collaboration with animal health organisations and international reporting requirements

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Collaboration with Animal Health Organizations
and International Reporting Requirements
Theory, Practice, and Players
Last updated 26 February 2009
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Learning Objectives

• Discuss the relevant animal organizations
• Describe the difference in roles and
  responsibilities of the animal health sector vs.
  the human health sector
• List the data required for notification
• Describe the information flow of disease
  occurrence

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Why do you need to know about the animal health
organisations?

• Currently, avian influenza (AI) is a disease of
  animals
• Animal health organizations are responsible for
  collecting epidemiological data on AI outbreaks
  in animals and may be the first to know about
  animal AI outbreaks in a country
• This knowledge could help manage risk of
  outbreaks in humans
• Data should be shared among agencies to increase
  effectiveness and efficiency

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Why do you need to know about the animal health
organisations (2)?

• Coordinating disease awareness messages among all
  responsible agencies increases credibility and
  public health impact
• Countries should comply with specific
  international animal health guidelines just as
  they should comply with international public
  health guidelines
• Decision makers have to consider and balance
  these guidelines

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What are the relevant organizations?

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO,
  www.fao.org)
• mandate to improve food availability and
  nutrition by providing knowledge and assistance
• is an UN organization (established 1945)
• International standard setting agency (with WHO)
  for food safety, through the 'Codex Alimentarius'
  
• The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE,
  www.oie.int)
• responsible for collecting/disseminating animal
  disease information
• OIE is not an UN organization (established 1924)
• International standard setting agency for animal
  health and zoonosis , through the 'OIE Code' and
  'OIE Manual'

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What are the relevant organizations (2)?

• Both FAO and OIE are comprised of 'member
  countries'
• FAO and OIE each have country and/or regional
  offices and global networks of collaborating and
  reference centers
• The OIE interacts with each member country
  through the country's National Veterinary
  Authority
• Delegate is the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) or
  equivalent
• The National Veterinary Authority generally is
  administered by the Ministry of Agriculture or
  equivalent

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What are some FAO/OIE activities for AI?

• Providing animal-related training and technical
  expertise in AI-affected and AI-risk countries,
  including
• Laboratory
• Surveillance
• Contingency planning
• Outbreak/epidemiological investigations
• Disease communication
• Providing technical and public awareness
  information and materials
• Via websites and publications
• WHO collaborates with FAO/OIE on many of these
  activities

Particularly through the OFFLU network
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The OIE also

• Provides (in the OIE Code)
• The international standard for determining the
  animal and zoonotic disease status of a country
• Recommendations for surveillance, evaluation of
  veterinary services, risk assessment, etc.
• Minimum sanitary requirements for trade in
  animals and animal products
• Provides (in the OIE Manual)
• Standards for laboratory tests for specific
  diseases
• Standards for vaccine production
• Both the Code and the Manual are updated annually
  (as needed) by consensus of the OIE members

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The OIE also (2)

• Develops and updates the official list of those
  animal/zoonotic diseases with the most impact on
  animal heath, public heath, and/or trade
• "notifiable' or 'listed' diseases
• Publishes information on current outbreaks of
  these notifiable diseases throughout the world

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General OIE Notification requirement

• The Veterinary Authority of an OIE Member country
  is required to notify the OIE within 24 hours of
  
• A first (or re-occurrence after declaration of
  freedom) of a listed disease
• A first occurrence of a new strain of a listed
  disease pathogen
• A sudden/unexpected increase in a listed disease
  (distribution, incidence, morbidity or mortality)
• Occurrence of an emerging disease with
  significant morbidity or mortality, or zoonotic
  potential
• Evidence of change in the epidemiology (host
  range, pathogenicity, strain) of a listed
  disease, especially if there is a zoonotic impact

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When is AI notifiable to the OIE ?

• Virus is H5 or H7 subtype (low pathogenic or
  highly pathogenic)
• or
• Virus is not H5 or H7, but has an intravenous
  pathogenicity index (IVPI) gt 1.2 (or at least 75
  mortality).
• These criteria always apply to poultry
• For wild birds
• All HPAI must also be notified
• Notification of LPAI (including H5 or H7) is NOT
  REQUIRED
• Countries may also voluntarily report LPAI cases
  in wild birds

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What is the OIE definition of 'poultry'?

• "All domesticated birds, including backyard
  poultry, used for the production of meat or eggs
  for consumption, for the production of other
  commercial products, for restocking supplies of
  game, or for breeding these categories of birds,
  as well as fighting cocks used for any purpose.
• 'therefore Birds that are kept in captivity for
  any reason other than those listed above,
  including those that are kept for shows, races,
  exhibitions, competitions or for breeding or
  selling these categories of birds as well as pet
  birds, are NOT considered to be poultry.

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What data are required at initial notification?

• Type of event
• Dates Report date, first confirmation of event,
  start of the event
• Nature of diagnosis Suspicion/clinical/laboratory
  /PM
• Laboratories where tests performed and tests used
• Precise identification of agent Agent, serotype
• Specific location Administrative division, name
  of location, geo-coordinates
• Epidemiological unit Farm, village
• Description of event, including species and
  populations affected

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What data are required at notification (2)?

• Number of animals in each different categories
  susceptible/cases/deaths/destroyed/slaughtered
• Source of outbreaks Known or suspected
• Control measures Undertaken and to be undertaken
  (e.g. culling, quarantine measures, movement
  control, vector control, cleaning/disinfection)
• Vaccination Status (i.e. is vaccination allowed/
  prohibited in country), and details if
  vaccination performed
• Other details/comments

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OIE notification form

• The notification form is completed and submitted
  to the OIE by the Chief Veterinary Officer at the
  National Veterinary Authority
• On-line notification through the 'World Animal
  Health Information System' (WAHIS) is also
  possible
• secure access restricted to national veterinary
  authorities

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OIE Notification

• Follow-up reports are required (and same data
  collected)
• Weekly as situation progresses/evolves, through
  eradication or establishment of endemicity, up
  through a final report
• These notifications and updates (except annual
  updates) are immediately published as alerts on
  the OIE website
• All official information exchange occurs between
  the OIE and the National Veterinary Authority
• Additional reports to OIE include
• Every 6 months ( monthly breakdown) with
  absence/presence, control, prophylaxis,
  preventative measures for listed diseases
• Annual report with any further data, as well as
  data on non-listed diseases, animal populations,
  and veterinary infrastructure.

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Disease occurrence Information flow
Infected bird
community
Local veterinary authority
Notification requires multilevel communication
and transparency
Farmer/ veterinarian
National veterinary authority
OIE
FAO
Official Notification
International Community
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Disease occurrence Information flow (2)
Infected bird
community

• Constraints on transparency and information flow
• 1. Non-reporting by animal owners/ farmers/
  veterinarians
• Economic repercussions/no compensation
• Social/political repercussions
• Lack of knowledge of disease presentation
• Household poultry owners may have limited
  interaction with animal health system

Local veterinary authority
Farmer/ veterinarian
National veterinary authority
OIE
FAO
Official Notification
International Community
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Disease occurrence Information flow (3)
Infected bird
community

• Constraints on transparency and information flow
• 2. Infrastructural constraints
• Lack of laboratory support for disease
  confirmation
• Communication blocks from remote villages

Local veterinary authority
Farmer/ veterinarian
National veterinary authority
OIE
FAO
Official Notification
International Community
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Disease occurrence Information flow (4)
Infected bird
community
Constraints on transparency and information
flow 3. Political constraints
Local veterinary authority
Farmer/ veterinarian
National veterinary authority
OIE
FAO
Official Notification
International Community
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Potential consequences of a lack of transparency

• Non-containment/spread of disease outbreaks in
  animals and humans
• Disease control costs increase substantially with
  greater initial spread
• Breach of international obligations (e.g. World
  Trade Organisation)
• Risk to trading partners importing risk
  commodities
• regional/global spread
• Decreased scientific/social reputation among
  trading partners and within international
  community

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Optimisation of information flow
Infected human
Infected bird
community
Local public health institution
Local veterinary authority
Farmer/ veterinarian
National public health authority
National veterinary authority
OIE
WHO
FAO
Official Notification
International Community
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Optimisation requires

• Political will at all levels
• Including financial support and legislative
  backing
• Education and training at all levels
• Communication and information sharing
  (transparency) between Public Health and Animal
  Health authorities at every level
• e.g. field staff, laboratories, decision makers,
  planners/ logisticians
• Communication with other authorities
• e.g. finance, military, food safety, commerce,
  industry

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Optimisation requires (2)

• Communication with other entities
• e.g. NGOs, Industry
• Communication with international community
• Both public health and animal health authorities
• Fulfilling international obligations
• Motivation to report by community and farmers
• Disease awareness
• Compensation
• Coordination of communications/media

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Optimisation of information flow

• Increased transparency, communication, and
  interaction between all the players results in a
  positive feed back cycle, ultimately improving
  both public health and animal health nationally,
  and on a global level

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Developed by

• The Global Influenza Programme of the World
  Health Organization with the assistance of
• The Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and
  Response
• WHO/SDE/Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses, and
  Foodborne Diseases
• World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)