World Animal Health

World Animal Health is published annually by the World Organization for Animal Health (formerly the Office International des Epizooties [OIE]) in English, French, and Spanish. The OIE internet site, www.oie.int, describes their publication by saying “World Animal Health presents a synthesis of animal health information from almost 200 countries/territories and provides a unique tool for all those involved in the development of animal production, international trade in animals and animal products and the epidemiology and control of animal diseases, including zoonoses.” World Animal Health is presented in 2 volumes, Part 1 (Reports) and Part 2 (Tables). The 1st volume, is a compilation of written reports by member countries highlighting significant animal disease and veterinary infrastructure events at the national level for the year under review. Data on livestock populations are also provided. The 2nd volume is comprised of tables reporting on each country’s disease status and control measures for each of the former OIE A and B listed diseases. World Animal Health is used by risk assessors to contribute to risk decisions for animal and animal product imports. In 2005 the OIE took a long debated step in removing the A and B categories of listed diseases and now has a single list by species. This decision reflects the reality that an important trade limiting disease in one country may not have the same significance to another. The disease reporting criteria and frequency of reporting have changed as well. Countries are expected to report immediately disease expression defined by any of the following 6 epidemiological criteria: first occurrence of a listed disease; reoccurrence of a listed disease following declaration of eradication; first occurrence of a new strain of a pathogen; sudden or unexpected increase in the distribution, incidence, morbidity or mortality of an indigenous disease; an emerging disease with significant morbidity, mortality, or zoonotic potential; and evidence of change in the epidemiology of a listed disease such as host species or pathogenicity. Countries are now expected to report disease status every 6 months, rather than annually as in the past. World Animal Health publication will continue annually and will not repeat data published in the 6-month report. All of the data published annually are also available in searchable database form on the Web site in a database called Handistatus; it is searchable by disease or by country. These reports are only one of the outstanding outputs of OIE in recent years. For most veterinary practitioners, exposure to the OIE occurred during a 4th year regulatory rotation, if at all. This international organization has renewed itself and now has relevance for everyone involved in animal health, not just those in food animal practice. For Director General, Dr. Bernard Vallat, the goal of the OIE’s 167 member countries is clear “To improve the health and the welfare of animals all over the world regardless of the cultural practices or the economic situations in member countries.” In the early 1990s, when the OIE was given the mandate to develop world standards for international trade in animals and products under the World Trade Organization (WTO), they were faced with serious challenges that continue to this day. The OIE has the task of applying scientific principles to an activity that has huge economic repercussions and, as a result, is highly politicized. Witness the impact of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada. For an economy as dependant on trade in animal agriculture as Canada, sound scientific standards, equitability applied, are crucial and have formed the basis for market reentry. The same science-based principles are also necessary to provide an opportunity for developing countries to enter the world trade arena. In the pre-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (pre-GATT) era, developed countries exercised their prerogative to prohibit trade from countries infected with foot and mouth disease, regardless of the mitigating measures that could be applied for trade to proceed safely, resulting in economic hardship that was not justified by science. The work of the OIE is best reflected in its continually improving Codes of import recommendations for terrestrial and animal health, as well as many other publications and scientific reviews. Recent strategic changes have been in the design of the science based international standards to move from entire country freedom as the basis for trade to the application of zoning or compartmentalization principles, as well as commodity risk, in order to minimize economic consequences previously associated with disease reporting. Zoning is based on separating a country into areas of differing disease status by natural or artificial geographical barriers, while compartmentalization may make that separation of disease status by the application of appropriate management systems, including bio-security management. Canada has strong ties with the OIE and has influenced its direction. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Norm Willis was the first Canadian to serve as President of the International Committee of the OIE. In this capacity, he was the primary architect of the 5-year strategic plan from 2000 to 2005. Dr. Brian Evans, Canada’s present Chief Veterinary Officer, was elected to the Administrative Commission of the OIE in 2003 for a 3-year term. The 8 member Administrative Commission serves as the Board of Directors of the Organization and is responsible for the design and implementation of the annual work plan. The recent events with highly pathogenic avian influenza worldwide have resulted in even more focus being given to the OIE. In conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the OIE is playing a major role in training, response capacity building, and decision making relating to the most difficult challenge ever faced by public health and animal health official in this modern global context. In spite of the challenges faced by the Organization, consisting primarily of dedicated volunteer experts, the focus on its founding mission has not wavered. The OIE remains committed to collecting, analyzing and disseminating veterinary scientific information; providing expertise and encouraging international solidarity in the control of animal diseases; under the WTO SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) Agreement, safeguarding world trade by publishing health standards for international trade in animals and animal products; and improving the legal framework and resources of national Veterinary Services worldwide.

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