+961 8 900 047

lari@lari.gov.lb

LARI-LEB

Fanar

Animal Health

About

Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) – Fanar is the national reference lab for Animal diseases. All day week, the personnel is ready to receive samples from unexpected situations and outbreaks of animal infection diseases.

More than twenty seven diseases that affect ruminants, poultry, horses and pets are diagnostic at the Lab, serologically and molecularly. Important to be noted, AHL-Fanar is the only lab in Lebanon that has the capacity to diagnose Rabies.

Within the cooperation with Universities, AHL-Fanar receives each year trainees and master’s candidates to perform their thesis. Also, the lab is a partner in a twining project with EU reference laboratories, in Italy and France, and in a network for vector borne diseases which includes 25 countries. 

 The main objectives of AHL-Fanar is:

  • Monitoring and surveillance
  • Routine diagnostic analyses
  • Research and epidemiological study for the development of animal health.

More than twenty seven diseases that affect ruminants, poultry, horses and pets are diagnosed at the Lab, with serological and molecular tools. The research focuses on pathogens and diseases of interest for animal health and/or public health (zoonosis). They concern both direct transmission diseases (avian influenza, Brucella, Rabies….) and vector-borne diseases (Flavivirus, Bluetongue….). It is important to be noted, AHL-Fanar is the unique lab in Lebanon that has the capacity to diagnose Rabies; and the personnel is in readiness to receive samples from unexpected situations and outbreaks of animal infection diseases 7 days a week.

The network of scientific collaborations extends on three levels: 

LARI inter-laboratory level: The molecular biology unit of AHL is fully equipped for PCR and sequencing and therefore this unit is an open platform for genetics studies. 

The national level: Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Public Health, and Academia (Lebanese University, USEK). AHL-Fanar receives each year trainees and master’s candidates to perform their thesis. 

And international level: 

  • FAO/OIE: AHL is involve in all animal health activities with FAO and OIE.
  • MediLab Secure Project one health network for the prevention of vector-borne diseases around the Mediterranean and Sahel regions
  • A twinning partnership between the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Italian Ministry of Health: “Strengthening the Veterinary Services and Food Safety Capacities of the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture”.

The Unit also works in collaboration with field actors and private sectors (farmers, veterinarians, consulting company).

Staff

  • Researcher: Dr Jeanne El Hage (PhD) - Head of the laboratory (jeannehage@gmail.com)
  • Veterinarian: Dr Raed Al Hakeem
  • Lab technician: Joyce Abi Rached

Publications

  • Sukayna M Fadlallah, Rima El Hajj, Jeanne El Hage, Zeina Nasser, Nada Ghosn, Walid Ammar and Ghassan M Matar 2018. «Molecular Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter coli from Caeca and Carcass of Poultry in Lebanon». Acta Scientific Microbiology 1.4 (2018) 63-70.
  • Abi-Rizk, A., Kanaan, T., and El Hage, J. 2017. «Seroprevalence of Schmallenberg virus and other Simbu group viruses among the Lebanese sheep». Open Veterinary Journal, (2017), Vol. 7(3): 290-293. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ovj.v7i3.15.
  • Tabet, E., Tlaige, R., El Hage, J., & Abi-Rizk, A. 2017. «The occurrence of maedi-visna virus in Lebanon». Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 2017, 36 (3), 899-903. doi: 10.20506/rst.36.3.2723.
  • El Romeh, A., Zecchin, B., Fusaro, A., Ibrahim, E., El Bazzal, B., El Hage, J., Milani, A., Zamperin, G., Monne, I. 2017. «Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Clade 2.3.2.1c Virus in Lebanon, 2016».Avian Dis. 2017 Jun; 61(2):271-273. doi: 10.1637/11544-113016-Case.1.
  • Ibrahim, E., Sirawan, A., El-Bazzal, B., El Hage, J., Abi Said, M., Zaraket, H., Kandeil, A., Ali, MA., Kayali, G. 2016. «Complete genome sequence of the first H5N1 avian influenza virus isolated from chickens in Lebanon in 2016». Genome Announc 4(5):e01062-16. doi:10.1128/genomeA.01062-16.
  • Guyard- Nicodème M, Houard E., El Hage J. and Chemaly M. «Characterization of potentially neurophatic Campylobacter jejuni isolates from French broiler meat». SFAM, Summer Conference 2014, Brighton, UK, 30 June- 3 July 2014.
  • El Hage, J., Lorusso, A., Carmine, I., Di Gennaro, A., Portanti, O., Olivieri, S., Casaccia, C., Pisciella, M., Teodori, L., Sghaier, S. and Savini, G. 2013. «Bluetongue virus in Lebanon». Transbound Emerg Dis. Vol.60 p.390-394.