Introduction
Three sustained training missions under contract SANCO/E2/E2009/S12.550175 took place in the Russian cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Stavropol. The Moscow training was from 22 November – 3 December , 2010 while the St. Petersburg one was from 14 – 25 March, 2011 and the Stavropol workshop which will be carried out from 15 – 26 August, 2011.

As the first component of the sustained training mission to the country, the Moscow 2-week training took place in collaboration with the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) which was appointed as a partner by the Federal Veterinary & Phytosanitary Service of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor). The next stage for the Russia trainings took place at St. Petersburg with a similar format to the one in Moscow and it was organized with the support from the Leningrad Interregional Veterinary Laboratory (FGU). Finally, the third training in Stavropol is being prepared in collaboration with the Stavropol Interregional Veterinary Laboratory (SIVL)

Russia is considered a high-risk country since several major wild bird mortality events have been reported since 2005 according to the FAO Fact Sheet - Wildlife and H5N1 HPAI the last one being in June, 2010. Moreover, Russia shares boarders with countries that have widely experienced/ reported HPAI outbreaks in recent years, e.g. Mongolia, China, Ukraine etc.

Training Agenda
Please refer to the following links to see the trainings’ agenda both in Russian and English:
Moscow (Russian) (English)
St. Petersburg (Russian) (English)
Stavropol (Russian) (English)

Participants
A total of 65 veterinarians and virologists from the Moscow region, Tverskaya Inter region and Kirovskaya region were divided into two groups to attend the training. The participants to the St. Petersburg consisted in about 70 animal health veterinarians and virologist from the Northwest, central and Northwest region of Russia and were provided with a broad scope of materials. Finally, the Stavropol workshop will reach about 80 veterinary specialists who will also be divided in two groups.

Experts
The technical content for the three trainings was be delivered by Dr. Dubravka Selenic and Mr. Guy Minet.

Information Pack
The Information Pack provided participants with information on all logistical arrangements as wells as background information on the Project, DG SANCO, and the European Union, now can be downloaded at the following links:
Moscow (Russian) (English)
St. Petersburg (Russian) (English)
Stavropol (Russian) (English)

Presentations
PDF versions of the presentations given during the Qingdao training can be downloaded in Russian and English by clicking on the links below:

1. Training Introduction (Russian) (English)
2. HPAI Overview and Current Situation (Russian) (English)
3. Clinical Signs of HPAI and Differential Diagnosis (Russian) (English)
4. Biosecurity I (Russian) (English)
5. Biosecurity II (Russian) (English)
6. HPAI Sampling, Shpiment and Rapid Testing (Russian) (English)
7. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (Russian) (English)
8. Good Hygiene Practices (Russian) (English)
9. Surveillance Strategies and Methods (Russian) (English)
10. Socio-economic Impacts of AI (Russian) (English)
11. HPAI Outbreak Control and Management (Russian) (English)
12. HPAI Outbreak Response (English)
13. Culling and Disposal (English)
14. Risk Analysis and Communication (English)
15. Field Visit (Russian) (English)
16. Animal Health and Welfare Aspects of AI (English)
17. Emergency Preparedness Planning (English)

Training Pictures