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Al Etihad
a day ago
- Health
- Al Etihad
ADAFSA Reference Centre for Camel Diseases leads UAE to global prominence in camel health research on World Camel Day
22 June 2025 17:25 ABU DHABI (WAM)In celebration of World Camel Day on June 22, 2025, global attention turns to the historical, economic and cultural significance of camels—especially within the Middle East and Gulf region. This annual event aligns with global efforts to advance veterinary care for camels, strengthen biosecurity, and sustain the camel-rearing sector, which is vital to food Dhabi and the UAE have affirmed their leadership in this domain through the ADAFSA Reference Centre for Camel Diseases, officially recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in May 2022 as the first centre of its kind dedicated to camel this occasion, ADAFSA announced that the Centre has delivered a landmark series of scientific achievements, establishing approximately 200 advanced laboratory assays, processing over 300,000 camel samples, and providing more than one million diagnosis services—highlighting its advanced diagnostic capabilities and readiness to address disease outbreaks and emergencies. The Centre has performed whole-genome sequencing on 50 pathogens to identify virulent strains, enabling authorities to implement targeted disease control measures. It has also submitted 47 new genomic sequences to a global gene bank, reinforcing the UAE's position in camel disease a groundbreaking discovery, the Centre's experts became the first globally to detect the Wesselsbron virus (WSLV) in clinical and post-mortem samples from Ethiopian camels—a breakthrough that may explain mysterious camel fatalities over the past two findings were unveiled at the 26th African Regional Conference of WOAH, attended by senior officials and international delegates, further enhancing the Centre's and UAE's reputation in epidemiological diagnostics and global with cutting-edge molecular biology, full-genome sequencing, and bioinformatics platforms, the Centre supports early detection of infectious agents and provides diagnostic advisory services to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, and other nations engaged in camel bolster its role, the Centre has launched the UAE's first biobank following global standards, storing over one million biological specimens, including reference material and specialised cells for camel and other animal disease diagnostics. The biobank supports the development of diagnostic reagents and kits, informs early-warning vaccine research, safeguards genetic diversity, and facilitates future disease preparedness Centre also leads a regional capacity-building initiative by delivering annual proficiency testing programmes, aligned with ISO/IEC 17025 standards, involving 33 regional and international laboratories from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan, Jordan, Syria, and Italy. Additionally, it has organised over 20 training workshops and lectures for veterinarians, students, and researchers, and participated in more than 45 scientific conferences nationally and internationally. Its experts serve on WOAH technical committees, offering guidance on camel diseases such as trypanosomiasis, reinforcing its leadership in setting global biosecurity has also developed the Camel Health Network for the Middle East ("CAMNET"), a platform for collaboration across the Gulf, Jordan, Yemen, and Iraq. CAMNET has trained over 500 personnel to enhance regional veterinary laboratory quality. The Centre produced educational kits covering pathological anatomy, parasitology, and bacteriology, distributed to member countries to support veterinary education and field Centre has introduced the world's first proficiency-testing scheme for small ruminant pox virus assays in camels, in partnership with France's reference laboratory (CIRAD), and obtained the global ISO/IEC 17043:2023 accreditation—the first organisation globally to achieve this in camel disease Abdi Mohamed, Director of the Biosecurity Affairs Division at ADAFSA, underlined that the Reference Centre represents a realisation of UAE leadership's vision to preserve cultural heritage and bolsters food security through state-of-the-art science. She emphasised: 'We are proud that the UAE is the first nation in the world to host a WOAH‑accredited centre dedicated to camel diseases, underlining our global leadership in veterinary diagnostics and biosecurity.'She added that the centre plays a vital role in strengthening regional and international cooperation and supports the UAE's efforts in achieving food security and safeguarding animal resources. This aligns with the UAE's strategic vision for sustainable noted that the UAE and Abu Dhabi took the initiative to adopt the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases' proposal during meetings held in Abu Dhabi and Italy in 2014–2015, which called for the establishment of a regional centre specialising in camel diseases in the Middle East. This initiative aimed to bridge knowledge gaps, enhance diagnostic capabilities, conduct epidemiological research, and facilitate knowledge May 2022, these efforts culminated in the official recognition of the Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), making it the world's first specialised centre of its kind, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and providing diagnostic and advisory services regionally and confirmed that the centre is equipped with the latest diagnostic technologies, including advanced molecular biology tools, full and partial genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and facilities for cultivating high-risk pathogens. It also houses a biobank and camel-specific pathological anatomy capabilities, allowing for the collection of high-quality laboratory infrastructure supports early detection and identification of novel, emerging, or epidemic pathogens—strengthening national biosecurity and food safety systems and enhancing the country's emergency preparedness and response line with the One Health approach, Abdi pointed out the centre's pivotal role in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), through antibiotic susceptibility testing and contributions to peer-reviewed scientific publications on AMR. It also manages a dedicated biobank of resistant microbial isolates. The centre conducts annual awareness campaigns and participates in global partnerships, such as the UAE–UK Biosecurity Alliance, further strengthening its position as a strategic partner in advancing global also highlighted the centre's strong track record in global scientific research, having published over 30 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals. The centre has issued an atlas and a specialised reference book on camel diseases and established the Camel Health Network for the Middle East (CAMNET) to foster regional cooperation and training. To date, over 500 trainees from countries in the region have benefitted. Among its most notable contributions, the centre made a groundbreaking discovery by identifying the Wesselsbron virus as a potential cause of mysterious camel deaths in Ethiopia—further affirming the UAE's global leadership in diagnostics and biosecurity.
Al Etihad
24-03-2025
- Health
- Al Etihad
ADAFSA Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases makes significant breakthrough in Ethiopia camel disease investigation
24 Mar 2025 14:35 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Experts from Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases, as the UAE affiliate of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), have detected one of the possible pathogens behind the mysterious camel mortality in phenomenon has resulted in significant economic losses and severe social consequences for the country over the past two announcement was made during the recent 26th Conference of the WOAH Regional Commission for Africa, held in event was attended by the Deputy Director-General of WOAH, leading scientific experts, and representatives from various countries and global organisations. During the conference, the team of experts from the ADAFSA-WOAH Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases presented the findings of their field investigations and laboratory analyses, conducted in response to a formal request from Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture seeking scientific support in identifying the cause of the enigmatic disease July 2024, a specialised technical team from the ADAFSA-WOAH Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases , in collaboration with the Animal Health Institute (AHI) in Ethiopia, conducted a field visit to Ethiopia, where clinical samples were collected from infected camels in Borana zone, southwest of laboratory analyses confirmed the presence of Wesselsbron virus (WSLV) – an orthoflavivirus belonging to the family of Flaviviridae – in the infected camels for the first time. The finding has gained widespread international attention and was met with high praise from representatives of affected countries, including Kenya and Somalia, as well as global animal health achievement reaffirms ADAFSA's and the UAE's leading role in supporting global efforts to protect animal health, particularly in the camel sector, and to enhance regional and global biosecurity. It further strengthens Abu Dhabi's position as a centre of excellence in veterinary research, contributing to biosecurity and food the preliminary results, the Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases, alongside the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, has suggested that future research should focus on the epidemiology of the Wesselsbron virus in camels. They also recommended broadening the scope of investigations to include East African countries to corroborate the initial findings identified in was also agreed to develop further analytical techniques for conducting serosurveys in the affected areas, as well as conducting field trials to study the virus's impact on camels in addition to the possibility of developing an effective vaccine to limit the spread of coordination is underway with health authorities in Ethiopia to conduct analysis on human samples for virus detection, aiming to expand the understanding of its zoonotic and epidemiological potential based on the One Health an initiative aimed at bolstering international scientific cooperation and facilitating the exchange of knowledge, experts from ADAFSA conducted a visit to AHI. During the visit, they successfully established and activated confirmatory diagnostic tests for the detection of the Wesselsbron virus within the institute's laboratories. The undertaking enabled the identification of the same virus in clinical samples that had been archived, providing additional support and confirmation for ADAFSA's ADAFSA and Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture are set to sign an agreement aimed at strengthening research capabilities and disease surveillance in animal diseases. The agreement will include collaboration in knowledge exchange and information sharing, joint training programmes for veterinary professionals, and collaborative research projects to deepen scientific understanding of camel diseases in Ethiopia. The partnership is expected to enhance biosecurity measures and improve livestock health, benefiting pastoral communities that depend on camels for their collaboration reflects the UAE's commitment to supporting international efforts in animal health and advancing the One Health approach, which links human, animal, and environment health to promote sustainable development and Abdi Mohamed, Director of Biosecurity Affairs Division at ADAFSA and Head of the expert Research Team, said: "Identifying Wesselsbron virus as a possible causative agent of mysterious camel deaths in Ethiopia marks an unprecedented scientific achievement. This achievement is a testament to the expertise of our Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases and its ability to provide scientific solutions that protect livestock and enhance regional and global biosecurity'.She also added: "This finding was made possible through the dedicated efforts of our research team and our strong collaboration with Ethiopian partners and WOAH. We remain committed to furthering this research to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies that will safeguard livestock populations. ADAFSA remains dedicated to advancing scientific research and improving animal disease diagnostic systems, reinforcing its role as a key contributor to global efforts in controlling epidemics and livestock diseases. And concluded: "We are committed to expanding cooperation regionally and internationally through exchanging experiences, developing joint training programmes, participating in field research, and adopting a One Health approach to ensure livestock health and sustainable development.'
