Research Article

Enhancing Preparedness for Arbovirus Infections with a One Health Approach: The Development and Implementation of Multisectoral Risk Assessment Exercises

Table 1

Overview of the three multisectoral risk assessment exercises conducted, Source: [31].

Exercise (place and date)Participant countries from MediLabSecure networkObjectivesMethodologyGuidance documents

West Nile virus exercise (Paris, December 2015)Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, and Ukraine(i) Describe risk level assessment between sectors and countries
(ii) Assess the cross-sectoral collaboration during the initial phase of the MediLabSecure project
(iii) Make participants aware of the ECDC tool
(iv) Provide indications for the next MRA exercises
(1) Map the assessment of WNV risk across four sectors (human and animal virology, medical entomology, and public health) by country and by regions
(2) Conduct a SWOT analysis to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relation to the surveillance systems in place at national level, to support the risk assessment
(3) Compile an evaluation questionnaire on exercise satisfaction
ECDC “West Nile virus risk assessment tool” [28]

Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever exercise (Belgrade, November 2016)Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine(i) Enhance knowledge and capacity on MRA
(ii) Encourage multisectoral collaboration and exchange, also among neighbouring countries and assess the related added value
(iii)Provide consensus on a single national level of risk across all the sectors
(iv) Make participants aware of ECDC RRA guidance and FAO RA methodology
(v) Make participants aware of ECDC RRA guidance and FAO RA methodology
(1) Table0top exercise on multisector risk assessment with four sectors (human and animal virology, medical entomology, and public health) by country and by regions
(2) Questionnaire on the value of multisector approach
(3) Evaluation questionnaire on exercise satisfaction
ECDC “operational guidance on rapid risk assessment methodology” [29]
FAO “RVF in Niger risk assessment” [30]