DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Geography
The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean country that currently occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island called Hispaniola. It shares a border with the Republic of Haiti, making it one of two Caribbean islands that are split by two governments; the other is Saint-Martin/Saint Maarten. Hispaniola is the second-largest of the Greater Antilles islands, and lies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica. Geographic coordinates are 19° 00' N, 70° 40' W. The capital of the country is the city of Santo Domingo (full name Santo Domingo de Guzmán) located in the southern part of the island. Originally a single city located within the province Distrito Nacional (National District), it has now been divided into the Province of Santo Domingo and the National District. The Province of Santo Domingo is comprised of several municipalities
Total country area is 48,730 sq km (18,704 sq miles.) The main cities are the capital Santo Domingo (pop. 2.25 million) and Santiago de los Caballeros (908,230). The population is currently 9,365,818 with an annual population growth rate of 1.5%. The country has three major mountain ranges: the Central Mountains (Cordillera Central), which originate in Haiti and span the central part of the island, ending in the south. This mountain range boasts the highest peak in the Antilles, Pico Duarte (3,087 m / 10,128 ft above sea level). The Septentrional Mountains, running parallel to the Central Mountains, separate the Cibao Valley and the Atlantic coastal plains.
The country is a tropical, maritime nation. The wet season is from May to November with periodic hurricanes between June and November. Most rain falls in the northern and eastern regions. The average rainfall is 1346 mm, with extremes of 2500 mm in the northeast and 500 mm in the west. The mean annual temperature ranges from 21°C in the mountainous regions to 25°C on the plains and the coast. The average temperature in Santo Domingo in January is 23.9°C and 27.2°C in July.

The poultry Industry
The commercial broiler population in 2006 was approximately 172 million. The number of commercial broiler farmers was 1200. Per capita consumption of poultry meat in 2006 was 84 kg.  The distribution of the commercial broiler sector is mostly confined to the north, north central and central parts of the country. There are approximately 19 million back yard poultry and semi commercial poultry owned by people who live in rural areas. These birds are mainly to provide a source of food for the family or for sale in the community.
The number of egg farmers in 2006 was 300 and the layer population in 2006 was 6.5 million birds, producing 1.4 billion eggs. Per capita egg consumption was 172 eggs. Most commercial poultry farms are at bio-security levels 2 and 3. There are 70,000 birds in grand parent flocks and 1.6 million in parent flocks resulting in a combined breeder flock of 1.67 million birds. 
The majority of fertile eggs are imported weekly from the USA, whereas the country is self sufficient in both poultry meat and table eggs. In fact a small percentage of the local poultry meat produced is exported to other neighboring Caribbean islands.   
Vaccines for the industry are imported mainly from the USA. These include vaccines against Newcastle Disease, Gumboro Disease, Infectious Bronchitis, Fowl Pox Virus and Marek’s Disease. A local pharmaceutical company produces Newcastle Disease vaccine as well. A systematic vaccination programme is in place for commercial broilers whereby day old chicks are vaccinated in the hatchery and then seven days later on the farms.
The five most important diseases of poultry in the Dominican Republic are E.coli septicemia, mycoplasmosis, fowl pox, Gumboro’s Disease and Newcastle Disease. These are generally controlled by vaccination and no significant outbreaks have occurred in the past five years.    
There are seven commercial processing plants that process the birds grown by the farmers. These plants have the combined capacity to process 14 million birds each month. In general, birds grown by the commercial farmers are sold either directly to one of the seven processing plants or to a broker who them sells them to one of the processing plants.  Thirty commercial hatcheries provide day old chicks to the farmers.
The legislations that regulate the poultry industry were updated in 2000; these include quarantine regulations as well as regulations that address animal disease control, and the control and production of poultry products and by-products.   
The Official Veterinary Services employs 433 veterinarians and 240 vet assistants. The Central Veterinary Laboratory at Lavesen, Santo Domingo, is a level 2 biosecurity lab and is fully equipped to conduct the following assays for Avian Influenza (AI): ELISA, HI and HA and AGID. These are conducted routinely on field samples.  There are 13 regional veterinary laboratories across the country. These are equipped for basic diagnostic procedures not including AI diagnostics.  The Central Veterinary Laboratory has a total of 40 laboratory veterinarians and over 40 technicians and other support staff. An AI surveillance programme was recently established and this is supported by the surveillance activities of the private veterinarians who are employed by the poultry companies.
The Official Veterinary Services work closely with the Regional Poultry Associations and have provided these associations with educational materials on AI while at the same time poultry veterinarians of the Official Services have conducted many seminars and workshops to provide training and to update poultry farmers and producers and other stake holders on issues relating to AI.  
There are several regional poultry associations that are all members of the National Poultry Council.

Focal Point