ThepurposeofourworkhereistohelpimprovetheirhardwareandsoftwareandcontributetothedevelopmentofDjibouti’slivestocksector,thusfurtherpromotingthefriendshipbetweenourtwocountries.
ZhangPu,memberoftheThirdChineseSeniorExpertGrouponAgriculturalTechnologyinDjibouti
GUARDINGtheMandebStrait-thelifelinelinkingtheRedSeatotheIndianOcean-Djibouti’sgeographicallocationisextremelyadvantageous.ThecountryisanobligatorystopforEastAfricancountrieswishingtoexportcattle,sheep,camelsandotherlivestockabroad.However,itsstrategiclocationcomeswithadownside:italsomeansgreaterrisksofdiseasesspreadinginthecountry.
Therefore,itiscrucialforDjiboutitoscientificallyandaccuratelymonitortheeightseriousepidemicdiseasescommonlyfoundintheEastAfricanregion,includingRiftValleyfever,foot-and-mouthdisease(FMD),ovinerinderpestandcontagiousbovinepleuropneumonia.
However,duetoalackofrelevanttechnologiesandequipment,Djibouti’sDepartmentofAnimalHusbandryandVeterinaryMedicine,whichshouldberesponsiblefordetectingandmonitoringthesediseases,hasfailedtocarryouttheworkindependently.Asaresult,theworkhasbeenundertakenbyprivatelaboratoriesforalongtime.
“Italwayscostsmoretohavetheepidemicdiseasesdetectionworkdonebyprivatelaboratories,andwhat’smore,theroleofDjibouti’sDepartmentofAnimalHusbandryandVeterinaryMedicine,withanational-levellaboratory,cannotbetakenintofullplay,”saidZhangPu,a36-year-oldChineseveterinaryexpert,whoisamemberoftheThirdChineseSeniorExpertGrouponAgriculturalTechnologyinDjibouti.Awareofthisproblem,hedecidedtomakeachangeandhelpthelaboratorystandsteadyonitsown.
ThefirstgoalofZhangwastohelpthefourlocaltechniciansinthelaboratorymastertheenzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassay(ELISA)testtechnique.“Oncethetechniciansinthelaboratorymasterthistechnique,theywillbeabletodothedailytestingofmostoftheepidemicdiseasesindependently.Withimprovedcapacity,thelaboratorywillbeabletoprovideeffectivedataforriskassessmentontheepidemicdiseasesaswellasfortheirpreventionandcontrol,”ZhangtoldChinAfrica.
FromApril2016,Zhanggavea23-daytestdemonstrationandtrainingforthelocaltechnicians.Theytested950samplesofFMD,440samplesofovinerinderpest,750samplesofRiftValleyfeverand420samplesofcontagiousbovinepleuropneumonia.Thetrainingcombinedboththeoryandpractice.Atheorycourseoneachoftheanimaldiseaseslaboratorytestingtechniquewasfollowedbyathree-daypractice.Zhangalsocombinedtrainingwiththeroutineworkofthelaboratory,soastoavoiddelayingtheirworkandwastingreagentsandconsumables.
Inordertoensuretheeffectivenessofthetraining,inJanuary2017,hegaveatesttothelaboratorytechnicians.Aspartoftheevaluation,Zhangtestedtheirdiseasestest-ingcapability,andthefinaltestresultsshowedthat,exceptforonestaffwhowasstudyingabroad,theotherthreewereabletoindependentlyusetheELISAtestmethod.
WaissMiguil,headofthelaboratory,appreciatedZhang’swork,notingthatitwasduetoZhang’sassistanceandhardworkthatthestaffofhislabhadmadegreatstridesbothintermsoftechnicalexpertiseandoperationalnorms.
Completededication
ImprovingthelevelofveterinarylaboratorytestingisonlyapartofZhang’sworkinDjibouti.
Thoughheisquiteyoung,Zhanghasarich14-yearworkexperiencetodrawon.PriortohisarrivalinDjiboutiinNovember2015onaforeign-aidmissionlaunchedbytheChineseGovernment,hehadbeenworkingintheGaolingDistrictAgroforestryBureauinXi’an,capitalofnorthwestChina’sShaanxiProvince.
ThisisZhang’sfirstforeign-aidmissionabroad.AfterarrivinginDjibouti,hegotsickduetodifferencesinclimate.However,hisarrivalcoincidedwiththeimplementationofamajoranimaldiseasesurveillanceprojectledbytheAfricanUnion.Chineseexpertswereurgentlyneededtohelpwiththevirussamplecollectionandtestingofanimaldiseasesandtheepidemicpreventionandcontrol.
Giventhecircumstances,andinspiteofhisillness,Zhangimmediatelygottowork.TogetherwiththeexpertgroupleaderandclinicalveterinaryexpertXiaoRenrong,theyconductedintensivecontinuousfieldworkinAliSabieh,Dikhil,Arta,TadjourahandotherregionsinDjiboutiformorethanamonth.
“Everytesthasadeadline.Atthattime,Djibouti’stechnicianscouldn’tcompletetheworkindependently.IfIhadlefthalfwaythroughtheworkduetomyphysicalailment,alargenumberoftestingcouldn’thavebeencompletedontime,”saidZhang.“OurtechnicalsupportshouldbeconsistentwithDjibouti’sneeds.”
ZhangPu(left)trainshisstudentsinthelaboratoryCOURTESYPHOTOS
ZhangPudemonstrateshowtocollectbloodsamplesonananimalImprovingconditions
Inadditiontotheneedforscientifictestingmethodsandoperationnorms,advancedtestingequipmentisalsocrucialtolaboratorytests.Eventheconditionsofbasicinfrastructuresuchaslightingandwatersupplycoulddirectlyaffectthelaboratorytestingondiseases.Infact,thelackoffundsledtoalackofmaintenanceofthenationallaboratory’sequipment,includingthelighting,gatelocksandwatersupplysystem.OneofthemainELISAtestingequipmentinthelabwasevenoutofuseforalongtime.
Witnessingthepoorconditionsofthelaboratory,ZhangdiscussedsolutionstotheproblemswithXiaoandMoussaIbrahimCheick,DirectorofDjibouti’sResourcesLivestockandVeterinaryServices.Theydecidedthattheexpertgroupwouldprovidefundingformaintenanceandupgradingofthelaboratoryequipment.
“ThepurposeofourworkhereistohelpimprovetheirhardwareandsoftwareandcontributetothedevelopmentofDjibouti’slivestocksector,thusfurtherpromotingthefriendshipbetweenourtwocountries,”saidZhang.
Thelaboratoryreturnedtonormalworkaftertherevampingwork.Whenthedirector’sFrenchfriendLucRosé,whohadworkedinthelaboratoryseveralyearsago,cametovisit,hewassurprisedbythechanges.HesaidhereallyadmiredtheChineseexpertsfortheirhardworkintrainingthelocalstaffwithgoodresults.
Zhang’sachievementshavereceivedpraisefromDjiboutiauthoritiesonseveraloccasions.OnJune5,2016,Djibouti’sMinistryofAgriculture,Water,Fisheries,AnimalHusbandryandFisheryResourcessentanappreciationlettertotheChineseEmbassyinDjibouti,sayingthatXiaoandZhanghaddonesatisfyingworksincetheycametoDjiboutionNovember19,2015,andtheachievementsanddedicationofChineseexpertshadwonrespectfromlocalveterinaryprofessionals.
ZhangsaidthathismissioninDjiboutiisnotoveryet,andhisnextgoalistoconducttraininginfluorescencepolymerasechainreactiontestingtechniquesandtheuseoffullyautomatedfluorescentpolymerasechainreactioninstrumenttraining.Accordingtohim,thetrainingwillfurtherenhancethecapacityoflaboratorytechniciansandhelpDjibouticarryoutamorecomprehensivemonitoringofmajoranimaldiseases.
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