Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, August 6, 2025 – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in collaboration with the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, hosted a three-day workshop on the identification and surveillance of Culicoides (a minute biting insect) and the dangerous Oropouche virus, from August 4–6, 2025, at The UWI School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mt. Hope, Trinidad and Tobago. The workshop aimed to strengthen the expertise of the 40 participants representing 15 CARPHA Member States (CMS) which included veterinary, medical, and public health professionals from vector surveillance and control programmes across the Caribbean region.
With the emerging threat of Oropouche virus (a virus that causes disruptive symptoms similar to dengue fever), enhancing regional capacity to identify, monitor, and control Culicoides vectors is essential. Because many Culicoides species look alike and often live in the same areas, they can be difficult to tell apart — making surveillance difficult and therefore inhibiting the ability of regional health systems to respond to or prevent outbreaks, hence it is essential to train experts and provide updated tools for proper identification of this vector.
“Strengthening our capacity to identify and manage disease-carrying vectors is essential to safeguarding public health in the Caribbean. This workshop reflects CARPHA’s commitment to building regional resilience through science, collaboration, and training.” Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director, CARPHA.
Dr. Horace Cox, Director Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control, CARPHA, emphasized the critical nature of this initiative: "This workshop marks an important step toward strengthening health security in the region. By building our capacity to identify and manage vectors like Culicoides, we are better prepared to respond to the threat of the Oropouche virus and other emerging diseases. These skills are essential for protecting public health and the livelihoods of our people."
Dr. Karla Georges, Director of the School of Veterinary Medicine at The UWI, St. Augustine, added:
"This training demonstrates the region’s capacity to equip our professionals with specialized entomological skills. Vectors such as Culicoides transmit diseases of economic importance such as bluetongue virus of ruminants. They pose a welfare threat to both animals and humans, as their bites are extremely painful and can cause significant discomfort and stress. Strengthening and exchanging knowledge among veterinary and other medical professionals is fundamental for the development and protection of the human, animal, and environmental health sectors."
The workshop was facilitated by regional and international experts from CARPHA, The UWI, CIRAD, Institute Pasteur International Network, FIOCRUZ (Brazil) and PAHO. Participants had the opportunity to engaged in both theoretical and practical sessions, including fieldwork at the UWI Field Station and a private farm in Santa Cruz. The programme covered the bionomics, collection, transportation, slide preparation, and species identification of Culicoides, along with discussions on their public health importance and control measures.
This 2025 workshop was funded with support from the European Union under the 11th EDF Programme support for Zika and other Mosquito Borne Diseases.
For more information about regional vector control activities, visit the Caribbean Vector Borne Diseases Network (CariVecNet) website at https://carivecnet.carpha.org/, the UWI School of Veterinary Medicine at https://sta.uwi.edu/fms/vet/, and the CaribVET Caribbean animal health network at https://caribvet.net/.
For more information on the extensive work of CARPHA, follow CARPHA on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram or visit the website: www.carpha.org. For more information about The UWI School of Veterinary Medicine visit https://sta.uwi.edu/fms/vet/