N o . 2 0 0 7 – 2

Protecting the world from emerging diseases

Organisa t ion Mondia le de la Santé An imale • Wor ld Organ isa t ion fo r An imal Hea l th • Organ izac ión Mundia l de San idad An imal

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editorialProtecting the world from emerging diseases linked to globalisation . . . . . . . .01

forumAnimal welfare update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .04

OIE newsRinderpest, once an emerging animal disease,

the last steps towards global eradication by 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05

The delegate of Somalia declares his

country provisionally free from rinderpest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .08

news on the web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .09

new OIE publ ica t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

meet ings & v i s i t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

news f rom headquar te rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

reg iona l ac t i v i t i es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

of f ic ia l ac ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

news from colleaguesep idemio logy & an imal d i sease

cont ro l p rog rammes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

act i v i t i es o f re fe rence labora to r ies

& co l labora t ing cent res . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

international newsbook rev iew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

spec ia l events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 & 57

agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

questions and answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

ISSN 1684-3770F O U R I S S U E S P E R Y E A R

Chief editor: Bernard Vallat • Copy editor: Bulletin Editorial Committee •Printer: Jouve • Design: OIE/Rialto/P. Blandin • Subscriptions: pub.sales@oie.int

contents

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As a result of globalisation and

climate change we are currently

facing an unprecedented

worldwide impact of emerging

and re-emerging animal

diseases and zoonoses (animal

diseases transmissible to

humans). Improving the governance of animal health

systems in both the public and private sector is the most

effective response to this alarming situation.

The animal disease crises we

have recently experienced have

provided a clearer understanding

of the benefits to the international

community of applying the

appropriate animal health policies

and programmes in order to

safeguard public health and ensure

food safety.

It is now clearly established that

the cost of preventing sanitary

crises of animal origin by early

detection of outbreaks and rapid

response mechanisms included in

national veterinary surveillance

systems are insignificant compared to the social,

economic and environmental cost of disasters resulting

from epizootics, such as BSE, foot and mouth disease

and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

When the world was hit by the avian influenza crisis,

the OIE recommended strengthening veterinary

governance worldwide, not just to fight avian influenza,

but also to prevent and control any outbreaks of

emerging or re-emerging animal diseases, including

zoonoses, whether naturally occurring or deliberate.

This message was aimed in particular at developing

and in-transition countries. Indeed, a single country

failing to control animal disease outbreaks could put

the entire world at risk.

12007 • 2

editorialProtecting the world from emerging diseases linked to globalisation

The OIE World Animal Health and Welfare Fund

was created by a Resolution(1) of the OIE International

Committee in May 2004 to provide a means

of responding urgently to these new challenges

and in particular to help our Members strengthen

their capacities in terms of governance of animal

health systems.

The Fund was created ‘for the purpose of projects

of international public utility relating to the control

of animal diseases, including those affecting humans,

and the promotion of animal

welfare and animal production

food safety’. The main donors

to date are the World Bank, the

United States of America (USDA),

Switzerland, Japan, France,

Canada (CIDA) and Australia

(AusAID). Negotiations are

underway with several other

potential donors.

Governance of the Fund

is in accordance with the

statutory procedures of the OIE:

two Auditors elected

by the International Committee of

Delegates of the 169 Members, an internal auditor,

as well as an external auditor appointed

by the International Committee, control the account

activity and the use of the Fund. The OIE’s general

accounting system now provides for a special detailed

account to be kept, enabling regular reports

to be submitted to the Fund’s Management Committee.

An Advisory Committee has also been set up, bringing

together representatives of the main intergovernmental

organisations sharing common goals with the OIE (WTO,

FAO, WHO), and representatives of the main donors.

The Committee met for the first time on 20 October

2006 and will meet each year to help the OIE to guide

the Fund’s policies.

Animal disease crises we haverecently experienced have

provided a clearerunderstanding of the benefits

to the international communityof applying the appropriateanimal health policies and

programmes in order tosafeguard public health and

ensure food safety

(1) Resolution No. XVII of May 2004, pages 37 to 40:

http://www.oie.int/eng/oie/actes/en_resolutions.htm

2007 • 22

(2) http://www.oie.int/downld/Good_Governance/A_good_gouvernance.pdf

The projects supported by the Fund are currently

structured around proposals made in the OIE publication

‘Ensuring good governance to address emerging and re-

emerging animal disease threats: supporting the Veterinary

Services of

developing

countries to meet

OIE international

standards on

quality’(2). This

publication has

been endorsed by

the FAO on behalf

of the United

Nations. Further

programmes have

been added since

the Pledging

Conference in

Beijing (January

2006) at which the

initial programme was adopted, notably an Avian Influenza

Vaccine Bank and twinning programmes between laboratories

in the South and the North.

With the support of all its Members and the World Bank,

the OIE includes among its leading priorities the improvement

of animal health governance, in particular by helping

the developing and in-transition

countries among its Member

Countries to bring their Veterinary

Services into line with the OIE’s

standards on quality which have

been democratically adopted by

its 169 Members.

All these activities and

programmes fall within the concept

of global public good.

The Fund’s current priorities

are to improve the institutional

and technical capacities of OIE

Delegates and their staff, to

manage communication in times of crisis, to provide support

for veterinary laboratories in developing countries and to

finance OFFLU, the OIE/FAO network of scientific expertise.

edito

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In a previous editorial I mentioned the OIE’s crucial

role in helping the Veterinary Services meet their new

challenges, through the development and use of the

‘Performance, Vision and Strategy’ (PVS) tool. The PVS

tool now includes all

the quality criteria

contained in the

OIE Terrestrial

Animal Health Code.

The PVS tool is not

simply an evaluation

tool, however. It is

also a development

tool since it can be

used to identify

failings and

weaknesses and

thus help in the

preparation of

national investment

programmes to

overcome these deficiencies. How beneficiary Veterinary

Services obtain the necessary resources will depend upon

decisions by the national parliament or the Ministry of

Finance or, where appropriate, international donors,

including the World Bank or developed countries that

have undertaken to help developing and in-transition

countries to strengthen their animal

health systems. The analysis of

deficiencies carried out using the

results of the PVS evaluation will

help to identify priorities for

investment and provide solid

justification for the recommended

reforms.

With the support of several

donors and based on an initial pilot

programme of 15 national PVS

evaluations, the Fund has already

made provision for a programme

to evaluate 60 more countries in

2007-2008. These evaluations will be done following a

very strict procedure, managed by the OIE Central

Headquarters, and comprising, chronologically, an official

The fund was created ‘forthe purpose of projects of

international public utilityrelating to the control of

animal diseases, includingthose affecting humans, and

the promotion of animalwelfare and animal

production food safety’

edito

rial

2007 • 2 3

the same indicators relating to the quality criteria

contained in the PVS. This programme, being conducted

worldwide, will allow the international community as

a whole to strengthen its capacities under the auspices

of the OIE to deal with the new risks arising from

globalisation and climate change, thanks to the

improvement of policies and resources of the national

Veterinary Services.

Bernard Vallat

Director General, OIE

request to the Director General of the OIE from a Member

made on a voluntary basis, followed by the beneficiary

country’s acceptance of the team of certified experts

proposed by the OIE Headquarters, an independent peer

review of the experts’ report and, where appropriate, the

final agreement of the country concerned for the PVS

report to be officially taken into account.

To date, the OIE has trained and certified over

60 experts to conduct PVS missions. They will all use

the same Evaluation Manual, prepared by the OIE, and

This fifth animal welfare update is designed to maintain

awareness of progress with the World Organisation for Animal

Health (OIE) activities involving animal welfare and is part of

the OIE’s commitment to communication and consultation.

Communication and consultation are vital elements of the OIE

mission statement:

‘To provide international leadership in animal welfare

through the development of science-based standards, and

guidelines, the provision of expert advice and the promotion

of relevant education and research.’

The editorial in this issue of the Bulletin emphasises,

amongst other significant international developments and

trends, the importance of globalisation and climate change,

the economic and social impact of epizootic disease including

bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth

disease (FMD) and avian influenza, the purpose of the

nascent Animal Health and Welfare Fund and the importance

of relationships between the OIE and international institutions

such as the World Bank. All these issues have direct

relevance to the OIE animal welfare work programme

and demonstrate the strategic significance of the

decision to include animal welfare in the third and fourth

OIE strategic plans.

Globalisation and climate change pose potential risks, and

new challenges, in relation to both trade policy considerations

and disaster management due to both disease and climatic

incidents. Traditional slaughter policies for disease control are

increasingly being challenged on welfare, ethical and public

acceptability grounds. The OIE Guidelines on Killing for

Disease Control Purposes, adopted in 2005, is thus a very

important document, with ongoing emphasis being given

to its adoption by OIE Members.

Although the initial focus of the Animal Health and

Welfare Fund is on animal health issues, it is anticipated

that it will also make an important contribution to animal

welfare in the years ahead.

Through its financial lending arm, the International

Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank has also made

an important contribution to raising awareness of animal

welfare internationally through two recent publications:

‘Quick Note: Creating Business Opportunity through Improved

Animal Welfare’ and ‘Good Practice Note: Animal Welfare

in Livestock Operations’.

Continuing with matters of international significance,

the OIE has started planning for the second OIE Global

Conference on Animal Welfare, as foreshadowed in the fourth

animal welfare update. This conference will be held in Cairo

in October 2008 and it is planned to publish the conference

programme and other registration details after the annual

meeting of the Permanent Animal Welfare Working Group

meeting, which will be held in Paris from 5-7 September.

A final international update relates to the OIE Scientific

and Technical Review publication ‘Animal Welfare: Global

Issues, Trends and Challenges’. This review has been

reviewed very positively by a number of leading international

journals and sales, to date, have exceeded expectations.

Copies of the publication can be ordered from the

OIE Publications Department.

It is hoped that this update is proving useful to Bulletin

readers and suggestions for material to be included in future

issues will continue to be welcomed.

A.C. David Bayvel

Chair, Animal Welfare Working Group

Animal welfare update

forum

2007 • 24

2007 • 2 5

Spread and economic impactRinderpest is harmless to humans, but the economic consequences of rinderpest

outbreaks in livestock are giving cause for concern. Historically the virus was

widely distributed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, but never became

established, neither in the Americas nor Australia/New Zealand. The disease had

a high social and economic impact on livestock dependant communities and

caused widespread famines. For example, when the disease was introduced from

Europe into Africa at the end of the 19th Century, the virus killed 80%-90% of all

cattle in sub-Saharan Africa.

The economic impact of this devasting epizootic was one of the major triggers

for the foundation of the OIE in 1924, as an intergovernmental effort to combat

spread of rinderpest through global trade. The widespread occurrence of rinderpest

after the Second World War was in fact one of the major stimuli for the founding

of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945 as a specialised agency

of the United Nations. In 1950, the Inter-African Bureau of Animal Resources

(IBAR) of the Organisation of African Union (AU), was created, with one of the

main directives being the elimination of rinderpest from the African continent.

Rinderpest, once an emerging animal disease, the last steps towards global eradication by 2010The example of the Somali Ecosystem

OIE news

While new diseases emerge and almost

forgotten diseases re-emerge, there are

also examples of animal diseases that used

to be emerging diseases in the past.

Rinderpest is an example of an emerging

disease on the way to being eradicated

from the planet.

Rinderpest is a highly fatal viral disease of

domestic cattle, buffaloes and yaks. It also

affects sheep, goats and some breeds of

pigs and a large variety of wildlife species.

The rinderpest virus belongs to the Morbillivirus genus within the Paramyxoviridae family.

Although there is thought to be only one serotype of the virus, there are many strains of the

virus which give a variable range of clinical expressions. Rinderpest in its classical form is

highly contagious and is spread by direct contact and excretions of sick animals. Fatal

transmission of the disease from livestock to wildlife occurred, but wildlife is not considered

important in the long-term maintenance of the disease. Outbreaks in completely susceptible

populations of cattle, buffalo and yak, but also wildlife, usually lead to mortalities in animals

within a few days. Recovered animals have a solid immunity.

1-Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign 1987-1998

2-Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics 1999-2007

3-Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme

© CIRAD

2007 • 26

Success and drawbacks in rinderpest eradicationIn the late 1950s stable, safe and cheap rinderpest vaccines became available

giving lifelong immunity to susceptible livestock. Massive global animal vaccination

campaigns were launched. Through intensive control programmes, mainly based

on mass vaccination, but also movement control and stamping out, the eradication

of the disease was achieved in most areas of the world. However, the disappearance

of clinical disease led to the discontinuation of vaccination campaigns, even

in regions where effective measures against a potential re-introduction of the

virus were not implemented.

As a consequence a re-introduction and spread of the virus occurred

in the 1980s via East Africa. Devasting outbreaks again rushed across the

African continent badly affecting livestock and wildlife. These were controlled

through international joint-efforts: PARC1 began its successful operations in 1987,

subsequently followed by PACE2 with the ultimate goal to eradicate rinderpest.

The development of diagnostic tools supported the campaigns to monitor,

do surveillance and eradicate the disease. After southern Africa, West Africa

was cleared of infection already by 1988, leaving suspected reservoirs of infection

only in eastern Africa, where efforts have been concentrated. GREP3 was the

FAO programme to co-ordinate the steps of the global eradication of rinderpest

by 2010 with PACE for Africa.

In terms of international standards of the OIE and just after foot and mouth

disease, rinderpest became the second disease with a procedure for the

recognition of a country’s official disease status in 1995. Today it is known

as the ‘OIE rinderpest pathway’, adopted by the International Committee of the OIE.

To date, more and more countries have successfully met the requirements for

official recognition of freedom from rinderpest or are in the process of engaging

in the OIE Pathway.

The last special case, the Somali Ecosystem?Years of concerted efforts to get rid of the presumably last foci of rinderpest had

limited the suspicions of the presence

of rinderpest to the Somali Ecosystem

(SES) in East Africa.

Geographically, the SES covers

Somalia, parts of south-eastern Ethiopia

and north-eastern Kenya. The SES

is a zone occupied by the Somali ethnic

community and their transhumant

livestock population that constitutes

a continuum and is epidemiologically

uniform, regardless of national

boundaries. In the SES the rinderpest

virus occurred the last time in 2001,

causing no or mild disease (mainly

in young) cattle. Nevertheless severe

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4-Joint FAO-GREP/OIE/AU-IBAR Workshop on Accreditation of Rinderpest Freedom in Africa, Ghana 2006

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2007 • 2 7

disease and mortality in susceptible

wildlife species was observed, especially

in wildlife reserves that experienced

confirmed contact with livestock.

The classical strategies that enabled

the teams to successfully eradicate

the remaining rinderpest foci and

circulating virus in various areas of

the world had to be reconsidered

in the case of the SES.

The SES has been facing particularly

difficult conditions that called for

a more specific adapted approach:

changing clinical manifestations

of the disease, temporally differing

vaccination cessation, migrating livestock scattered over three countries and

climatic catastrophes or civil unrest, called for a more specific approach adapted

to these conditions. The three countries involved agreed to harmonise their

activities in reaching the goal of rinderpest eradication, co-ordinating, e.g. targeted

surveillance activities and exchanging investigation results. Because the

implementation of regular surveillance programmes over the entire SES was difficult

to achieve, an active search for evidence of virus circulation in livestock and wildlife

by all means available was initiated: follow up activities on sero-positive clusters,

increased investigations in wildlife in the SES, participatory disease search

approaches and surveillance. Despite the tremendous surveillance efforts,

the results have not been conclusive over the entire SES. In a last area of Somalia

the occurrence of restricted sero-positive clusters is a subject of concern, although

other surveillance results are not strongly suggestive of continued rinderpest virus

circulation. The surveillance activities, planned for 2007 and 2008 will hopefully

assist in reaching a final clarification of the rinderpest situation, in view of future

accreditation for rinderpest infection freedom.

ConclusionThere is growing confidence that even the last reservoir of rinderpest in the

Somali Ecosystem might have been eliminated. Experts suggest that rinderpest

might be eradicated from the globe before the target date of 2010. A world wide

ban on rinderpest vaccines is currently under discussion4. Is rinderpest the second

disease in history – after smallpox – ever to be eradicated from the world? The

world-wide control of rinderpest has surely the potential to be a success story,

we are almost there!

1- Note of the redaction: declarations of ‘provisionally free’ are on the sole responsibility of the refered country and do not engage that of the

World Organisation for Animal Health

Somalia, situated in the Horn of Africa,

lies along the Gulf of Aden and the

Indian Ocean. It borders Djibouti in

the northwest, Ethiopia in the west

and Kenya in the southwest.

Southern and central Somalia are

part of the Somali ecosystem (SES),

which also involves the Somali regional

State of Ethiopia and the North Eastern

Province of Kenya. The ecosystem has

been suspected of harbouring the last

pockets of rinderpest infection. The

virus was last confirmed to be present

in the ecosystem in 2001, in buffaloes

in Meru National Park of Kenya.

The last confirmed occurrence

of classical rinderpest in Somalia was

recorded in 1983. However, the

persistence of a rinderpest-compatible

syndrome, ‘mild rinderpest’, in cattle

in the SES has been of great concern.

As a response, a surveillance system

implemented by Somali veterinary

associations and networks capable

of detecting rinderpest has been

operating throughout Somalia since

2002 with the help of the African

Union's Inter-African Bureau for Animal

Resources (AU-IBAR) and European

Union-funded projects, the Somali

Programme for the Control of Epizootics

(PACE) Project and the Somali Animal

Health Services Project (SAHSP).

During 2002-2006, cross-sectional

serological surveys and randomised

and purposive clinical disease searches

were carried out in all the cattle rearing

areas of northern Somalia (Somaliland

and Puntland) and central and

southern Somalia, in addition to

investigations of rinderpest rumours

and laboratory testing in Kenya and

at the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) World Reference

Laboratory for Rinderpest hosted by

the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright

Laboratory, Pirbright, United Kingdom.

All samples collected from clinical

cases of suspected mild rinderpest

have tested negative for the presence

of rinderpest virus. Investigations

of ‘stomatitis-enteritis syndromes’

for the purpose of rinderpest

surveillance have not confirmed

the presence of rinderpest virus

in the suspected cases in the field.

The results of the extensive purposive

and randomised serological surveillance

for rinderpest conducted over the last

five years have also demonstrated the

absence of seropositive cattle in

Somaliland and Puntland and the

reduction of seroprevalence rates

to very low levels in southern Somalia.

Somalia shares disease information

with neighbouring countries (Ethiopia

and Kenya) through AU-IBAR and

the OIE, and there has been no sign

of clinical rinderpest in these countries,

with which Somalia shares the same

ecosystem, since it was last detected

in buffaloes in the Meru National

Park of Kenya in 2001.

ln collaboration with its partners,

Somalia will continue with the intensive

surveillance programme to provide

the necessary clarification during the

process of accreditation of rinderpest

8 2007 • 2

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The delegate of Somalia declares his ‘country provisionally free from rinderpest’1

freedom. It has also developed

emergency preparedness planning

in conjunction with the other SES

countries to avert any risk of

rinderpest resurgence.

ln line with the above and following

the recommendations of the Joint

FAO-GREP/OIE/AU–IBAR Workshop

on ‘Accreditation of Rinderpest

Freedom in Africa’ (Accra, Ghana,

29 November-1 December 2006),

which were based on the analysis

of wide databases from Somalia

and other SES countries, the

Delegate of Somalia to the OIE hereby

declares his country provisionally

free from rinderpest, with effect

from 15 January 2007.

Dr Ahmed Mohamed Hashi

Chief Veterinary Officer of Somalia and

Delegate of Somalia to the OIE

OIE Communication, a rationale for morevisibility, credibility and recognition

A successful partnership within a stronger Communication

Unit bore its first fruits in April 2007. Thanks to an expanded

capacity the Unit is able to respond to an increasing demand

for material from diverse sources, especially international

media, and produce more outputs.

A new website section ‘Media resources’ now includes

fact sheets on key OIE work, including avian influenza, animal

welfare, official country disease free status, food safety and

wildlife. The site section, which also provides a source for

general disease cards and audiovisual material, will continue

to evolve and expand. It will serve as an archive for ever

more elaborated press packs distributed at international

conferences, the General Session and other media-attractive

events.

The OIE has also launched a new AI portal that is

designed to facilitate users' navigation and search for facts

on avian influenza in animals. Easy to get around, it gathers

all HPAI information available on the OIE website together

into one space. The site provides the public with clear,

concise and consistent information on the disease providing

key facts and figures about highly pathogenic avian influenza

(HPAI), the H5N1 strain and all other information relating

to the disease.

Significant animal health diseases such as avian influenza

(AI), rift valley fever or foot and mouth disease and the work

of the OIE have brought animal diseases and animal health

issues into the realm of public –and media– interest.

The OIE has identified communication as a principal

issue in its current strategic plan (2006-2010) and

consequently develops communication activities and boosts

its media visibility continuously.

The new website section Media Resources can

be accessed at:

http://www.oie.int/eng/ressources/en_ressources.htm

The Avian Influenza Portal can be accessed at:

http://www.oie.int/AI

Other newsFood Safety and animal welfareThe pages concerning food safety and animal welfare

have been reviewed and updated.

Performance, vision and strategyIn the PVS section of the website (accessible via the

Veterinary Services section) the information has been

updated and a new page has been added to provide further

details on PVS training and the certification of assessors.

92007 • 2

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news on the web

10 2007 • 2

Scientific and Technical Review

Vol. 26 (1)

Animal vaccinationPart 1: development,

production and use ofvaccines*

Co-ordinators: P.-P. Pastoret,

M. Lombard & A.A. Schudel

April 2007

ISBN 978-92-9044-688-0

Trilingual

Format: 21 � 29.7 cm, 296 pp.

Price: 50 €/issue

* Part 2 ‘Scientific, economic, regulatory and socio-ethical aspects’

will be available in August 2007

new OIE publicationsThese publications are available for purchase from the OIE e-bookshop www.oie.int (publications)

Vaccination, when available, is undoubtedly

the most cost-effective means to prevent

and control or even eradicate infectious

diseases. In recent years vaccination

has also been used for other purposes

in animal welfare and production, such

as for immuno-castration. In fact the

impact of vaccination goes far beyond

the simple control of infectious diseases.

Vaccination will therefore help to reach many of the objectives

of the 2005 Millenium development goals report, especially in the

light of the foreseen livestock revolution.

Public perception and disapproval of some veterinary prophylactic

measures, such as mass slaughtering of livestock to control epizootic

diseases, also contribute to drive vaccination as an alternative. This

will be made easier, thanks to recent progress in veterinary vaccinology,

such as the availability of marker vaccines.

This special issue of the OIE Scientific and Technical Review is

aiming at providing useful generic information instead of giving detailed

technical descriptions of specific diseases or vaccines.

The Central Bureau

General Directorate

Bernard Vallat OIE Director General

Jean-Luc Angot Deputy Director General (Administration, Finances,Staff management)

Alex Thiermann Advisor and President of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code

Maria Zampaglione Head of the Communication Unit

Glaïeul Mamaghani Deputy Head of the Communication Unit

Alain Dehove World Fund Coordinator

Willem Droppers Chargé de mission

Administration and Management Systems Department

Daniel Chaisemartin Head of Department

Alejandra Balmont Bilingual Secretary / Conference Assistant

Animal Health Information Department

Karim Ben Jebara Head of Department

Antonio Petrini Deputy Head of Department

Cristina Ramírez Chargée de mission

International Trade Department

Sarah Kahn Head of Department

Francesco Berlingieri Deputy Head of Department

Leopoldo Stuardo Chargé de mission

Tomoko Ishibashi Chargée de mission

Publications Department

Paul-Pierre Pastoret Head of Department

Annie Souyri Deputy Head of Department

Tamara Benicasa Sales and Marketing Agent

Scientific and Technical Department

Gideon Brückner Head of Department

Christianne Bruschke Chargée de mission

François Diaz Officer in charge of validation of diagnostic assays

Lea Knopf Officer in charge of the recognition of countries’animal disease status

Marie Teissier Documentalist

Regional Activities Department

Dewan Sibartie Head of Department

Gastón Funes Deputy Head of Department

Stéphane Berlaud Chargé de mission

Nathaly Monsalve Bilingual Secretary

The Regional Representations

Africa

Amadou Samba Sidibe Regional Representative for Africa(Bamako, Mali)

Nicolas Denormandie Technical Assistant (Bamako, Mali)

Mariam Minta Secretary (Bamako, Mali)

Bonaventure J. Mtei Sub-Regional Representative for theSouthern African Development Community(SADC) (Gaborone, Botswana)

Patrick Bastiaensen Chargé de mission (Gaborone, Botswana)

Americas

Luis Osvaldo Barcos Regional Representative for the Americas(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Salome Koloffon Senior Technical Assistant (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Alicia Palmas Secretary (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

José Joaquín Oreamuno Toledo Sub-Regional Representative for CentralAmerica (Panama)

Asia and the Pacific

Teruhide Fujita Regional Representative for Asia and thePacific (Tokyo, Japan)

Yoshiyuki Oketani Deputy Regional Representative (Tokyo, Japan)

Shiro Yoshimura Senior Deputy Regional Representative(Bangkok, Thailand)

Yumiko Sakurai Regional Veterinary Officer (Tokyo, Japan)

Ronello C. Abila Regional Coordinator, SEAFMD1

Coordination Unit (Bangkok, Thailand)

Stéphane Forman Chargé de mission (Bangkok, Thailand)

Europe

Nikola T. Belev President of the OIE Regional Commissionfor Europe and Regional Representative forEastern Europe (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Caroline Planté Sub-Regional Representative / Chargée de mission (Brussels, Belgium)

Nataliya Zgonnyk Chargée de mission (Brussels, Belgium)

Rina Kostova Secretary (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Violeta Radkova Office Technical Assistant (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Middle East

Ghazi Yehia Regional Representative for the MiddleEast (Beirut, Lebanon)

Pierre Primot Chargé de mission (Beirut, Lebanon)

Mustafa Mestom Advisor (Beirut, Lebanon)

Rita Rizk Secretary (Beirut, Lebanon)

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meetings and visitsName and function of OIE permanent personnel

Name and function of experts having represented the OIE in meetings and visitsMatasuke Yamage OIE Consultant

Ikuo Koike OIE Consultant

Michel Thibier Scientific Advisor

Hassan Aidaros Member of the OIE Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety

Véronique Bellemain Director of ENSV2, OIE collaborating centre

Ahmed Mustapha Hassan Veterinary Expert

David Wilson Technical Consultant

Stuart A. Slorach Chairman of the OIE Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety

Cécile Squarzoni Epidemiologist, Regional Centre of Animal Health of Bamako

1-The Southeast Asia Foot and Mouth Disease Campaign

2-Ecole Nationale des Services Vétérinaires (National School of Veterinary Services)

meetings and visits

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December 2006Title of the event Place Date Participants

2nd Meetings of the OIE/FAO Joint Steering Committee Bangkok (Thailand) 13-15 December 2006 Dr S. Yoshimura, Dr Y. Oketani,and of the Coordination Committee of the OIE/Japan Dr Y. Sakurai, Dr A. Dehove,Special Trust Fund Programme for HPAI Control at Dr M. Yamage & Dr I. KoikeSource in Southeast Asia

January 2007Title of the event Place Date Participants33rd Annual Conference of the International Embryo Kyoto (Japan) 4-11 January 2007 Prof. M. ThibierTransfer Society (IETS)

Technical Cooperation Project for Animal Health in Colonia (Uruguay) 8 January 2007 Dr L.O. BarcosMembers (and Associate Members) of MERCOSUR3

2nd Annual Meeting of the EDEN Project (Emerging Diseases in a changing European environment) Antalya (Turkey) 10-13 January 2007 Dr A. Petrini

OIE Workshop on the Compliance of Veterinary Services Kuwait city (Kuwait) 13-16 January 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr D. Sibartie,with OIE International Standards Dr G. Yehia, Prof. H. Aidaros,

Dr V. Bellemain & Dr A.M. Hassan

2nd OIE/FAO-APHCA4/NIAH5-Japan Regional Hands-on Tsukuba Science City 15-22 January 2007 Dr Y. Oketani & Dr Y. SakuraiTraining Workshop on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Tokyo (Japan)(BSE) and Other Prion Diseases Diagnosis

Official invitation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 17-19 January 2007 Dr B. Vallat & Dr G. Yehia

Joint Action in Support of the Biological and Toxin San José (Costa Rica) 18-19 January 2007 Dr G. FunesWeapons Convention: Regional Seminar for Latin America and the Caribbean

OIE Meeting on Collaboration with Members Bangkok (Thailand) 21-23 January 2007 Dr Ch. Bruschke, Dr T. Fujita,in Asia and the Pacific Dr S. Yoshimura & Dr D. Wilson

Official invitation from the Indian government New Delhi and 21-27 January 2007 Dr B. Vallat & Dr D. SibartieMumbai (India)

Collaborative Arrangements Meeting for the 2nd ASEAN6 Bangkok (Thailand) 22 January 2007 Dr T. Fujita, Dr S. YoshimuraWorkshop on HPAI Control and Eradication & Dr Ch. Bruschke

Participation of the People’s Republic of China in Paris (France) 23 January 2007 Dr J.-L. AngotOIE activities

9th EFSA7 Task Force on Zoonoses Data Collection Meeting Parma (Italy) 24-25 January 2007 Dr C. Planté

27th International Forum on Agricultural Policy Berlin (Germany) 25 January 2007 Dr J.-L. Angot(International Green Week)

OIE Training Workshop on Epidemiology, in particular Quezon City 29 January – 2 February 2007 Dr S. Yoshimura & Dr R.C. Abilaof HPAI and TADs8 (Philippines)

Annual Tripartite meeting OIE/FAO/WHO Rome (Italy) 31 January – 2 February 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr K. Ben Jebara & Dr D. Chaisemartin

February 2007Title of the event Place Date ParticipantsInaugural ceremony for the new infrastructure La Tremblade (France) 9 February 2007 Dr F. Berlingieriat the Ifremer station in La Tremblade

Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society Workshop Thessaloniki (Greece) 11 February 2007 Prof. S.A. Slorachon Food Hygiene and Food Technology

5th CAPSERSA9 Steering Committee Meeting Bern (Switzerland) 16 February 2007 Dr G. Brückner

Regional Seminar on the WTO Agreement on the Application Bamako (Mali) 20-23 February 2007 Dr C. Squarzoniof Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPC) Measures

Final PACE Workshop ‘Sustaining PACE10 achievements Nairobi (Kenya) 22-23 February 2007 Dr C. Plantéto improve animal health and livestock sectors in Africa’

1st International Meeting on Emerging Diseases Vienna (Austria) 23-25 February 2007 Dr K. Ben Jebara &and Surveillance 2007 (IMED 2007) Ms T. Benicasa

Bi-Regional Cross-Border Meeting on Emerging Bangkok (Thailand) 26-28 February 2007 Dr T. FujitaInfectious Diseases

38th Meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary Geneva (Switzerland) 26 February – 1 March 2007 Dr S. Kahnand Phytosanitary Measures

17th Conference of the OIE Regional Commission Asmara (Eritrea) 26 February – 1 March 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr D. Sibartie, for Africa Dr A. Petrini, Ms N. Monsalve,

Dr C. Planté, Dr A.S. Sidibe, Dr N. Denormandie & Ms M. Minta

2007 • 212

3-Mercado Común del Sur [Southern Common Market]

4-Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific (part of FAO)

5-National Institute of Animal Health (Japan)

6-Association of Southeast Asian Nations

7-European Food Safety Authority

8-Transboundary Animal Diseases

9-Capacity Building for Surveillance and Prevention of BSE and other Zoonotic

Diseases in Serbia and South Africa

10-The Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics

February 2007Title of the event Place Date ParticipantsWorkshop on the Formulation of Strategic Efforts London 27-28 February 2007 Dr L. Stuardoto Improve Farm Animal Welfare (United Kingdom)

2nd ASEAN Regional Workshop on HPAI Control Kuala Lumpur 27 February – 2 March 2007 Dr Ch. Bruschke, Dr S. Yoshimura,and Eradication (Malaysia) Dr Y. Oketani & Dr D. Wilson

March 2007Title of the event Place Date ParticipantsOIE observer at EFSA’s final Geographical Risk Brussels (Belgium) 2 March 2007 Dr L. KnopfAssessment (GBR) Workshop

Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Geneva (Switzerland) 2 March 2007 Dr G. FunesWorking Group Meeting

Visit from the Taipei Representative Office in France Paris (France) 5 March 2007 Dr J.-L. Angotto OIE Headquarters

General Meeting of IFAH (International Federation Brussels (Belgium) 7 March 2007 Dr B. Vallatfor Animal Health)

Regional workshop on strengthening the FMD Pakchong (Thailand) 8-9 March 2007 Dr R.C. Abilalaboratory network in Southeast Asia

OIE observer at a meeting of the EFSA Animal Health Parma (Italy) 8-9 March 2007 Dr L. Knopfand Animal Welfare Panel (AHAW)

Regional Expert Consultation on Viral Diseases Nairobi (Kenya) 12-13 March 2007 Dr Ch. Bruschkeof Rural Smallholder Poultry Preventive Strategies, Products and Distribution Systems (GALVMed11)

13th Meeting of the OIE Sub-Commission for FMD Control Siem Reap 12-16 March 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr D. Sibartie, in Southeast Asia (Cambodia) Dr A. Dehove, Dr T. Fujita, Dr Y. Sakurai,

Dr R.C. Abila & Dr S. Forman

Meeting of the South American Commission for the fight Caracas 14-17 March 2007 Dr L.O. Barcosagainst Foot and Mouth Disease (COSALFA) / Meeting with (Venezuela)USDA12-APHIS13 and IICA14 about APHIS actions in the region / GIEFA15 Meeting

Meeting of the Working Group on strategy for animal health Brussels (Belgium) 16 March 2007 Dr J.-L. Angot & Dr C. Planté (2007-2013) of the Consulting Committee on the food chain, animal health and plant health

PVS16 simulation exercise Sofia (Bulgaria) 19-21 March 2007 Prof. Dr N.T. Belev, Ms R. Kostova & Ms V. Radkova

Vaccination: a tool for the control of avian influenza Verona (Italy) 19-22 March 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr K. Ben Jebara,(OIE/FAO/IZSV17 scientific conference) Dr G. Brückner, Dr Ch. Bruschke,

Dr S. Kahn, Ms M. Zampaglione, Ms A. Balmont & Ms T. Benicasa

Final Workshop of the Permanent Advisory Network Weymouth 20-21 March 2007 Dr F. Berlingieri for Diseases in Aquaculture (PANDA) (United Kingdom)

Media seminar organised by the European Commission Brussels (Belgium) 21-22 March 2007 Dr L. Stuardo & Ms G. MamaghaniHealth and Consumer Protection Directorate-General (DG SANCO)

Humane Slaughter Association Workshop on Electrical Derby 21-22 March 2007 Dr L. StuardoWaterbath Stunning Parameters (United Kingdom)

10th Meeting of the EFSA Task Force on Zoonoses Parma (Italy) 26-27 March 2007 Dr C. PlantéData Collection

2nd Meeting of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures Rome (Italy) 26-27 March 2007 Dr S. Kahn

SPC Pacific Islands Pandemic Taskforce (PIPTF) Meeting Noumea 26-28 March 2007 Dr Y. Oketani(New Caledonia)

Annual Meeting of the Chief Veterinary Officers of Dushanbe 26-28 March 2007 Dr G. BrücknerCentral Asian Countries (Tajikistan)

7th French Meeting on European and Multilateral Paris (France) 27 March 2007 Dr A. DehoveCooperation (RFCM-7)

OIE Workshop on the new World Animal Health Information Jounieh (Lebanon) 27-29 March 2007 Dr K. Ben Jebara, Dr D. Chaisemartin,System for the Middle East Dr G. Yehia, Dr M. Mestom,

Dr P. Primot & Ms R. Rizk

2nd Meeting of the OIE/FAO GF-TADs18 Regional Steering Djibouti (Djibouti) 27-30 March 2007 Dr B. Vallat, Dr D. Sibartie,Committee for Africa and ALive Executive Prof. P.-P. Pastoret & Dr A.S. SidibeCommittee meeting (EC8)

First avian flu crisis simulation exercise for Europe, Paris (France) 28-29 March 2007 Dr W. DroppersAfrica and the Middle East

meetings and visits

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2007 • 2 13

11-Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines

12-United States Department of Agriculture

13-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

14-Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

15-Grupo Interamericano para la Erradicación de la Fiebre Aftosa [Inter-American

Group for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease]

16-Performance, Vision and Strategy for Veterinary Services

17-Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie [Institute of Animal and

Veterinary Public Health – Venice]

18-Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Diseases

14 2007 • 2

news from headquarters

Ad hoc Group on the revision of the OIE model certificates 9-11 January 2007

An ad hoc Group met to develop a proposal for revision

of the OIE model veterinary certificates for international trade.

The ad hoc Group proposed to replace the current model

certificates with four model veterinary certificates for: live

animals and hatching eggs; embryos, ova and semen;

products of animal origin; bees and brood combs.

In relation to the prevention of fraudulent certification,

the ad hoc Group considered that the use of electronic

certification could help to address this problem. The Group

also proposed to amend Article 1.2.1.4. of the Terrestrial

Code to promote cooperation among Veterinary

Administrations dealing with cases of fraudulent certification.

Ad hoc Group on identification and traceability of live animals 23-25 January 2007

The ad hoc Group addressed Member Country comments

on the draft guidelines for the design and implementation

of animal traceability and revised the draft guideline

accordingly. The ad hoc Group noted that the draft guideline

is based on general principles that were adopted at the

General Session in 2006. Clarification and/or revised/new

definitions were proposed for the following terms: market;

desired outcomes; performance criteria; reporting; scope

and transhumance.

The ad hoc Group also recommended that the

OIE organise an international conference on animal

identification and traceability. This would facilitate

the production of technical papers and possibly an edition

of the OIE Scientific and Technical Review on this topic.

Ad hoc Group on salmonellosis 20-22 February 2007

The ad hoc Group followed the terms of reference drafted

by the OIE Animal Production Food Safety Working Group

and prepared a draft Guideline on the detection, control

and prevention of Salmonella enteritidis and S. typhimurium

in poultry producing eggs for human consumption. This

work took into account other existing chapters in the

Terrestrial Code, relevant work of the Codex Alimentarius

Commission, the joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Microbial

Risk Assessment and the current scientific knowledge.

It was agreed that some restructuring of the Terrestrial

Code in regard to the existing Appendices dealing

with salmonella in poultry should be undertaken. Future

work should address the control of Salmonella spp.

in broiler chickens.

Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission 5-9 March 2007

The Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission

(Aquatic Animals Commission) met from 5 to 9 March 2007.

The outcomes of this meeting were detailed in a report

distributed to OIE Delegates and placed on the OIE Web

page. A summary of the most important points discussed

by the Aquatic Animals Commission is as follows:

– nineteen updated chapters and appendices

on the Aquatic Animal Health Code and the Manual of

Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals were proposed

to Members;

– OIE listing of two additional diseases, white tail

disease and infectious myonecrosis, was proposed;

Activities of the International Trade DepartmentJanuary to March 2007

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– progress in the harmonisation of the Aquatic Animal

Health Code and the Terrestrial Animal Health Code

was made;

– Member Country responses to the questionnaire

on amphibian disease were addressed and a proposal

to include amphibians into the remit of the OIE was made;

– two new draft standards on aquatic animal feeds and on

surveillance of aquatic animals were submitted for comment;

– ongoing discussion of antimicrobial resistance

in aquatic animals;

– observations on the OIE Aquatic Animal Disease

Information System were discussed with the Animal Health

Information Service

– steps to promote cooperation and partnership with other

international organisations and regional organisations

that are working in aquatic health were identified;

– there was ongoing support for the operation of

an OIE Internet site providing information on the work

of the Aquatic Animals Commission.

Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission 12-16 March 2007

The Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission

(the Terrestrial Code Commission) met from 12 to 16 March

2007 to address comments on its October 2006 meeting

report received from Members, as well as work

done by various OIE ad hoc Groups, the Permanent Animal

Production Food Safety Working Group and the OIE Scientific

Commission for Animal Diseases.

The outcomes of this meeting were detailed in a report

distributed to OIE Delegates for comment and placed on the

OIE Web page. Important points discussed by the Terrestrial

Code Commission include:

– the improvement of the chapter on zoning and

compartmentalisation, the development of guidelines

for compartmentalisation to be added to the Terrestrial

Code in future, and the distribution of a checklist on practical

application of compartmentalisation for avian influenza

and Newcastle disease at the 75th General Session (note:

the checklist is not, at the current time, a standard

and not therefore be included in the Terrestrial Code);

– a procedure to expedite the recovery of status

in the event of a limited disease outbreak in a previously

FMD free country or zone by introducing the concept of

‘containment zone’;

– substantial revision of the chapter and surveillance

guidelines on rinderpest;

– with respect to the chapter on bovine spongiform

encephalopathy, the risk of potentially infected animals in

age cohorts born before the introduction of risk management

measures, and conditions for gelatine production;

– revisions of several chapters on equine diseases

including equine influenza and African horse sickness;

– improvement of the chapter on classical swine fever;

– clarification of the definition of poultry in the avian

influenza chapter and a new point on the obligations

of countries in regard to international trade and highly

pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) related measures;

– the development of OIE guidelines on animal

identification and traceability;

– several animal welfare issues, including revisions

of guidelines for the transport of animals by sea and land,

for the slaughter of animals and for killing of animals

for disease control purposes;

– the development of a standard on Salmonella

enteritidis and S. typhimurium in hens producing eggs

for human consumption.

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Ad hoc Group on Evaluation of Country Status for Bovine SpongiformEncephalopathy (BSE) in accordance withthe Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2006Paris, 9-11 January 2007

The ad hoc Group reviewed five new country dossiers

in accordance with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2006.

Six of eight former dossiers (November 2006) were reviewed

taking into account the additional data supplied by these

Members to achieve a definitive evaluation.

The Group refined the evaluation procedure using

a comparative table for key data. The table was developed

during the past ad hoc Group meeting and serves

as an internal, objective evaluation tool. It was highlighted

that the Members classified in the ‘controlled

BSE risk’ group show a sizable heterogeneity in their

way to implement BSE control programmes.

Ad hoc Group on West Nile virus feverParis, 16-18 January 2007

The ad hoc Group drafted a new chapter for the Terrestrial

Code on the zoonotic vector-borne disease, West Nile fever.

The new chapter was based on the Rift Valley fever,

Bluetongue and Foot and mouth disease chapter in the

Terrestrial Code and the West Nile Encephalitis chapter

in the Terrestrial Manual. The virus and wildlife hosts

were considered ubiquitous, therefore only a disease

free (and not a pathogen free) status of countries, zones

or compartments could be considered. With regard to trade,

the focus was set on live avian species developing

a viraemia sufficient to infect mosquitoes and to maintain

an enzootic virus circulation. The role of domestic ducks

still needs to be clarified. No commodities were identified

to be involved in the spread of the virus in infective

quantities or to be of public health concern.

Ad hoc Group on Evaluation of Non-structural Protein Tests for Foot and Mouth Disease DiagnosisParis, 22-23 January 2007

The fifth meeting of the OIE ad hoc Group on Evaluation

of Non-structural Protein (NSP) Tests for Foot and Mouth

Disease (FMD) Diagnosis was held at the OIE Headquarters

in Paris from 22 to 23 January 2007. The purpose

of this meeting was to:

a) further review the validation data for sheep and pigs,

b) review evaluation (sensitivity) panels for sheep and

pigs as had been done for cattle, and

c) to develop guidelines on the fitness for purpose

and interpretation of NSP assays.

Because of the many, varied, and very specific

purposes for which FMD-NSP assays may be required,

the ad hoc Group considered it essential that these specific

and unique purposes be outlined within the context of the

broadly defined purposes that validated assays may fulfil.

The ad hoc Group also found it necessary to discuss the

pressing issue of the OIE Validation/Certification process

as it relates to NSP-FMD tests, and made recommendations

accordingly.

Biological Standards CommissionParis, 23-25 January 2007

The OIE Biological Standards Commission met at the OIE

Headquarters from 23 to 25 January 2007. In addition

to the regular items the Commission considers at its

meetings (reviewing new applications for Collaborating

Centre and Reference Laboratory status, and proposed

changes of designated experts; International Standardisation

of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines; List of Prescribed and

Alternative Tests; Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines

for Terrestrial Animals, etc.), it also reviewed and updated

the OIE Quality Standard and Guidelines in preparation

for the second edition of the booklet. In follow-up to the

First International Conference of OIE Reference Laboratories

and Collaborating Centres, Brazil, December 2006,

the Commission recommended that the OIE should explore

16 2007 • 2

Activities of the Scientific and Technical Department January to March 2007

the possibility of linking future conferences to the World

Animal Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (WAVLD).

The Commission reviewed the status of the twinning concept.

The Commission believes that projects would need to be

accompanied by a detailed financial plan and that the

OIE Financial Department should develop a suitable template.

The template should request details of all aspects of the

twinning project (travel, subsistence, staff time, equipment,

reagents, etc.) and the OIE could indicate upon receipt

of the dossier for which aspects it would try to find funding.

Following a report from the expert evaluation panel, the

Commission approved the ‘Platelia Rabies II’, Bio-Rad

kit for inclusion in the OIE register. This will be proposed

for adoption by the International Committee at the General

Session in May 2007. The Commission received the

conclusions and recommendations of the Equine Influenza

Surveillance Panel relating to the composition of equine

influenza vaccines for 2007.

Ad hoc Group on Aquatic Animal Health SurveillanceParis, 24-26 July 2006 and 29-31 January 2007

The OIE ad hoc Group on Aquatic Animal Health Surveillance

met at the OIE Headquarters in Paris from 24 to 26 July

2006 and from 29 to 31 January 2007. The Group reviewed

Appendix 3.8.1 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code

on General guidelines for animal health surveillance and

used it as a template to develop new aquatic animal health

surveillance guidelines. The Group also reviewed and updated

Chapter 1.1.4 of the Aquatic Manual on ‘Requirements

for surveillance for international recognition of freedom from

infection’. To reflect a change in scope of the chapter,

the Group changed the title of the chapter to ‘Guidelines

for Aquatic Animal Health Surveillance’. The Group noticed

that considerable efforts were required to harmonise the

three introductory chapters on general information for

diseases of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Although work

on harmonising the chapters was carried out, a number

of discrepancies remain among the three documents.

The Group revised the disease chapter template of the

Aquatic Manual to ensure that scientific information

necessary to develop appropriate surveillance programmes

for diseases can be formulated.

Ad hoc Group on Newcastle Disease SurveillanceParis, 29-30 January 2007

This OIE ad hoc Group met at the OIE Headquarters

in Paris from 29 to 30 January 2007. The purpose do the

meeting was to draft new guidelines for the surveillance

of Newcastle disease for adoption and inclusion in the

OIE Terrestrial Code. The guidelines were developed in parallel

with the avian influenza standards and guidelines.

Scientific Commission for Animal DiseasesParis, 30 January-1 February 2007

and 26-27 February 2007

Two meetings of the OIE Scientific Commission for Animal

Diseases were held at the OIE Headquarters in Paris,

France, from 30 January to 1 February 2007 and from

26 to 27 February 2007. During the meeting in January

2007 the Commission reviewed and endorsed the reports

of the ad hoc Groups for avian influenza, Newcastle disease,

tuberculosis, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia country

status evaluation, bluetongue, African swine fever and classical

swine fever, African horse sickness, rinderpest country status

evaluation, bovine spongiform encephalopathy country status

evaluation and West Nile fever. At the meeting the Commission

agreed to convene a meeting to discuss the formation

of an OIE reference laboratory network for bluetongue.

The report of a mission of the Commission to South America

to evaluate the control of foot and mouth disease

in the Region was discussed and adopted.

During the meeting of the Commission in February

2007 the reports of the ad hoc Groups for avian influenza,

brucellosis, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia country status

evaluation, BSE country status evaluation, rinderpest country

status evaluation, foot and mouth disease (FMD) country status

evaluation, epidemiology and that of the Working Group

on Wildlife Diseases were reviewed and endorsed.

During the meeting the Commission also discussed

matters in respect to proposed changes to the Terrestrial

Code referred to the Commission by the Code Commission.

A discussion was held with a delegation of the South

American countries on the recommendations of a mission

of the Commission to South America to evaluate the control

measures for FMD. A proposal by the Commission for a

regional approach for the control of FMD in the southern

Cone countries was accepted and endorsed by the delegation.

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Ad hoc Group on EpidemiologyParis, 7–9 February 2007

The Group had a meeting to formulate and prepare draft

guidelines for compartmentalisation for inclusion as an

Appendix in the Terrestrial Code. The guidelines were

based on a concept paper prepared for publication in the OIE

Scientific and Technical Review and the requirements

of the Terrestrial Code chapter on compartmentalisation.

Ad hoc Group on Bovine BrucellosisParis, 8-9 February 2007

The ad hoc Group continued to work on the revised Terrestrial

Code chapter to address the specific comments of OIE

Members on the previously circulated draft version. Two

experts from the FAO gave a short overview on the planned

National Brucellosis Control Programme in Tajikistan. The ad

hoc Group critically assessed the draft proposal, which was

mainly focused on control of brucellosis in sheep and goats,

also addressing public health issues. The ad hoc Group

experts’ summarised recommendations on amendment, and

reconsideration, of some aspects in the project proposal.

OIE Working Group on Wildlife diseases12-15 February 2007

This permanent OIE Working Group met from 12 to 15

February 2007 and:

– Reviewed the global disease situation in wildlife in 2006;

– Reviewed its report on ‘Preparedness for Response to a

Trans-Boundary Animal Disease in Wildlife’ and its recent

draft addition to that report – ‘Managing Significant Emerging

Diseases Involving Wildlife’. These texts would be presented

to the Scientific Commission for review, comment and

direction on this issue.

– Discussed the OIE international responsibilities related

to invasive alien species and the Convention on Biological

Diversity (CBD).

Ad hoc Group on Evaluation of CountryStatus for Freedom from RinderpestParis, 13-15 February 2007

Five country dossiers applying either for rinderpest disease

free or infection free status recognition were successfully

evaluated and three were recommended for acceptance.

One country did not declare provisional free status for the

entire country before applying for freedom from rinderpest

disease. A second country practised vaccination in small

ruminants until September 2004, therefore the two dossiers

were rejected. The Group drafted a new Appendix

3.8.2 and adapted the questionnaire according to the

previously revised Chapter 2.2.12. The progress and related

difficulties of rinderpest accreditation in Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan were discussed.

OIE ad hoc Group on Antigen and VaccineBanks for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)15-16 February 2007

The ad hoc Group met from 15 to 16 February 2007

and reviewed progress it had made in achieving the

Terms of Reference. The Group reviewed and made

recommended amendments to the report of the workshop

on vaccine banks, and discussed the progress

of the OIE/FAO network of FMD Reference Laboratories.

18 2007 • 2

5th CAPSERSA Steering Committee MeetingBern, Switzerland, 16 February, 2007

Dr Gideon Brückner, Head of the Scientific and Technical

Department represented the OIE at the 5th CAPSERSA

Steering Committee Meeting held under the auspices of

SAFOSO (Safe Food Solutions) in Bern, Switzerland. The

discussions focussed on the progress reports of CAPSERSA

on the achievements with projects on BSE training and

education in Vietnam, Serbia and Egypt. The main purpose

of the projects in these countries is to give training in the

respective countries on surveillance methodologies for BSE

and development of diagnostic expertise. The emphasis is

placed on abattoir monitoring and surveillance and the

application of ante and post mortem inspection procedures.

Discussion was also held with Dr Ulrich Kihm and Dr Joseph

Domenech from FAO on the possible support of OIE and FAO

for an intended workshop on paratuberculosis in dairy cattle.

OIE ad hoc Group on Evaluation of Country Status for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)22-23 February 2007

The ad hoc Group met from 22 to 23 February 2007.

Dossiers from five countries were evaluated for accordance

with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2006. The report

of the OIE mission to South America was discussed with

regard to the sanitary situation and to the preventive

measures implemented in high risk areas of the continent.

The Group discussed the comments of Members

on suggested changes to Chapter 2.2.10 of the Terrestrial

Code, including the new concept of a containment zone.

EFSA Biohazard Panel, final workshop on GBR MethodologyBrussels (Belgium), 2 March 2007

Dr Lea Knopf represented OIE at EFSA’s workshop on the

final opinion on GBR methodology. The BSE risk assessment

methodology and the corresponding spreadsheet model were

revised based on the past years’ experience and a final report

was reviewed. The report was proposed for adoption by the

Biohazard Panel plenary meeting of EFSA and subsequent

publication. Although the methodology will not be used

anymore for BSE risk assessments, the model is regarded

as a useful scientific tool and experience.

Second ASEAN workshop in HPAI control and eradicationKuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 26 February-2 March 2007)

OIE participated in the second ASEAN workshop in HPAI

control and eradication (Kuala Lumpur, 26 February-

2 March 2007) with the topics: emergency preparedness,

vaccination and stamping out, compensation. The workshop

was attended by Dr Yoshimura, Dr Oketani, Dr Wilson and

Dr Bruschke from OIE. The first day presentations were

made on the different subjects. Dr Wilson presented

the needs for contingency planning and Dr Bruschke

presented the OIE standards and guidelines on trade

and the OIE vaccination guidelines.

EFSA AHAW Panel meetingParma (Italy), 8-9 March 2007

Dr Lea Knopf attended the XXVI Plenary Meeting

of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare

of EFSA in Parma, Italy to comment on topics that are linked

to OIE. Aspects of further scientific needs for

recommendations on animal movement regulations in

bluetongue affected European zones, guidelines for risk

assessments in food producing animals and Practice

and risk of Newcastle disease vaccination were discussed.

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Meeting of CVOs of Central Asian CountriesDushanbe (Tajikistan), 26-28 March 2007

Dr Gideon Brückner, Head of the Scientific and Technical

Department, represented the OIE at the annual meeting

of the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) of the Central Asian

Countries in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 26 to 28 March

2007 on invitation of the FAO who hosted the meeting.

The main objective of the meeting was to inform the CVOs

on the status of project activities following the

recommendations of the CVO Regional Workshop held

in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) from 28 to 29 March 2006. The

countries present were: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran.

Each country presented their progress within the OIE Pathway

for obtaining freedom from rinderpest and the progress

with the control of foot and mouth disease (FMD)

and Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) with the aim of defining

and developing a common regional approach to the control

of these diseases. Dr Brückner presented the OIE system

for the evaluation of country freedom for disease with special

emphasis on rinderpest as well as the proposed changes

to the Terrestrial Code Chapter and surveillance guidelines

for rinderpest.

Regional Expert Consultation on Viral Diseases of Rural SmallholderPoultry Preventive Strategies, Products and Distribution Systems Nairobi (Kenya), 12-13 March 2007

Dr Christianne Bruschke of the Scientific and Technical

Department participated in the Regional Expert Consultation

on Viral Diseases of Rural Smallholder Poultry Preventive

Strategies, Products and Distribution Systems in Nairobi

on 12 and 13 March 2007 organised by GALVMed. This

organisations objective was to contribute to poverty reduction

through delivery of veterinary medicines, vaccines and

diagnostics that are affordable and accessible by all

livestock keepers. OIE was invited to present a paper

on the international perspective and the need for new

vaccines and medicines for rural poultry in Africa. The

objective of the meeting was to identify the most urgent

constraints and opportunities to make vaccines against major

diseases (Newcastle disease virus ([NDV], parasites, fowl pox,

bacterial diseases) available and accessible to rural backyard

poultry smallholders in Africa. There was much focus on NDV

but the fact that other diseases and parasites have an impact

on the mortality of the poultry was recognised as well.

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regional activitiesOIE Regional Representation for Eastern Europe

Dr Caroline Planté

The OIE Office in Brussels

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in organising capacity-building

seminars and conferences for Members

in the region, to monitor the

development of activities in the different

countries in line with OIE

recommendations, to encourage

countries to play a more active part

in the elaboration of standards, and

to ensure that OIE activities achieve

greater visibility, in particular among

those European institutions responsible

for elaborating and monitoring the

implementation of regulations within

the European Union. An Internet site

in English and Russian is also due

to be developed to strengthen

communication between the Regional

Representation and a wider public.

Address of the Brussels Office:

OIE Regional Representation

for Eastern Europe

Rue Breydel, 40

1040 Bruxelles

Belgium

Tel. +32 2 235 86 13

Fax +32 2 235 86 75

E-mail: c.plante@oie.int

the OIE, as well as with various

professional organisations that

have their headquarters in Brussels.

The office is staffed by a

veterinarian (Dr Caroline Planté)

and another veterinarian from Ukraine

is due to be appointed in the

near future.

The office’s main functions

are to provide the OIE Regional

Representation for Eastern Europe

with logistical and technical support

A new OIE office opened in Brussels,

Belgium, on 1 January 2007.

The office is currently acting

as a sub-branch of the OIE Regional

Representation for Eastern Europe

(based in Sofia, Bulgaria) and in this

capacity helps to implement activities

within that region. Its location at the

heart of the European institutions also

means that close contacts can be

maintained with European Commission

bodies on activities linked to those of

Dr Bonaventure J. Mtei

The OIE Sub-Regional Representation

for Southern Africa (SRR-SA) based

in Gaborone, Botswana, falls under

the OIE Regional Representation

for Africa in Bamako, Mali.

It is the first OIE Sub-Regional

Representation to be established in the

African continent and it is supported

financially by the European Union.

It started operating with effect

from January 2006, with

Dr Bonaventure Mtei as the

Representative, following an EDF1

Grant Contribution Agreement signed

between the OIE and the Southern

African Development Community

(SADC).

In August 2003, the SADC and

OIE negotiated and concluded a formal

Agreement expressing interest to

cooperate in the areas of monitoring,

controlling and eradicating major

animal diseases and zoonoses

in the region in an effort to facilitate

and safeguard safe trade of animals

and animal products. In line with

the Regional Indicative Strategic

Development Plan (RISDP) and the

OIE global mandate, the overall

objective of the SRR-SA is to contribute

directly and indirectly to the alleviation

of poverty through reduction of sanitary

constraints. Article 7 of the Agreement

between the OIE and SADC defines the

areas of cooperation to include

strengthening of the Veterinary Services

in SADC Member States through

promotion and use of the international

animal health standards.

OIE interventions in the SADC RegionNormative activities of the SRR-SA fall

within the Strategic Plan of the OIE,

which includes but is not limited to:

– provision of policy dialogue forum

to negotiate international standards in

animal health, food safety and animal

welfare;

– developing norms and procedures

which provide guidelines to facilitate

safe international trade of animals

and animal products in order to avoid

spread of animal pathogens and

diseases;

– maintaining and updating animal

health information database;

– providing Governments, research

institutions, universities and private

users with fast, economical access to

technical information and knowledge.

OIE Sub-Regional Representation for Southern Africa

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The Grant Contribution Agreement

referred to above supports an ‘Action’

to establish the SRR-SA with the

following more specific mandates to:

– support SADC Secretariat and

SADC Member States to improve their

current animal health surveillance and

reporting systems in order to ensure

compatibility and compliance with the

World Animal Health Information

System (WAHIS);

– promote evaluation of Veterinary

Services to identify gaps using the OIE

‘Performance, Vision and Strategy’

(PVS) tool thus justifying both private

and public investments at different

levels;

– conducting capacity building

workshops linked with compliance

to WTO SPS Agreement, OIE standards

and certification;

– support SADC Member

States to develop their official disease

status dossiers.

Dr Bonaventure J. Mtei

OIE Sub-Regional Representation

for Southern Africa

Plot number 8850 Orapa Close

(in the Zimbabwe Embassy)

P.O. Box 25662

Gaborone, Botswana

Tel. +267 3914424

Fax +267 3914417

E-mail: b.mtei@oie.int

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Dr José Joaquín Oreamuno Toledo

OIE Sub-Regional Representation for Central America

The creation of the OIE Sub-Regional

Representation for Central America

testifies OIE support for its Members

and compliance with the OIE Strategic

Plan, regarding particularly the

expansion of the activities currently

conducted in the region by the

OIE Regional Representation for

the Americas, which is located

in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This Sub-Regional Representation

is based in Panama City in the

Republic of Panama. The Government

of Panama guaranteed its diplomatic

status in an Agreement which it

concluded with the OIE in Florianopolis,

Brazil, in December 2006, during

the 18th Conference of the OIE

Regional Commission for the Americas.

The Sub-Regional Representation

for Central America reports directly

to the OIE Regional Representation

for the Americas, and carries out

its duties in coordination and in

accordance with the programme

of activities of the Regional

Representation for the Americas,

within the framework of the OIE

Strategic Plan.

The programme includes

the following activities:

– strengthening Veterinary

Services of Members

– training new OIE Delegates

– supporting the OIE in the

evaluation of Veterinary Services

using the Performance, Vision

and Strategy (PVS) tool

– encouraging Member

Countries to notify diseases

– encouraging Member

Countries to participate in

the updating of OIE standards

– coordinating and interacting

with international and regional

organisations

– coordinating GF-TADs1

– participating in leading

international events

– assisting regional organisations

and Members

– establishing a list of experts

– translating OIE documents

into Spanish.

Valuable work has been

carried out with the following

OIE Ad Hoc Inter-American

Committees in the Americas:

– COPEA (Standing Committee

of the Americas on TSEs in Animals);

– CISA (Inter-American

Committee on Avian Health);

– CAMEVET (Committee

of the Americas for the Harmonization

of the Registration and Control

of Veterinary Medicines);

– Inter-American Ad Hoc

Group on Aquatic Animal Health.

Dr José Joaquín Oreamuno Toledo

OIE Sub-Regional Representation

for Central America

Ciudad de Panamá

Republic of Panama

Tel. +507 6439 6417

E-mail: j.oreamuno@oie.int

rr.americas@oie.int

1-GF-TADs: FAO/OIE Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases

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The 13th Meeting of the OIE Sub-

Commission for the South-East Asia

Foot and Mouth Disease (SEAFMD)

Campaign was held in Siem Reap,

Cambodia, from 12 to 16 March 2007.

The OIE Central Bureau was

represented by Dr Bernard Vallat,

OIE Director General, and comprising

Dr Dewan Sibartie, Head of OIE

Regional Activities Department, and

Dr Alain Dehove, Coordinator of the OIE

World Animal Health and Welfare Fund.

The meeting was opened by

Hon. Chan Tong Ives, Secretary

of State, Ministry of Agriculture

of Cambodia, in the presence

of Hon. Mao Vuthy, Vice-Governor

of Siem Reap, and Dr Kao Phal,

Director General of Animal Health

and Production of Cambodia.

Over 80 participants attended the

meeting, including Dr Gardner Murray,

President of the Sub-Commission,

Dr Teruhide Fujita, OIE Regional

Representative for Asia and the Pacific,

Dr Ronello Abila, Regional Coordinator

of the SEAFMD Programme,

representatives of member countries

of the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN) and representatives

of the People’s Republic of China and

Taipei China.

In his inaugural address, Dr Vallat

thanked ASEAN member countries

for their unwavering commitment

to continue the Programme which

is seen as a model by the

international scientific community to

control other transboundary animal

13th Meeting of the OIE Sub-Commission for theSouth-East Asia Foot and Mouth Disease Campaign

Hon. Chan Tong Ives, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture of Cambodia (seated in front)

in the company of (from left to right) Dr Kao Phal, Director General of Animal Health and

Production of Cambodia, Hon. Mao Vuthy, Vice-Governor of Siem Reap, Dr Bernard Vallat,

OIE Director General, and Dr Gardner Murray, President of the Sub-Commission of SEAFMD

Participants at the meeting

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diseases. He highlighted the

achievements of the SEAFMD

Campaign which has provided

member countries with a common

vision and strategy in controlling

foot and mouth disease (FMD)

in South-East Asia.

The meeting reviewed the

activities of the SEAFMD campaign

laying particular stress on the

evolution of FMD serotypes in the

region, vaccination, progressive

zoning system for the achievement

of free FMD status and the Roadmap

2020 detailing actions to be taken

to ensure that the region become

free from FMD by 2020. Dr Sibartie

presented an update of the OIE

Manual and Code with respect

to FMD. He described the changes

adopted in the Manual during

the OIE General Session of May

2006 and the changes that will

be proposed to the Code Chapter

in May 2007. The following changes

to the Code will be proposed:

1) to ensure that FMD-free

countries establish a buffer zone

between the free area and any

possible infected area;

2) to ensure that countries free from

FMD annually submit documented

evidence that their free status is

being maintained; and

3) to expedite the recovery of free

FMD status for countries having

limited outbreaks of FMD through

the creation of a containment zone.

The SEAFMD meeting was

followed by a special meeting

on highly pathogenic avian influenza

(HPAI) and governance of Veterinary

Services. During that meeting,

Dr Vallat made two presentations

dealing respectively with the OIE

global approach in the control

of HPAI and the strengthening

of Veterinary Services through

the use of the Performance, Vision

and Strategy (PVS) tool developed

by the OIE. He described how

the tool could be used to identify

weaknesses in Veterinary Services

that could subsequently be

remedied through national and/or

external resources. He also

explained the OIE training

programme for PVS experts and

the procedure followed by the OIE

to carry out evaluations of Veterinary

Some key participants to the SEAFMD meeting in the company of Dr Vallat. On the extreme left is Dr Ronello Abila, Regional Coordinator

of the SEAFMD Programme, and sixth from the right is Dr Teruhide Fujita, OIE Representative for Asia and the Pacific

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Services. The meeting made

a series of recommendations,

the main ones being directed

to national Governments and

donors to provide more resources

to needy countries such as

Indonesia where HPAI is endemic.

A strong recommendation

for countries to follow OIE

recommendations on early

detection and rapid response and

on HPAI national preparedness

plans was also made.

A professional and cultural

visit organised by the host country

was highly appreciated by

participants. Participants had the

opportunity to visit a collection area

in a village where mass cattle

vaccinations were being carried

out against haemorrhagic

septicaemia by Village Animal

Health Workers under the

supervision of veterinarians.

Participants also had the

opportunity to visit several temples

in Siem Reap which is world

famous for its temples and to

attend to folkloric dances.

A historical meeting: Dr Vallat with the representative of People’s Republic of China –

Dr Li Huachun (on his right) and three participants from Taipei China – Dr Yao-Ching Hsieh,

Dr Huang-Lin Kao, Dr Shu-Wen Cheng

Dr Vallat making his presentation on the OIE global approach to HPAI control

Dr Vallat leading the discussions on strengthening of Veterinary Services,

which he described as an International Public Good

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The meeting was officially closed by

the Under Secretary of State,

Hon. Nou Muth. On behalf of OIE,

Dr Vallat presented him and the

Secretary of State who opened

the meeting with token gifts as

a mark of appreciation to Cambodia

for having hosted the meeting.

Dr Vallat and participants watching cattle being vaccinated by ‘Village Animal Health Workers’ under the supervision of a veterinarian

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Participants in front of the Angkor Wat Temple, one of the most famous temples in the world, classified as a World Heritage by UNESCO

Participants within the premises of the temple. Dr Joseph Domenech, Chief Veterinary Officer of FAO is seen third from right protecting his

face from the scorching sun!

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At the invitation of the Government of Eritrea, the 17th Conference of the OIE

Regional Commission for Africa was held in Asmara, Eritrea, from 26 February

to 1 March 2007.

A total of 103 participants, comprising representatives of 29 Members,

6 Observer Countries and 13 regional and international organisations, attended

the conference.

The meeting was preceded by a cultural show organised by a youth organisation

of Eritrea. The show was highly appreciated by participants as several items

symbolised the importance of animals, animal diseases and the role of the OIE.

The inaugural speech of Dr Bernard Vallat, OIE Director General, was read

by Dr Dewan Sibartie, Head of the OIE Regional Activities Department, as

Dr Vallat could not reach in time due to circumstances beyond his control.

In his speech, the OIE Director General underlined the vital role of livestock

in African economies including the potential role livestock can play in food security

and the alleviation of poverty in the continent. He spoke on the Fourth OIE Strategic

Plan which has reinforced previous OIE missions and added elements to strengthen

capacity building for Veterinary Services and OIE’s involvement in governance

related to decision-making in animal health and welfare. The OIE Director General

expressed much concern about the introduction of highly pathogenic avian

influenza in Africa and its possible spread to other countries in the continent

if appropriate steps are not taken regarding early detection of and rapid action

against that disease. The OIE Director General spoke of the various challenges

and threats facing the Veterinary profession in the world such as globalisation,

climate changes and bioterrorism pointing out that Veterinary Services need

to remain vigilant as some animal diseases tend to strike when and where they

are least expected, the occurrence of bluetongue in Northern Europe being a

classical example.

Before officially opening the Conference, H.E. Arefaine Berhe, Minister of

Agriculture of Eritrea, expressed appreciation for livestock development in his

country and felt confident that with measures being taken, Eritrea would one day

export organic meat and meat products to sophisticated markets including Europe.

Dr Bernard Vallat made a presentation on the evaluation and strengthening

of Veterinary Services using the Performance, Vision and Strategy (PVS) tool

17th Conference of the OIE Regional Commission for AfricaAsmara, Eritrea, from 26 February to 1 March 2007

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developed by the OIE. This tool serves to identify weaknesses that can

subsequently be remedied using national and or external resources.

Two Technical Items dealing with ‘strategy for strengthening national

epidemiological surveillance systems’ and ‘harmonisation of the registration

and control of veterinary medicinal products’ were presented respectively

by Dr Mustapha Hassan and Dr Issoufou Dare.

Important recommendations made on the technical items include:

– Veterinary Services of Members including Veterinary Statutory Bodies

should improve partnership with livestock owners and other stakeholders

to conduct proper epidemio-surveillance. Special attention should be given

to training notably to livestock owners in participatory epidemiology,

to professionals or para-professionals and to private veterinarians who control

their activities. Stakeholders dealing with wildlife should also be involved.

– The OIE in collaboration with other relevant regional and international

organisations should develop guidelines and tools to enable OIE Members

to more successfully organise, manage and implement mechanisms for

registration and quality assurance, and to effectively enforce their regulations.

Dr Antonio Petrini, Deputy Head of the OIE Animal Health Information

Department, presented the animal health situation in Africa for the year 2006.

The disease picture has been dominated by outbreaks of highly pathogenic

avian influenza occurring and spreading in several countries in Africa. So

far, eight countries have been affected with human deaths occurring in three

of them.

Presentations were also made on aquatic animal diseases, evaluations of Veterinary Services in Africa and the post PACE1 Programme. A cultural trip organised by the host country was highly appreciated by

participants. Participants visited the port of Massawa from where rinderpest is

supposed to have entered Africa at the end of the 19th Century.

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18 January 2007

TogoDr Batawui Komla Batasse

Director of Livestock and Fisheries,

Ministry of Agriculture,

Livestock and Fisheries

14 February 2007

IranDr Mojtaba Noorouzi

Head of Iran Veterinary Organization,

Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculturei

19 February 2007

ThailandMs Chaweewan Leowijuk

Deputy Director general,

Ministry of Agriculture

and Cooperatives

March 2007

LaosDr Khambounheuang Bounkhouang

Director General,

Department of Livestock and Fisheries,

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

28 March 2007

UkraineDr Grygoriy Borysovych Ivanov

Head of the State Department

of Veterinary Medicine,

Ministry of Agricultural Policy

18 May 2007

Fiji IslandsDr Joeli N. Vakabua

Animal Health & Production

Ministry of Agriculture,

Fisheries & Forests

official acts

Appointment of permanent Delegates

A new OIE Member: Cape VerdeThe OIE welcomes its 168th Member, the Republic of Cape Verde,

which joined the Organisation on 26 December 2006.

Cape Verde, an island State located off the coast of West Africa, joins

the OIE Regional Commission for Africa, which now has 51 Members.

The government of Cape Verde has undertaken to participate in the financial

budget of the OIE, with an annual contribution in the 6th category.

It has appointed Dr Afonso Maria Semedo de Ligório, Director of Livestock

Services, as its permanent Delegate to the OIE:

Dr Afonso Semedo de Ligório

Director dos Serviços Pecuários

Direcção Geral de Agricultura,

Silvicultura e Pecuária (DGASP)

Ministério do Ambiente e Agricultura

BP 278, Achada de São Filipe, Praia

Cape Verde

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Eduarda Augusta de Sá Nogueira

and Francisca Barbosa

Veterinarians, Directorate General of

Agriculture, Forest and Livestock

Production (DGASP)

Ministry of Environment and

Agriculture, Cape Verde

Livestock production in household economy and the national economyLivestock farming is well integrated into the agricultural sector and represents

a very important component of family-run farms. Over 41,000 households,

representing about 60% of the total population, are engaged in this activity.

Livestock farming takes place in rural, urban and periurban areas. Even in islands

with a low level of agricultural activity, such as Sal and São Vicente, livestock

production provides an important source of income for farmers and their families.

Livestock production gives rural families many benefits and advantages,

including employment, access to micro-credits, food security and financial

security in order to meet their most pressing needs, socio-economic prestige,

and improvement in living conditions and quality of life. Livestock farming

also helps to supply the domestic market with meat, eggs, milk, cheese, etc.

Animal populationComprising different animal species, the national livestock population is in

surplus but is characterised by a low level of productivity. The island of Santiago

has the highest proportion of the national livestock population (nearly 60%), followed

by Fogo (12%) and Santo Antão (9%) (Table I).

The animal health situation of Cape Verde

Table I – Distribution of livestock, by island and by speciesIsland / Municipality Cattle Goats Sheep Pigs Poultry Ducks and turkeys Equidae Rabbits

CAPE VERDE 22,306 10,400 148,094 77,316 327,562 15,558 11,302 4,458

Santo Antão 832 165 23,791 7,786 38,721 629 1,997 1,288

Ribeira Grande 365 60 8,246 3,292 19,328 331 613 595

Paul 206 32 2,131 1,561 6,910 81 177 26

Porto Novo 261 73 13,414 2,933 12,483 217 1,207 667

São Vicente 236 240 5,885 4,179 30,479 1,645 49 457

São Nicolau 1,255 1,269 7,004 2,301 14,399 108 594 47

Sal 60 182 413 993 2,291 38 19 19

Boavista 260 37 11,214 940 2,757 64 488 7

Maio 740 40 8,953 1,944 4,093 230 159 42

Santiago 15,206 8,184 59,883 49,129 163,798 11,710 5,892 1,961

Tarrafal 2,025 2,371 6,488 6,234 15,119 490 485 270

Santa Catarina 5,302 804 16,821 14,366 47,458 2,348 2,184 352

Santa Cruz 3,054 1,670 12,447 11,025 42,789 3,621 1,439 690

Praia 1,385 695 10,371 8,452 25,543 2,546 347 299

São Domingos 1,497 642 6,884 3,667 15,853 2,025 587 169

São Miguel 1,943 2,002 6,872 5,385 17,036 680 850 181

Fogo 3,064 269 26,268 9147 59,671 1,009 1,780 410

Mosteiros 790 7 2,980 2,250 13,029 217 402 81

São Filipe 2,274 262 23,288 6,897 46,642 792 1,378 329

Brava 653 14 4,683 897 11,353 125 324 227

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General aspects of animal healthIn terms of animal health, Cape Verde seems relatively privileged compared

to the rest of the African continent. It is free from rinderpest, peste des petits

ruminants, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, trypanosomosis, rabies and foot

and mouth disease.

The main animal health-related economic losses are caused by African swine fever,

classical swine fever, swine erysipelas, Newcastle disease, fowl typhoid and pullorum

disease and endoparasitic diseases (strongylosis, fasciolosis, cysticercosis, etc.).

In years of low rainfall and poor grazing, animal pathologies associated with

inadequate nutrition commonly occur: ante- and post-partum paraplegia, placental

retention, uterine prolapse and avitaminosis.

Priorities for the livestock sectorImprovement of animal disease diagnosis and control continues to be a priority.

The country’s diagnostic and epidemiological surveillance capabilities are limited

in terms of human resources, equipment, materials and technology.

Efforts have been made to improve disease surveillance and control capabilities

by creating and strengthening local resources and technical assistance, by having

recourse to outside laboratories and through international cooperation.

The Veterinary Services are currently stepping up programmes to strengthen

capacities for disease diagnosis and control, epidemiological surveillance,

and quarantine and sanitary inspection both within the country and at importation.

Table II lists the main diseases already diagnosed.

Activities conducted since the year 2000– Resumption of vaccination against swine erysipelas and anthrax;

– vaccination against rabbit haemorrhagic disease;

– vaccination campaign against African horse sickness (carried out in 2000);

– improvement in laboratory diagnostic capabilities in parasitology and serology

(testing for brucellosis and avian mycoplasmosis);

– dispatching of samples abroad (Portugal and Senegal) for additional tests;

– tuberculosis testing campaigns in cattle;

Table II – Diseases diagnosedSpecies Diseases

Cattle mastitis, mange, anthrax, caseous lymphadenitis, blackleg, Oestrus ovis infestation, haemorrhagic septicaemia, brucellosis, ectoparasitic diseases

Goats / Sheep mastitis, mange, anthrax, caseous lymphadenitis, blackleg, Oestrus ovis infestation, septicaemias, brucellosis, ecto- and endoparasitic diseases

Pigs cysticercosis, swine erysipelas, classical swine fever and African swine fever, mange

Birds fowl pox, fowl typhoid and pullorum disease, Newcastle disease, coryza, laryngotracheitis, coccidiosis, Marek’s disease, mycoplasmosis, ecto- and endoparasitic diseases

Lagomorpha mange, rabbit haemorrhagic disease, coccidiosis

Equidae mange, ecto- and endoparasitic diseases

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– brucellosis testing campaigns in cattle;

– continued control of the infection in biotopes of Lymnaea natalensis

(intermediate host of Fasciola gigantica) in Santiago.

Constraints– Low numbers of technical and qualified staff;

– limited availability of financial resources for the sector;

– extensive production system;

– inadequate regulation of the sector;

– lack of research in the livestock sector;

– inappropriate behaviour and habits on the part of livestock producers

and consumers with regard to animal diseases.

Human resources

Local offices Senior Middle Animal health Animal helthmanagers managers technicians auxiliaries

DSAP/Praia 5 1 2 0

Brava 0 2 0 0

Fogo 0 2 1 0

Praia e São Domingos 0 4 0 0

Sta. Cruz 0 2 0 0

Sta. Catarina 1 2 0 1

Tarrafal 0 4 1 0

Maio 0 1 1 0

Sto. Antão 0 3 0 1

S. Vicente 1 0 1 0

S. Nicolau 0 1 2 0

Boavista 0 1 0 0

Sal 0 2 0 0

Total 8 25 8 2

Table III – Summary of disease control activitiesActivity 2002 2003 2004

Vaccination against erysipelas 6,788 37,350 5,912

Vaccination against anthrax 26,529 16,000 4,581

Vaccination against African horse sickness 2,497 – –

Tuberculin testing of cattle 832 129 –

Deworming of ruminants – – 49,795

Testing for brucellosis 2,089 2,241 4,026

Parasitological screening 483 1,161 1,666

36 2007 • 2

A Classical Swine Fever Programme was initiated in 1998 with funds

provided by OIRSA PREFIP I and II Projects and the EU-CARIFORUM

CSF Project.

Epidemiological surveillance following international guidelines provided

by the OIE, OIRSA and the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, has

included the implementation of two national surveys, in 2000 and 2004.

The Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan was developed in 2000

and updated in 2004. The Plan was activated in 2002, following a positive

laboratory diagnosis of classical swine fever (CSF) at a regional reference

laboratory. The positive laboratory diagnosis was not confirmed by tests

conducted at an OIE Reference Laboratory and the suspicion of CSF was

consequently invalidated. As pigs have not been vaccinated against CSF

since 1990 and the vaccine is not registered for use in Belize and has not

been imported into the country since 1990, the use of serological

techniques are appropriate to detect evidence of the virus. Samples

collected from active and passive surveillance are tested at the Central

Veterinary Laboratory in Central Farm, Cayo, using antibody detection

ELISA, an OIE prescribed test.

The surveys undertaken in 2000 and 2004 resulted in the collection of

3,390 and 2,523 samples, respectively, all of which gave negative results

for CSF. The survey was repeated in 2004 and the negative results

obtained invalidated the hypothesis that there was a mild strain of the CSF

virus circulating in Belize, given the false-positive result reported in 2002.

Information received

on 27 April 2007 from

Dr Victor Gongora,

Director for Animal Health,

Belize Agricultural Health

Authority, Belize

epidemiology & animal disease control

programmes

news from colleagues

Belize declares itself free from classical swine fever

372007 • 2

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Sampling is on-going using the methodology obtained from the University

of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Achievements of the Classical Swine Fever Programme include:

– the implementation of two national surveys;

– a science-based sampling plan for maintenance of free status;

– on-going public awareness campaigns: as a result of the EU-CARIFORUM

Project in Belize, many information brochures and manuals including

DVDs were prepared;

– capacity building: our staff are well trained in laboratory techniques and

epidemiological surveillance for CSF, including risk analysis and disease

response. Four of the five veterinarians in the Belize Agricultural Health

Authority (BAHA) have been trained in the United States of America in

foreign animal disease diagnosis and the fifth veterinarian is scheduled

to be trained in 2007;

– a ‘live’ CSF simulation exercise was held in Belize in 2002 in response

to the false-positive laboratory result. Our staff have also participated in a

regional CSF simulation exercise;

– an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for CSF was prepared

in 2000 and updated in 2004;

– the technical and scientific support for Belize’s CSF free status has been

reviewed by international experts from Spain and Argentina with positive

results;

– an information system including farm registration, a geographical

information system (GIS) and a database is in place;

– there is enabling legislation for epidemiological surveillance and the control

of diseased or suspect animals;

– there is public recognition of the CSF free status of Belize both regionally

and internationally;

– there is strong political will and regional support for Belize’s CSF free status.

In summary, the Delegate of Belize declares his country free from classical

swine fever since all the requirements in the relevant chapter of the OIE

Terrestrial Animal Health Code have been fulfilled and there is science-based

documentation to support this self-declaration.

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38 2007 • 2

An update on West Nile virus activity in the Americas

During the seven transmission seasons since West Nile virus was first identified

in eastern New York State, its geographical range has significantly expanded in

the Western Hemisphere. Evidence of viral activity has been documented in

Canada, the United States of America (USA) (all states except Hawaii and Alaska),

Mexico, the Caribbean basin, and parts of Central and South America extending

as far south as Argentina. A large variety of native bird and mosquito species

in the Americas are likely competent hosts for West Nile virus thereby contributing

to its spread and maintenance in diverse ecosystems.

Although first identified during outbreaks of disease among humans, birds

and horses, subsequent serosurveillance for West Nile virus activity has

demonstrated that many vertebrate infections are subclinical. Sporadic cases

of clinical West Nile virus disease have been reported from a variety of vertebrate

species, but notable outbreaks in the Americas have been limited to humans,

equines, and geese.

A single West Nile virus disease outbreak occurred in domestic geese

in Canada during late summer of 2002 and was characterised by over 30%

mortality in goslings. West Nile virus morbidity has been recorded seasonally in

humans and equines each year in the USA since 1999 and in Canada since

2002. Clinical syndromes in humans include both neuroinvasive (West Nile

encephalitis/meningitis) and non-neuroinvasive (West Nile fever). Neurological

disease is recognised in equines. Cumulative totals of clinical cases of West Nile

virus disease in the USA and Canada since 1999 have exceeded 25,000 for

both humans and equines. The majority of cases have occurred in the USA,

with a notable decline in annual equine cases since 2002. The case fatality

for the neuroinvasive disease form in humans has been approximately 10%

and is estimated at 33% for nonvaccinated equines showing clinical signs.

In contrast to the USA and Canada, West Nile disease reports from other

parts of the Americas have been infrequent.

Several equine West Nile virus vaccines have been developed in the USA.

Equine vaccine products include inactivated whole virus, as well as viral subunits

incorporated in recombinant canarypox virus, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA),

or chimerical flavivirus constructs. Although peak viraemia in horses has been

shown to be below the transmission threshold, proof of vaccination and/or

pre-export testing requirements for international movement from endemic areas

have been imposed by some countries. To date, West Nile vaccination is not

routinely used in birds or other veterinary species in the Americas. Human West

Nile vaccines are not available in the Americas. The reasons for differences in West

Nile virus epizootic trends over time and throughout the Americas remain elusive.

392007 • 2

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An update on Rift Valley fever

BackgroundRift Valley fever (RVF) has been present on the African continent since its discovery

in Kenya in 1931 and probably well before then. This arthropod-borne viral disease

may be acute or peracute, but mild to inapparent infections also occur. It is a

significant zoonotic disease that may be seen as an uncomplicated influenza-like

illness but can also take the form of a haemorrhagic disease with involvement

of the liver, eyes or brain. A wide range of vertebrates are affected but clinical

disease is limited to domestic ruminants and humans. This Phlebovirus is

transmitted by mosquitos from 23 species belonging to the Anopheles, Culex,

Aedes and Mansonia genera. RVF in ruminants is inapparent in non-pregnant

adult animals, but in outbreak situations it is responsible for many abortions

and high neonatal mortality particularly in European breeds or their crosses.

DiscussionRift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an efficient arbovirus and areas that experience

an outbreak often remain enzootically affected. The effectiveness of the virus

is due to the large number of vector species involved in transmission and the

high viraemia attained in both animals and humans, which is sufficient to

infect mosquitoes. This also enables the virus to move outside of traditional

endemic areas.

Outbreaks of RVF are not annual or seasonal but are cyclical in anything

from 5- to 35-year episodes. These are entirely water dependent requiring above

average rainfall with sustained flooding. The most effective strategy of the virus

is transovarial transmission by floodwater breeding Aedes mosquitoes of the

Neomelaniconium group. This ensures that RVFV-infected eggs remain viable

in dried mud from one episode of flooding to the next as has now happened in

Kenya since 1997. Kenya and Somalia in 1998 were covered by a large inland

lake, 89,000 people were affected resulting in 250 deaths. Epidemics are fuelled

by the simultaneous emergence of millions of first generation infected primary

mosquito vectors of the Aedes genus. These are followed by various secondary

mosquito species which drive the epidemic.

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40 2007 • 2

In rural Africa where there is close contact between pastoralists and their

stock, humans are often the indicator species in an outbreak as is currently the

case in Kenya. The current RVF epizootic in East Africa almost exactly mirrors

the outbreak of 1997-1998 and substantiates what is known about the natural

history of RVF virus – that it remains dormant in mosquito eggs buried in dried

mud until sustained flooding occurs.

In Kenya this outbreak is said to have started on 30 November 2006 with

the first human cases confirmed on 23 December 2006. By 5 January 2007 there

were 188 cases with 68 reported deaths and by 25 January the outbreak had

become multi-provincial with three districts in the North East Province affected,

five in the Coast Province, two in the Central Province and one in the Rift Valley

Province. There are now 404 reported cases and 118 deaths. The previous

outbreak in 1998 was also centred in the North East Province.

It is rarely spread laterally, but asynchronous foci of RVF develop as local

conditions become favourable for re-emergence of Aedes mosquitoes from

flooded pools. In Somalia, just north of the Kenyan border there were seven

reported human deaths and a number of livestock abortions early in January.

Follow-up investigations were difficult due to local unrest.

To the South in northern Tanzania, RVF cases were suspected in animals

in mid-January while the first two human deaths occurred on 31 January 2007.

A total of five provinces were affected, three northern and two central, while

the rampant spread of RVFV is thought to have taken place by needle transfer

during a vaccination campaign.

In interviews with patients, factors other than direct mosquito bites were

identified as human risk factors in a disease that a decade ago had killed

478 people in the same general area: less than 50% of people used mosquito

nets and many lived near swampy areas owning sick animals, slaughtering

and eating these animals and using raw milk.

Globalisation of trade and altered weather patterns should be a concern

for the future spread of RVFV out of Africa.

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Conclusions and recommendationsThese recommendations relating to the composition of equine influenza vaccines

for 2007 were made following review of the data arising from equine influenza surveillance

by the panel of international collaborators for the period January 2006-January 2007.

The recommendations for vaccine strains remain as for 2005.

activities of referencelaboratories &

collaborating centresExpert surveillance panel on equine influenza vaccinesMill Hill London (United Kingdom), 16 January 2007

Influenza activity: January 2006–January 2007Minor outbreaks of equine influenza were reported during 2006 in Canada, France,

Germany, Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Some outbreaks occurred in vaccinated animals but disease was generally mild.

All influenza activity was due to H3N8 viruses. There were no reports of

serological or virological evidence of H7N7 (equine-1) subtype viruses circulating

in the equine population. Nevertheless, diagnostic laboratories should continue

serological and virological monitoring for these viruses and when using polymerase

chain reaction (PCR) for rapid diagnosis, should ensure that primers specific

for H7N7 viruses as well as H3N8 viruses are used.

Characteristics of recent isolatesAll viruses characterised antigenically and/or genetically from Europe and North

America during 2006 belonged to the ‘American’ lineage. Most of the viruses

tested by haemagglutination inhibition (HI), using post-infection ferret antisera,

were closely related to the recommended vaccine strain A/eq/South Africa/4/2003

and the reference strain A/eq/Newmarket/5/2003. With one exception, the HA1

sequences of the viruses fell within a single phylogenetic sub-group comprising

the sequences of American lineage viruses isolated since 2003 in America, Europe

and South Africa. The viruses isolated in North America since 2003 (represented

by A/eq/South Africa/4/2003 and A/eq/Ohio/2003) are characterised by two further

amino acid changes in antigenic sites of HA compared with the viruses isolated

in Europe; these additional changes appear to contribute to greater antigenic

drift from A/eq/Newmarket/1/93-like viruses currently included in vaccines.

One European isolate was more closely related antigenically and genetically

to A/eq/Newmarket/1/93.

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42 2007 • 2

Recommendations for the composition of equine influenza vaccines During the period January 2006 to January 2007, H3N8 viruses of the ‘American’

lineage continued to circulate in Europe and North America with some vaccinated

horses affected. Most of these viruses, like those responsible for the 2003/4 outbreaks

in South Africa and those circulating recently in North America and Europe were

antigenically closely related to the currently recommended A/eq/South Africa/4/2003-

like vaccine strains.

No ‘European’ lineage viruses were detected. Nonetheless, the recommendation

remains that a European lineage virus be included in vaccines, and surveillance

of these viruses will continue in order to monitor their circulation.

It is recommended, therefore, that vaccines contain the following:

– an A/eq/South Africa/4/2003 (H3N8)-like virus (American lineage)1

– an A/eq/Newmarket/2/93 (H3N8)-like virus (European lineage) 2

Reference reagents Reference reagents specific for the recommended European lineage vaccine strains

are available for standardisation of vaccine content by single radial diffusion (SRD)

assay and can be obtained from the National Institute for Biological Standards and

Control (NIBSC). Preparation of reagents for the South Africa/4.2003-like viruses

is planned.

Four equine influenza horse antisera (anti-A/eq/Newmarket/77 [H7N7], anti-

A/eq/Newmarket/1/93 [H3N8], anti-A/eq/Newmarket/2/93 [H3N8]) and anti-

A/eq/South Africa/4/2003 [H3N8] are available as European Pharmacopoeia Biological

Reference Preparations (EP BRPs) for serological testing of equine influenza vaccines

by the single radial haemolysis assay. These antisera are also available from the World

Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Reference Laboratory in Newmarket (UK) for use

as primary standards in diagnostic serological testing.

SRD reference EP BRPs for serological testing OIE primary standards for reagents of equine influenza vaccines diagnostic serological testing

NIBSC, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Herts, European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park,

EN6 3QG, UK BP 907, F-67029 Strasbourg Cedex, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7UU, UK

Fax: (+44-1707) 64.67.30 France Fax: (+44 -8700) 50.24.61

enquiries@nibsc.ac.uk http://www.pheur.org info@aht.org.uk

1-A/eq/Ohio/2003 is acceptable as A/eq/South Africa/4/2003-like

virus

2-A/eq/Suffolk/89 and A/eq/Borlänge/91, currently used vaccine

strains, continue to be acceptable

432007 • 2

book review

international news

Parasitas e parasitoses em piscicultura

Manuel Carvalho-Varela

Publisher: Ordem dos

Médicos Veterinarios

National catalogue number: 236902/05

ISBN: 972-97935-2-2

Fish farming has been with

us for centuries as fish have

always been consumed in

large quantities throughout

the world and have featured

in most nations’ diets since

time immemorial. The book

by Professor Manuel

Carvalho-Varela from the

parasitology department

of Lisbon University’s Faculty

of Veterinary Medicine is divided into four parts. Part one

describes fish farming worldwide, with particular reference

to Portuguese-speaking countries. Part two summarises

the history and development of fish pathology and describes

the principal biological characteristics of fish parasites.

Part three examines the most important internal and external

parasitic diseases of farmed fish and of fish with potential

for farming. The final part of the book focuses on the work

of researchers from the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil,

the importance of which is often underestimated by

the international community. This 580-page book ends

with a very useful taxonomic index. It is copiously illustrated

and contains a large number of high quality colour

photographs. It makes highly recommended reading.

44 2007 • 2

At the invitation of the Government

of India, Dr Bernard Vallat, OIE

Director General, accompanied by

Dr Dewan Sibartie, Head of OIE

Regional Activities Department, visited

India from 22 to 26 January 2007.

The programme of the visit was

drawn by the Department of Animal

Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries

(DADF) of the Ministry of Agriculture

of India in consultation with the OIE

and the private sector of India. The

programme included meetings with

officials of the Ministry of Agriculture

and high-ranking officers of various

veterinary and research institutes of

India. Other meetings were arranged

with the private sector dealing

particularly with meat exports. The

programme also comprised a visit to

the meat integrated complex of the

company Allanasons Ltd in

Aurangabad. The Government of

India also arranged for the OIE

delegation to visit the Taj Mahal

at Agra acknowledged as one

of the Wonders of the World.

A first meeting was organised by

the Department of Animal Husbandry,

Dairying & Fisheries at the Meridien

Hotel in New Delhi. The meeting was

chaired by Ms Charusheela Sohoni,

Secretary of the Department and

special events

Official visit of the OIE Director General to India

Dr S.K. Bandyopadhyay, Animal Husbandry

Commissioner, presenting the animal health

situation in India. On his left is

Mr K.S. Money, Chairman of APEDA1

1-APEDA: Agricultural Products Export Development Authority

permanent Delegate to the OIE.

The meeting was attended by senior

administrative officials and directors

of learned veterinary organisations

of India. In her welcome speech,

Ms Sohoni paid tribute to the role

of the OIE in providing guidance in

the international control of animal

diseases and the enhancement of

trade in livestock and livestock

products. Ms Sohoni also mentioned

that India was proud to be a member

of the OIE and provided assurances

that it will continue to play its

meaningful role in the organisation.

Dr S.K. Bandyopadhyay, Animal

Husbandry Commissioner, presented

the animal health situation of India

underlining the important activities

which are currently in progress. He

added that a significant fact in India is

that livestock are reared only on green

pastures and fed agricultural crop

residues and by-products. No artificial

fattening of livestock with the use of

hormones or growth promoters is

practised in the country. India has

always been free from bovine

spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and

has been free from rinderpest since

1995. India has elaborated the foot

and mouth disease (FMD) control

programme in place covering several

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districts across many states

in the country.

In his reply, Dr Vallat thanked

India for its positive role in the activities

of the OIE. He was pleased to note

the progress achieved by India in the

control of major animal diseases and

the potential leading role that India

could play in the region. He remarked

that India was already recognised

by the OIE as free from rinderpest

infection and was well on the way

to achieve freedom from contagious

bovine pleuropneumonia.

Dr Vallat saluted the work done by India

in stamping out highly pathogenic avian

influenza (HPAI) in 2006. He expressed

appreciation for the technical

contributions provided by Indian

scientists in the activities of the OIE

particularly regarding the Biological

Standards Commission and the review

of the Chapter on haemorrhagic

septicaemia in the Manual of Diagnostic

Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial

Animals. He finally expressed the wish

that India could have some of its

national laboratories recognised

as OIE Reference Laboratories.

The meeting provided an opportunity

for the various veterinary institutions to

present their current activities.

The on-going work on HPAI and

FMD was particularly appreciated

by the OIE delegation.

The OIE delegation was received

by Hon. Sharad Pawar, Minister

of Agriculture at the latter’s official

residence in New Delhi.

Hon. Sharad Pawar and Dr Vallat

exchanged views on the animal disease

situation in India and the capacity of

Industry in India to export quality meat

and meat products to over 60 countries

of the world without however spreading

animal pathogens. Dr Vallat explained

how the Terrestrial Animal Health Code

has made it possible for countries

having FMD such as India to export

meat and meat products and expressed

the wish to see India move along the

OIE pathway to be recognised free from

other important animal diseases

including FMD.

Dr Vallat addressing administrators and veterinary authorities of India in New Delhi

Dr Vallat presenting a token gift to

Ms Upma Chawdhry, Joint Secretary of the

Ministry of Agriculture

46 2007 • 2

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Both the Minister and Dr Vallat

agreed that the participation of the

private sector in animal disease

control programmes and export of

livestock products was vital Dr Vallat

expressed appreciation for the meat

industry in India as well as their

participation in OIE activities

particularly during the OIE General

Session.

Other issues discussed between

Dr Vallat and Hon. Sharad Pawar

included the upgrading of category

of India’s membership to the OIE

and the possibility of opening an

OIE Sub-Regional Representation

for countries of the South Asian

Association for Regional Cooperation

(SAARC). It was agreed that

discussions on those matters

would continue.

The OIE delegation had another

important meeting in Mumbai with

officials of the State of Maharashtra

and University academia. The meat

export industry was represented

by Mr Irfan Allana from Allanasons,

the largest meat exporting company

of India. The meeting was chaired

by Ms Leena Mehendale, Principal

Secretary of Agriculture, Fisheries,

Animal Husbandry and Dairy

Development of the state of

Maharashtra, in the presence

of Mr Bijay Kumar, Animal

Husbandry Commissioner for the

State. The latter made a detailed

presentation on the methods used

to eradicate the outbreaks of highly

pathogenic avian influenza which

affected the state in 2006.

Dr Vallat complimented the team

of scientists for the excellent work

carried out and stated that it was

a good example of early detection

of and rapid response against

incursions of animal diseases.

A variety of topics were brought

up by scientists present and OIE’s

guidance was solicited. In

discussions, the standards of the

OIE regarding FMD were raised. OIE

urged scientists from India to make

the results of their research work

known indicating that OIE standards

on FMD have basically been

developed based on scientific

studies carried out in cattle and that

research data on water buffaloes

would be useful, considering that

water buffaloes have shown

resistance to diseases.

The OIE delegation was provided

the opportunity to visit the fully

integrated meat plant of Allanasons

Ltd. located in Aurangabad. This is a

modern complex sprawled over

173 acres of land set up in 1978,

expanded in 1998 and continuously

refurbished to comply with stringent

international norms. The plant has

a capacity to export 100,000 tons

of boneless meat and 5,000 tons

of hermetically sealed meat products

annually.

Dr Bernard Vallat complimented

the management and staff of

Allanasons. His comments in the

visitor’s book reflect his appreciation.

“Thank you for your warm welcome.

I congratulate you and your staff

for the strong commitment to

472007 • 2

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respect hygiene and the highest quality

of all your products. I wish you good

luck in the world market”.

Aurangabad, in Maharashtra State

is a vast plateau endowed with a huge

livestock population. This plateau lies

at an altitude of 530 meters above sea

level with steep vertical rise from the

main land which serves as an excellent

natural barrier explaining the favourable

animal health picture existing in

Aurangabad. There has been no FMD

case reported from Maharashtra State

since November 2003.

Production of buffalo meat for

export in India is a highly regulated

regulated industry under the

compulsory licensing of APEDA,

Government of India. Compulsory ante-

mortem inspection of livestock, post-

mortem examination of carcasses and

microbiological testing of the frozen

meat is undertaken by the competent

government veterinary authorities

Dr Vallat visiting the lairage (upper left) which is closely

monitored by the Animal Husbandry Department (sign displayed

in upper right). Pregnancy assessments are carried out (lower

left) by Government Veterinary Officers to ensure that pregnant

animals are not slaughtered

ensuring that only healthy livestock is

used. The meat consignments are

tested and certified by the Government

Quality Control Laboratory and an

International Health Certificate is

issued. All records of the inspections

48 2007 • 2

A training hall for employees is seenAn external view of Frigorifico Allana, one of the meat plants

belonging to Allanasons Ltd

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Mr Irfan Allana explaining to Dr Vallat the mechanical dressing of carcasses

and findings are scrupulously

maintained and periodically audited by

the Government, besides being

periodically inspected by technical

delegations both from APEDA and the

importing countries.

492007 • 2

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Food safety, feed safety, animal health and animal welfare rules and plant health

rules are almost fully based on Community law. Following the adoption, in January

2000, of the White Paper on Food Safety a deep process of revision of Community

policy in these areas has been undertaken aimed at achieving a high level of health

protection for Europe’s food consumers whilst ensuring the effective functioning

of the internal market.

Animals, products of animal and plant origin, all food and feed imported into the

Community shall comply with the relevant requirements and conditions recognised

by the Community or at least be equivalent thereto. In order to help trade partners

to become familiar with Community import requirements and to enhance

international trade the Commission considers it important that, where appropriate,

the training courses should also be open to participants from third countries, in

particular developing countries. Where appropriate, particular attention should

be also paid to countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

The activities envisaged for implementation in 2007 were divided in six lots,

i.e. in six separate contracts, depending on the topics of the foreseen training

activities. The Contract Notice for these activities was published in the Official

Journal of the European Union on 29 July 2006 (OJ/S 143). Following a

subsequent competitive tender procedure, the informal consortia lead by the

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘Giuseppe Caporale’

(IZS A&M) won three of the six contracts.

Nine training events have been organised:

• Organisation of Training Courses on Veterinary Checks

in Seaport Border Inspection Posts

Livorno (Italy): three three-days training courses

21-24 May, 10-13 September and 24-27 September

• Organisation of Training Courses on Monitoring and Controls

of Zoonoses and Applying Microbiological Criteria in Foodstuffs

A series of five four-day training courses:

4-7 June (Italy), 18-21 June (Italy), 1-5 October 2007 (Poland),

22-26 October (Denmark) and 5-9 October (Denmark)

• Organisation of a Training Workshop on Animal Welfare Issues

One training workshop in Croatia: 15-19 October 2007

Training activities 2007 in the framework of ‘Better training for safer food’, initiative of the European Commission

Para obtener información:

sancotraining@izs.it

http://www.sancotraining.izs.it/training2007.htm

50 2007 • 2

June

Better training for safer food –

Training activities for 2007

4 June - 9 NovemberItaly, Denmark, Poland, CroatiaTraining Activities for 2007

(initiative of the European Commission)

Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale

dell'Abruzzo et del Molise -Teramo-

G. Caporale

OIE Collaborating Centre for Veterinarian training,

Epidemiology, Food Safety and Animal Welfare

www.sancotraining.izs.it

sancotraining@izs.it

Veterinary medicines regulation

– Is Europe still at the

cutting edge of innovation?

6-8 JuneBrussels (Belgium)IFAH-Europe Conference 2007

Myriam Alcain

m.alcain@ifahsec.org

Tel.: 32-2-543 7564

Federation of European

Laboratory Animal Science

Associations (FELASA) &

International Council for Laboratory

Animal Science (ICLAS) Meeting

11-14 JuneComo (Italy)Mr Gilles Demers, D.M.V.

M.Sc. President, ICLAS

gdemers@ccac.ca

www.felasa-iclas2007.com

10th Regular Session of the FAO

Commission on Genetic

Resources for Food and Agriculture

11-15 June Rome (Italy)cgrfa@fao.org

ftp.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/cgrfa10/r10repf.pdf

OIE Workshop on Rift Valley Fever

Control and Preventive Strategies

13-15 JuneCairo (Egypt)rr.mideast@oie.int

International Conference

‘New frontiers

in the quality of medicines’

13-15 JuneStrasbourg (France)www.edqm.eu

Animal Biotechnology

and its Applications

to Animal and Human Health

14-16 JuneWellcome Trust GenomeCampus, Hinxton(United Kingdom)Ms Chiara Orefice

European Science Foundation

Phone: +32 (0)2 533 2023

Fax: +32 (0)2 538 8486

www.esf.org/conferences/0720

13th International

Congress in Animal Hygiene

17-21 JuneTartu (Estonia)www.emu.ee/isah2007

7th Nordic Symposium

on Fish Immunology

17-23 June Stirling (United Kingdom)Dr Janina Costa

Tel.: +44(0) 1786 466-598

noffi@stir.ac.uk

www.noffi.org

Options for the Control

of Influenza VI Conference

17-23 JuneToronto (Canada)Lynne Pryor

Senior Conference Manager

MediTech Media

tel.: +1 404 591 3206

fax.:+1 404 233 2827

Lynne.Pryor@meditechmedia.com

www.optionsviconference.com

Seminar on the dialogue

and common activities

between the OIE Members of the

EU and the other OIE Members of

the Regional Commission for Europe

25-26 JuneMoscow (Russia)OIE Regional Representation for Eastern Europe:

rr.easteurope@oie.int

agenda2

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Nano Toxicity. Managing

the risk governance – Potential

effects on health & Environment

26-28 JuneParis (France)Iben Mortensen

iben@upperside.fr

Tel. 33 (01) 53 46 63 80

www.upperside.fr

SPS Committee

(Agreement on Sanitary and

Phytosanitary Measures)

27-29 June Geneva (Switzerland)gretchen.stanton@wto.org

www.wto.org

Seminar on the dialogue

and common activities between

the OIE Members of the EU

and the other OIE Members of the

Regional Commission for Europe

28-29 JuneMinsk (Belarus)OIE Regional Representation

for Eastern Europe: rr.easteurope@oie.int

July

Twelfth meeting of the Subsidiary

Body on Scientific, Technical and

Technological Advice

2-6 JulyUnesco Headquarters, Paris (France)www.biodiv.org

secretariat@biodiv.org

30th Session of the Codex

Alimentarius Commission

2-7 JulyRome (Italy)www.codexalimentarius.net

First International Conference

on Contagious Equine Metritis

11-12 JulyCentral Institute for DiseaseControl (CIDC)Amsterdam (The Netherlands)Hendrik-Jan Roest (hendrikjan.roest@wur.nl) or

Peter Heath (p.heath@vla.defra.gsi.gov.uk )

SPS Regional Workshop for

English-speaking African countries

17-19 JulyLusaka (Zambia)www.wto.org

Seminar on the dialogue

and common activities

between the OIE Members of the

EU and the other OIE Members of

the Regional Commission for Europe

23-24 JulyKiev (Ukraine)OIE Regional Representation

for Eastern Europe: rr.easteurope@oie.int

13th International Conference

on Production Diseases

(ICPD) in Farm Animals

29 July – 4 AugustVeterinary Faculty of the LeipzigUniversity (Germany)Prof. Habil M. Fürll

Tel.: (49) 341 97 38322

Fax: (49) 341 97 38349

mfuerll@rz.uni-leipzig.de

Regional Workshop on WTO-SPS

Agreement with BSE as an example

30 July - 2 AugustChiang Mai (Thailand) www.oie-jp.org

oietokyo@tky.3web.ne.jp

August

8th International Veterinary

Immunology Symposium

15-19 August Ouro Preto (Brazil)Tel.: 55-16-36023267

secretariat@8ivis.org

www.8ivis.org

12th International Conference

of the Association

of Institutions for tropical

Veterinary Medicine (AITVM)

20-23 August Montpellier (France)Ms Denise Bastron

CIRAD-EMVT – TA30/B

Tel.: 33 467 593 904

Fax: 33 467 593 795

aitvm@cirad.fr

aitvm2007.cirad.fr

6th World Congress

on Alternatives and Animal

Use in the Life Sciences

21-25 AugustTokyo (Japan)www.ech.co.jp/wc6

H.Kojima (h-kojima@nihs.go.jp).

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Novel vaccines: bridging research,

development, and production

22-24 AugustCambridge, Massachussetts (United States of America)Ms Mary Ruberry,

Conference Director

Tel.: 781-972-5421

lisac@healthtech.com

www.healthtech.com/2007/vac

September

6th Working Group Meeting

of Animal Movement Management

and Zoning Approach

for Foot and Mouth Disease

Control in the Upper Mekong Basin

SeptemberOIE Regional Representation

for Asia and the Pacific

oietokyo@tky.3web.ne.jp

OIE permanent Animal

Welfare Working Group

5-7 September OIE Headquarters, Paris (France)www.oie.int/eng/bien_etre/en_introduction.htm

trade@oie.int

Terrestrial Animal Health

Standards Commission

17-28 SeptemberOIE Headquarters, Paris (France)www.oie.int/TAHSC/eng/en_tahsc.htm

trade.dept@oie.int

Annual Conference 2007 of the

European Society of Domestic

Animal Reproduction (ESDAR)

& the European EU-AI (Artificial

Insemination)-Veterinarians

19-23 September Celle (Germany)www.esdar.org

Prion 2007

26-28 September Edinburgh,Scotland (United Kingdom)Ms Michelle Kane,

Meeting Planning Manager

Tel.: 44 (0) 141 331 0123

info@prion2007.com

www.prion2007.com

October

Seminar on the dialogue

and common activities

between the OIE Members

of the EU and the other OIE

Members of the Regional

Commission for Europe

1-2 OctoberAstana (Kazakhstan)OIE Regional Representation for Eastern Europe:

rr.easteurope@oie.int

Seminar on the dialogue

and common activities

between the OIE Members of the

EU and the other OIE Members of

the Regional Commission for Europe

3-4 OctoberBishkek (Kyrgyzstan)OIE Regional Representation for Eastern Europe:

rr.easteurope@oie.int

SPS Committee

(Agreement on Sanitary and

Phytosanitary Measures)

17-19 OctoberGeneva (Switzerland)gretchen.stanton@wto.org

International Symposium

on Animal Genomics for

Animal Health

23-25 OctoberOIE Headquarters, Paris (France)Publications Department publications.dept@oie.int

& Scientific and Technical Department scientific.

dept@oie.int

www.ars.usda.gov/meetings/AGAH2007/

www.oie.int/downld/ANNOUNCEMENT_MEETING/Par

is%20Symposium.pdf

9th Conference

of the OIE Regional

Commission for the Middle East

29 October – 1 November Damas (Syria)OIE Regional Activities Department

regactivities.dept@oie.int

November

4th Pan Commonwealth

Veterinary Conference

4-8 November St Michael (Barbados, West Indies)commonwealthvetassoc.org/Home/

BarBados.htm

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OIE permanent Animal

Production Food Safety

Working Group

6-8 NovemberOIE Headquarters, Paris (France)www.oie.int/fr/secu_sanitaire/fr_introduction.htm

8th OIE/WAVLD

(World Association of Veterinary

Laboratory Diagnosticians)

Seminar Applications

of Biotechnology to the Diagnosis

and Pathology of Animal Diseases

13 NovemberMelbourne (Australia)www.wavld2007.com

13th International

WAVLD Symposium

11-14 NovemberMelbourne (Australia)www.wavld2007.com

5th international

Conference on

Emerging Zoonoses

15-19 NovemberLimassol (Cyprus)Tel.: 972 3 5175150

Fax: 972 3 5175150

zoo2007@targetconf.com

www.zoonoses2007.com/index.asp

25th Conference

of the OIE Regional

Commission for Asia,

the Far East and Oceania

26-30 NovemberQueenstown (New-Zealand)OIE Regional Activities Department

regactivities.dept@oie.int

events.lincoln.ac.nz/oie

July

29th World Veterinary

Congress 2008

27-31 July Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)Tel.: (604) 681 2153

wvac2008@meet-ics.com

www.meet-ics.com/wvac2008/ welcome.html

August

Meetings of the Three Divisions

of the International Union of

Microbiological Societies (IUMS),

5-15 August, Istanbul (Turkey)

5-9 August 2008XII International Congress of

Bacteriology and Applied

Microbiology

XII International Congress of

Mycology

10-15 August 2008XIV International

Congress of Virology

Tel.: +90 216 330 90 20

Fax: +90 216 330 90 05/06

iums2008@topkon.com

www.iums2008.org

October

2nd OIE Global Conference

on Animal Welfare ‘Putting

the OIE standards to work’

Cairo (Egypt)trade.dept@oie.int

a.balmont@oie.int

20

08

54 2007 • 2

answer:1. Apparent morbidity rate or prevalence*

is the number of cases or outbreaks of the disease divided by

the number of animals at risk to have the disease (to get

sick). It gives an idea about how many animals are sick

compared to the number of animals that are at risk to get

sick. The higher this number is, the more contagious the

disease is considered to be.

2. Apparent mortality rate

is the number of dead animals divided by the number of

animals at risk to die from the disease. It gives an idea about

how much the disease kills.

3. Apparent case fatality rate

is the number of dead animals compared to the number of

sick animals. It gives an idea about how much the disease

kills among the sick animals. The higher this number is, the

higher the chance that sick animals will die from the disease.

4. The proportion susceptible removed

is as described, the number of animals removed from the

susceptible population either through death, destruction or

slaughter. As part of a ‘stamping out’ disease control

measure, actions are taken to reduce the spread of a disease

by eliminating or reducing the size of the population at risk of

getting the disease.

5. When testing groups of animals for disease

several factors impact on the results

– Not every animal that has died will necessarily be tested.

This is particularly so in flocks of commercial birds. An

adequate number of animals must be tested.

– Accurate number of the total population is not always

available.

– Characteristics of a diagnostic test (sensitivity and

specificity) may provide false positive results. Recommended

diagnostic tests are chosen because they yield reliable results.

– The number of animals testing positive that are needed to

classify a population as infected may vary.

Thus, the apparent (or estimated) numbers can be

different from the true prevalence of disease in a population.

questions and answers

*Prevalence – defined as means the total number of cases or outbreaks of a disease that are present in a

population at risk, in a particular geographical area, at one specified time or during a given period.

(Chapter 1.1.1, General Definitions, Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 2006)

question:

Following recent OIE messages on Rift Valley fever in Kenya, could you help me clarifying

what the following means?

1. apparent morbidity rate

2. apparent mortality rate

3. apparent case fatality rate

4. proportion susceptible removed (removed from the susceptible population either through

death, destruction or slaughter)

5. Does apparent mean ‘estimated’?

552007 • 2

Dr Muneo Ogata, former Chief

Veterinary Officer, Director of Animal

Health Division, Ministry of Agriculture,

Forestry and Fisheries of Japan

and OIE Delegate, passed way

on 8 March 2007 at the age of 77.

Dr Ogata served as a member of

the Administrative Commission of the

OIE in 1981-1982. He was the Director

of the former OIE Regional Office in

Asia which was created in Tokyo, Japan

in 1971. He was an exceptional

scientific contributor to the OIE and he

made significant contributions to

international technical cooperation in

the field of animal health, particularly

for the Asian region through the

channels of the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the

Japan Livestock Technology Association

(JLTA).

On behalf of the 169 Members,

Dr Bernard Vallat, Director General

of the OIE, extends his deepest

condolences to his family.

Obituary

OIE MEMBERS (169)

AFGHANISTAN

ALBANIA

ALGERIA

ANDORRA

ANGOLA

ARGENTINA

ARMENIA

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRIA

AZERBAIJAN

BAHRAIN

BANGLADESH

BARBADOS

BELARUS

BELGIUM

BELIZE

BENIN

BHUTAN

BOLIVIA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOTSWANA

BRAZIL

BRUNEI

BULGARIA

BURKINA FASO

BURUNDI

CAMBODIA

CAMEROON

CANADA

CAPE VERDE

CENTRAL AFRICAN REP.

CHAD

CHILE

CHINA (PEOPLE'S REP. OF)

COLOMBIA

COMOROS

CONGO

CONGO (DEM. REP. OF THE)

COSTA RICA

CÔTE D'IVOIRE

CROATIA

CUBA

CYPRUS

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK

DJIBOUTI

DOMINICAN REP.

ECUADOR

EGYPT

EL SALVADOR

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

ERITREA

ESTONIA

ETHIOPIA

FIJI ISLANDS

FINLAND

FORMER YUG. REP. OF MACEDONIA

FRANCE

GABON

GAMBIA

GEORGIA

GERMANY

GHANA

GREECE

GUATEMALA

GUINEA

GUINEA BISSAU

GUYANA

HAITI

HONDURAS

HUNGARY

ICELAND

INDIA

INDONESIA

IRAN

IRAQ

IRELAND

ISRAEL

ITALY

JAMAICA

JAPAN

JORDAN

KAZAKHSTAN

KENYA

KOREA (DEM. PEOPLE'S REP.)

KOREA (REP. OF)

KUWAIT

KYRGYZSTAN

LAOS

LATVIA

LEBANON

LESOTHO

LIBYA

LITHUANIA

LUXEMBOURG

MADAGASCAR

MALAWI

MALAYSIA

MALI

MALTA

MAURITANIA

MAURITIUS

MEXICO

MOLDAVIA

MONGOLIA

MOROCCO

MOZAMBIQUE

MYANMAR

NAMIBIA

NEPAL

NETHERLANDS

NEW CALEDONIA

NEW ZEALAND

NICARAGUA

NIGER

NIGERIA

NORWAY

OMAN

PAKISTAN

PANAMA

PARAGUAY

PERU

PHILIPPINES

POLAND

PORTUGAL

QATAR

ROMANIA

RUSSIA

RWANDA

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

SAUDI ARABIA

SENEGAL

SERBIA-AND-MONTENEGRO

SIERRA LEONE

SINGAPORE

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

SOMALIA

SOUTH AFRICA

SPAIN

SRI LANKA

SUDAN

SURINAME

SWAZILAND

SWEDEN

SWITZERLAND

SYRIA

TAIPEI CHINA

TAJIKISTAN

TANZANIA

THAILAND

TOGO

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TUNISIA

TURKEY

TURKMENISTAN

UGANDA

UKRAINE

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UNITED KINGDOM

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

URUGUAY

UZBEKISTAN

VANUATU

VENEZUELA

VIETNAM

YEMEN

ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE

2007 • 256

572007 • 1

special eventsOfficial visit of the OIE Director General to India

Ms Charusheela Sohoni, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture,

making her welcome speech. Dr Bernard Vallat, OIE Director

General is on her right

Meeting of Dr Bernard Vallat with Hon. Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture of India

Mr Irfan Allana explaining to Dr Vallat the maturation

of carcasses below 4°C

The purpose of the symposium is to

identify critical needs and opportunities

to advance the use of animal

genomics to solve problems

in animal health.

This conference provides an

excellent opportunity for leaders in

the fields of animal genomics and

animal health to come together and

plan new directions to fundamentally

change the way we approach animal

health research. Recent advances

in biotechnology and genomics

present unique opportunities to address

global animal health challenges through

exceptional scientific collaborations that

can generate truly innovative strategies.

These exceptional collaborations will pave

the way for integrating core competencies

in science, computer engineering,

and veterinary medicine, by connecting

those who are currently engaged in

cutting edge genomics research with

animal health scientists that are disease

experts and understand the real world

challenges facing animal health.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/meetings/AGAH2007/

http://www.oie.int/downld/ANNOUNCEMENT_MEETING/Paris%20Symposium.pdf

12, rue de prony • 75017 paris f rance • tel . 33 (0)1 44 15 18 88 • fax 33 (0)1 42 67 09 87 • www.oie. int • oie@oie. int

International Symposium on AnimalGenomics for Animal Health

23-25 October 2007OIE Headquarters, World Organisation for Animal Health