The Poultry Disease Control Research Center (Director Professor Jang Hyeong-gwan) is launching efforts to establish an international cooperation system in Northeast Asia to proactively respond to emerging and reemerging viruses that may be introduced into the country by migratory wild birds.

The Center announced on the 21st that two research projects were selected under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' 2022 Support Program for Advancing Livestock Disease Response Technologies, in the program titled 'Establishing Domestic and International Cooperation Systems for Emerging and Reemerging Viruses.' This program provides approximately KRW 14 billion in R&D support over 1 year and 9 months to build a proactive response infrastructure for emerging and reemerging viruses.

First, Professor Kang Min, a full-time faculty member of the Center, will receive KRW 970 million in national funding to conduct international collaborative research with the Poultry Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS), through the research project 'Establishing an International Joint Surveillance System for Emerging Duck Viruses and Systematizing Proactive Control Technologies.'

SAAS, a national key research institute in China specializing in poultry research, signed an academic exchange agreement with the Center in February. The collaboration aims to establish an international joint surveillance system for emerging viruses in East Asia centered on Korea and China, and to systematize proactive control technologies.

Director Jang Hyeong-gwan was also selected for the research project 'Development of an Early Detection System for Avian Influenza and Paramyxoviruses Transmitted by Wild Migratory Birds and Establishment of an International Joint Surveillance System,' receiving KRW 980 million to conduct international collaborative research with the Center for Animal Disease Control in Production Animals (CADIC), Miyazaki University. CADIC serves as a hub for production-animal disease prevention and international research in Japan. The main research objectives include developing and field-validating an early virus detection system and establishing an international joint surveillance system for emerging viruses in East Asia centered on Korea and Japan.

Various zoonotic infectious diseases, including the annually occurring highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), can be introduced into the country via migratory wild birds that move freely across continents without regard to borders. In particular, Korea, China, and Japan share migratory bird routes directly, creating very close epidemiological connections for the spread of emerging infectious diseases. Therefore, joint response efforts are crucial.

With the selection of these projects, the Center and leading overseas research institutions will establish an international joint surveillance system. This will create a proactive response mechanism against the potential threats posed by diseases transmitted by migratory wild birds. The advancement of early diagnostic systems is expected to help detect initial introductions of emerging viruses into the country and support timely initial response measures.

Moreover, the international collaborative research network is expected to promote joint research by facilitating the sharing of disease occurrence information, pathogen resources, and diagnostic and vaccine development technologies.

Director Jang Hyeong-gwan stated, “We will actively work to enhance research competitiveness through the activation of joint research with major overseas institutions and strive to generate excellent research outcomes that can create synergy in domestic and international disease prevention policy making.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Poultry Disease Control Research Center, opened in 2016 as the country’s only university research institution specialized in poultry diseases, has played a major role in establishing domestic capabilities for poultry disease response by developing field-oriented control technologies, promoting Industry-University Cooperation, and training next-generation poultry disease specialists.