The terms of reference were as follows:
Identify and prioritize research areas where the introduction and use of nuclear and related technologies is likely to have the most significant impact on improving disease diagnosis, with emphasis on diseases affecting aquaculture, in developing countries.
Evaluate needs for rapid diagnostic techniques for the principal diseases of cultured fish and shellfish.
Review the status of research towards meeting these needs.
Identify problems and key constraints related to establishing international standards for protocols and procedures for such tests and make recommendations towards their solution
Make recommendations for programs of research to be developed jointly by IAEA, FAO, and other interested and concerned agencies and institutions, to assist developing countries to develop, standardize and validate nuclear related, DNA-based rapid diagnostic tools for major aquatic animal pathogens.
Dr Alexandra Adams, University of Stirling, Scotland.
Dr Franck Berthe, IFREMER, France.
Dr Eugene Burreson, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Virginia, USA.
Dr Pornlerd Chanratchakool, Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute, Bangkok, Thailand.
Dr Supranee Chinabut, Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute, Thailand.
Mr Dan Fegan, Natl. Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Bangkok, Thailand.
Prof. Timothy Flegel, Maihidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Dr Barry Hill, Fish Diseases Commission, OIE, Weymouth, England.
Dr Mike Hine, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand.
Dr Maura Hiney, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Dr Indrani Karunsagar, University of Agricultural Sciences, Mangalore, India.
Prof. Donald Lightner, Arizona State University, Tucson, USA.
Dr James Lilley, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland.
Dr Sharon McGladdery, Gulf Fisheries Centre, New Brunswick, Canada.
Dr Gary Nash, Shrimp Culture Research and Development Company, Thailand.
Dr Michael Phillips, NACA, Bangkok, Thailand.
Dr Krishen Rana, FAO, Rome, Italy.
Dr Melba Reantaso, NACA, Bangkok, Thailand.
Prof. Mohamed Shariff, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
Dr Rohana Subasinghe, FAO, Rome, Italy.
Dr Kamonporn Tonguthai, Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute, Bangkok, Thailand.
Dr Peter Walker, CSIRO Tropical Agriculture, Brisbane, Australia.
See Annex I for details.
The participants assembled a team of experts currently working on the development of DNA-based rapid diagnostic techniques for the detection of aquatic animal pathogens, and representatives from other concerned agencies. With assistance from several cooperating agencies (FAO, NACA, ACIAR, CSIRO, and DFID), all experts participated in a workshop at NACA Headquarters (Bangkok, Thailand) on 7-9 February, 1999. The workshop comprised a series of papers on issues related to the use and limitations of DNA-based diagnostic technologies and related research needs, and a series of selected focus groups considering finfish, mollusc and shrimp pathogens.
In March and April 1999, Dr Franck Berthe (IFREMER, France) and Dr Peter Walker (CSIRO, Australia) conducted consultancies at FAO, Rome to consider the outputs of the workshop and to assemble this report.
