and career paths. I enjoyed hearing of the different avenues outside of private practice that are made available by a vet degree. The diversity and scope of roles throughout industry and government were something that I knew little about prior to this event and will be something I will keep in mind as my career progresses,” said Maggie.
“The urgent need for vets in the Pacific Islands particularly has also solidified my desire to pursue volunteer work over there, and I feel as though I can now go in with a broader sense of context and understanding of what I may be faced with,” she said.
“There was a common theme among the speakers regarding their country reports, biosecurity against disease, in particular African-Swine-Fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD). Like in Timor-Leste during 2019 the pig population suffered massively from ASF losing conservatively ~30% of the pig population. The reason I found this even more impactful is because this means that ~75% of families lost some pigs, which is how the country measures their wealth…without much to lose and hearing how within a month a single disease wiped out the wealth of so many families, it was heartbreaking to hear,” said Freddie.
“This week has motivated me to come back to Timor-Leste…as a veterinarian to help where I can,” said Freddie.
Full reflections from Maggie and Freddie about their experiences are below:
Reflection by Maggie Digby
My recent trip to Dili for the first scientific conference of the Timor-Leste Veterinary Medical Association was an informative and eye-opening experience, for a number of reasons. On the first day, we heard from representatives from many countries throughout Oceania and the Pacific, including Timor Leste, Indonesia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, as well as Australia.
Topics covered included major animal health diseases prevalent in these areas, such as African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease, local responses and biosecurity measures, as well as problems with antimicrobial stewardship and the progression of resistance. Many of these issues we too face in Australia but are fortunately much better equipped to manage them.
Throughout this conference I learnt of the many challenges that lower- and middle-income countries face in the veterinary profession, in relation to the lack of funding, infrastructure, equipment and personnel. These diseases have such a major impact as livestock are so integral to the community and to households, but only limited resources are available to combat them. It has certainly made me more appreciative of many things we take for granted in Australia.
However, the remarkable efforts in Timor Leste following the 2019 African Swine fever outbreak to curtail the disease have shown just what is possible in these areas despite diminished resources. Alongside major partners in Australia, the development of biosecurity management plans and disease detection protocols have helped to mitigate the impact of subsequent outbreaks as and when they occur.
Presentations from Professor Grant Rawlin and Dr Roger Paskin about livestock epidemiology demonstrated a novel approach to disease investigation, one that incorporates interactions between the earth, the animals, the people, and the data. Using this approach was integral to the African Swine Fever epidemic investigation in Timor Leste, but it could also be applied to any disease investigation, and it outlines the crucial role of vets in private practice as first responders in the field.
Additionally, it was extremely rewarding to interact with the other attendees and speakers at the conference, each from very diverse backgrounds and career paths. I enjoyed hearing of the different avenues outside of private practice that are made available by a vet degree. The diversity and scope of roles throughout industry and government were something that I knew little about prior to this event and will be something I will keep in mind as my career progresses. The urgent need for vets in the Pacific Islands particularly has also solidified my desire to pursue volunteer work over there, and I feel as though I can now go in with a broader sense of context and understanding of what I may be faced with.
Overall, this conference was an extremely rewarding experience that will no doubt play a part in shaping my future career. I would like to sincerely thank both the Crawford Fund and DFAT for sponsoring my attendance. I am honoured and grateful to have been selected for this opportunity, it is one that I will never forget!
Reflection by Freddie Mundy
The first day of the Timor-Leste international veterinary conference had many veterinarians, para-veterinarians and animal officers from the Australasia region speaking about the work they have been doing in the country they are from. There were veterinarians from all over the region including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Somoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Indonesia and of course Timor-Leste.
Hearing all these speakers reminded me how lucky Australia is to have the infrastructure, biosecurity and veterinarians we have. Although it’s not always perfect, hearing what these nations go through to maintain a level of food security and biosecurity is eye opening.
There was a common theme among the speakers regarding their country reports, biosecurity against disease, in particular African-Swine-Fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD). Like in Timor-Leste during 2019 the pig population suffered massively from ASF losing conservatively ~30% of the pig population. The reason I found this even more impactful is because this means that ~75% of families lost some pigs, which is how the country measures their wealth. We were able to attend the Museum of Resistance and I learnt how much they’ve suffered from the get-go. Without much to lose and hearing how within a month a single disease wiped out the wealth of so many families, it was heartbreaking to hear.
We listened to many veterinarians on the second day, one of the topics that stood out the most to me was about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global OneHealth issue that is going to affect people and animals massively as antibiotics are misused and overused. Different vets from Timor-Leste discussed with us their research regarding AMR, this included data showing a massive lack in knowledge regarding antibiotics i.e. only 34% of the people sampled knew what antibiotics, and that they are easily obtained from human pharmacies or agricultural shops. Or how widespread resistant strains of Campylobacter, Salmonella and E. coli are found in the poultry and pig population.
On day three, I went to the new veterinary laboratory from Australia through DFAT, Crawford Fund and Agriculture Victoria funding. We were able to see a demonstration of a LAMP (Loop-mediated isothermal amplification) test. Dr Dianne Phillips tested field samples for ASF whilst demonstrating the procedure and how it all works. Dr Hanna Sidjabat and team were isolated bacterial colonies, these colonies were then used for testing antimicrobial resistance. The epidemiology workshop ran by Dr Roger Paskin and Dr Grant Rawlin which was a great session that started with a quick intro into epi, then amazing examples of how they understood diseases like ASF in Timor-Leste to Ovine Johnes Disease in Victoria, it was an invaluable session.
The gala dinner was the conclusion of the conference provided a great opportunity to talk with all the friends I had met over the last few days including Dr Olavia Morais organiser of the conference, Dr Joanita Bendita da Costa Jong (Chief veterinary officer of Timor-Leste) and Dr Antonino do Karmo (MVS). This week has motivated me to come back to Timor-Leste and other LMIC in the area as a veterinarian to help where I can, a massive thank you to the Crawford Fund and DFAT for this opportunity and the new path my career may take.
