The role of the laboratory in surveillance, early detection of the diseases, monitoring activities, investigation and diagnosis of animal diseases are essential in efforts to control animal disease and improving the animal health in Indonesia. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the knowledge and skills of laboratory technical personnel specifically in improving disease diagnostics and interpretation of laboratory results so that the role of the laboratory will be optimal.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of State’s Biosecurity Engagement Program, in collaboration with a Consortium of Universities, led by Texas A & M, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia held a training to increase the capacity of the laboratory technical personnel with the title “Strengthening Poultry Diagnostic laboratories in Java”. The implementation of this training is organize by Center for Indonesian Veterinary Analytical Studies (CIVAS), A local NGO that concern in animal health, animal welfare and food safety that has a lot experiences to held similar capacity building activities in Indonesia.

This Laboratory training has aims to increase the knowledge and skills on the pathogenesis diseases of poultry, testing/assay principles, approach to disease diagnosis, interpretation of laboratory results and reporting from the field, and biosafety / biosecurity in labs and on farms. Moreover the training also introduce the insight of basic information on standard laboratory for building and equipment and laboratory accreditation process in Indonesia.

The training was carried out for five days (more than 40 hours) on 26-30 November 2012 at the Disease Investigation Center (BPPV) Subang. Delivery of material carried out in participatory through lecture material (16 topics), discussions, demonstrations and laboratory testing and necropsy practice as well as visits to the farm fields. In the field visits participants observed biosecurity practices directly applied in animal husbandry sector 1 and sector 3. The visit was accompanied by officials from the livestock service office of Subang District.

Laboratory Diagnostic Training in IndonesiaThis training has instructors that very well experienced in the poultry diagnostic and laboratory. Dr. Kristy Pabilonia, DVM, DACVM from Colorado State University and Dr. Konrad Eugster, DVM, PhD, DACVM from The Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A & M University System. In addition there are three speakers are Dr. Mia Kim and Bimo Wicaksana, DVM from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Murni Aryani, S.Si from the National Accreditation Committee of Indonesia. During the training, instructors accompanied by two facilitators, there are Surachmi Setyaningsih, DVM, Ph.D. and Osama Afiff, DVM, M.Sc from the Veterinary Medicine Faculty, IPB.

The training was also attended by Elizabeth Leonardi, which is representative of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). And representatives of the Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP), E. Goode Brett, Benjamin Brodsky, and Wahyuni Kamah.
In total they are 26 participants that attend the training. These participants that attended the training was come from Governments (National, Provincial), private Sectors, Universities and NGO.

Laboratory Diagnostic Training in IndonesiaThe participants form the private sectors were come from PT Charoen Pokphand Jaya Farm Division of Animal Health Laboratory and Diagnostic, PROLAB PT Biotek Indonesia (Sierad Group), PT. Vaksindo Satwa Nusantara, PT. Wonokoyo Jaya Corporindo. The participants that come from Governments are DIC Subang, DIC Wates, from the Laboratory of Animal and Fish Health Center (BKHI) Jakarta, Animal Disease and Veterinary Public Health Investigation Center (BPPHK) Cikole and from universities that were attend this training are Veterinary Medicine Faculty-IPB, Veterinary Medicine Faculty-UGM, Veterinary Medicine Faculty-Airlangga University and the participants from NGO is come from CIVAS.

The result of this training is expected to increase insight into disease diagnostics and the establishment of networks among government laboratories, university laboratories and private laboratories that can support surveillance in Indonesia in general. (van)