Animal Health: WOAH Formalizes New Health Statuses and Investigates the Global Burden of Disease

Since 1996, when the WOAH first officially recognized a status regarding foot-and-mouth disease, the list of health priorities has grown and now includes six animal diseases. For three of these diseases, the 180 member countries of the WOAH can also have their national control programs officially validated. This voluntary procedure, recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), has a positive impact on international trade in animals and animal products. Conversely, the direct and indirect costs of animal disease outbreaks worldwide have adverse consequences for national economies and global trade. Six diseases, classified as priorities, are subject to health status recognition by the WOAH: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, foot-and-mouth disease, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, African horse sickness, peste des petits ruminants, and classical swine fever. Official validation of national disease control programs applies to foot-and-mouth disease, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, and peste des petits ruminants. During the 84th WOAH World Assembly of Delegates, held May 22–27, 2016, in Paris, several countries or zones within a territory were granted a new health status.

• Classical swine fever: Seven countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania (Germany, Italy, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, New Caledonia, New Zealand) have joined the 23 already recognized as “free of CSF,” along with a new zone in Brazil.
• Peste des petits ruminants (PPR): Latvia has become the 53rd country recognized as “PPR-free.” Infection with this virus was reported by more than 25% of countries in 2015 and early 2016.
• Equine disease: Kazakhstan and the Philippines are both recognized as free of the disease, along with 69 other countries worldwide.
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: Six countries in Europe, Africa, and the Americas (Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Namibia—the first African country to achieve this status) are now considered to pose a “negligible risk with regard to BSE,” bringing the total number to 46.
• Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia: Three new countries—New Caledonia (Oceania), Mexico (North America), and Swaziland (Africa), bringing the total number of “CBP-free” countries to 14, as well as an area in Namibia south of the veterinary cordon sanitaire.
• Foot-and-mouth disease: A new zone in Russia is officially “FMD-free without vaccination.”

  In addition, the foot-and-mouth disease control programs submitted by Thailand, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan have been approved. In total, 25 applications for official recognition of a disease status or control program were adopted by the 2016 World Assembly. The list of health statuses granted, suspended, or reinstated is updated annually. Member countries recognized as disease-free must therefore submit an application for reconfirmation to the WOAH by the end of November each year. In light of the trade consequences and losses caused by certain diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever, the financial impacts of outbreaks recorded worldwide were the subject of a survey of the 180 member countries, followed by a technical analysis*. The 120 countries that provided data now plan to incorporate the economic aspects of animal health and animal welfare into initial and continuing education programs for veterinarians. Ultimately, the goal is to optimize the productivity of national veterinary services and to better prioritize disease management and the resources allocated to control programs. But to achieve this, we need accurate data on direct and indirect production losses, on the costs of prevention and interventions during health crises, to analyze disparities in animal health systems, to define veterinary training needs, and to invest in national disease outbreak reporting systems. According to WOAH, the economic information currently available—particularly through its Wahis health platform—remains insufficient and needs to be updated. To address this issue, three concrete measures are recommended. The first is to better train veterinarians in the economics of animal health—a recent and rapidly evolving discipline—in order to give the veterinary profession the necessary legitimacy to participate in decisions regarding resource allocation. Next, a pilot project will be implemented to estimate the costs of animal diseases and national veterinary services. Finally, a program will be launched to regularly collect data on investments in veterinary education, veterinary research, infrastructure, and coordination activities. These data sets will make it possible to set priorities in real time among animal diseases, as well as to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of veterinary services by geographic area, animal species, and area of expertise. * http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/home/fr/Media_Center/docs/pdf/SG2016/F_84SG_9.pdf