1. Bio threats of animal origin in the 21st Century
JOINT HEALTH, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD GROUP SEMINAR
4-6 December 2013, BUCHAREST ROMANIA
Dawid Visser
Scientific and Technical Department
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)

2. Contents The OIE – background and vision
Importance of animal pathogens with zoonotic potential – global context
Capacity building
Animal pathogens as bioweapons
The Global Public Good Concept

3. The OIE – background and vision
An intergovernmental organisation founded in 1924 preceding the United Nations
Creation of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE)
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Creation of the United Nations
1924
2003
1945

4. 178 Member Countries in 2013
Africa 52 – Americas 30 – Asia, the Far East and Oceania 36 –
Europe 53 – Middle-East 20
OIE – 12 regional and sub-regional offices

5. Science-based standards
Terrestrial animals, aquatic animals and bees
Surveillance, control, trade, veterinary public health, diagnostics
medicinal products, food safety, quality of veterinary services,
legislation

6. Veterinary public health Animal welfare
OIE Objectives of the Fifth Strategic Plan
OIE’s vision
“A world that is safe and secure from the accidental or deliberate release of animal pathogens, including zoonoses”.
Improve animal health
Veterinary public health
Animal welfare
Consolidate the animal’s role worldwide

7. Fight pathogens at animal source to protect human health
Animal pathogens with zoonotic potential
60 % of human pathogens are zoonotic
75% of emerging diseases are zoonotic
80% of agents with potential bio-threat are zoonotic pathogens
Fight pathogens at animal source to protect human health
Rift Valley Fever
Brucella suis
Glanders
Rinderpest

8. Political instability Weak animal health care systems
Elements contributing to emerging disease outbreaks
Globalisation
Climate change
Urbanisation
Rising demand for food
Resistance to drugs
Synthetic biology
Political instability
Weak animal health care systems

9. Natural disease events
Possible origins of animal disease outbreaks
Natural disease events
Deliberate release (bioterrorism) – ideal bio weapons
Breaches in laboratory bio-containment
New and emerging diseases
“Disease detection and control for a natural, deliberate or accidental release of animal pathogen or emerging pathogen is virtually the same”

10. Effective health systems protect against bio-treats
OIE strategy to improve veterinary services
Prevent and control spread of important animal diseases (including zoonoses)
By setting international standards and guidance
Enabling countries to meet these standards by strengthening Veterinary Services

11. OIE Reference Laboratories OIE Collaborating Centers
Capacity building
Actions to strengthen Veterinary Services globally
OIE Reference Laboratories
OIE Collaborating Centers
OIE Laboratory twinning
The OIE-PVS Tool and Gap Analyses
Science-based standards

12. Maintaining global intelligence and expertise
OIE Reference Laboratories
37 – Countries
116 – Expertise covering 116 different diseases / topics

13. Centers of expertise sharing information internationally
43 – OIE Collaborating Centers
24 – Countries
42 – Expertise covering topics

14. Assessing VS ability to meet standards
the compliance of VS with international standards
Mission completed
Mission requested
Report Available

15. The OIE-PVS Tool and Gap Analyses
Improving Performance
of Veterinary Services
through evaluation based on
46 core competencies
To improve compliance with
OIE Standards

16. Capacity building

17. Animal pathogens as bioweapons

18. OIE’s Biological Threat Reduction Strategy
Reducing biological threats by strengthening, enhancing, and cross-linking existing health systems
OIE’s strategy for bio-threat reduction addresses 5 key areas:
Policies, advocacy, and communication
Maintaining expertise and setting standards, guidelines, and recommendations
International cooperation
Global disease intelligence
Capacity-building and solidarity

19. Collecting global disease intelligence
OIE Member Countries must notify important disease information to OIE
GLEWS
Combines and coordinates the alert and response mechanisms of OIE, FAO and WHO – tracking rumours about diseases
WHO-IHR

20. Engaging and coordinating with others
Cooperation agreements with over 55 international organisations
Biologic and toxin weapons convention
UNODA
Biosafety associations
WHO
OIE
FAO
Global Partnership against WMD
IATA 20

21. The Rinderpest post-eradication phase
In 2011 the world was declared to be free from rinderpest
Second disease to have been eradicated (after smallpox)
Potential bioweapon
Virus held in laboratories worldwide
International commitment to destroy virus and maintain freedom
Rinderpest remains a threat today - OIE and FAO taking forward actions – Joint Advisory Committee for rinderpest

22. Shipment of dangerous pathogens Prevention and control
The Global Public Good Concept
Veterinary services are global public goods
Disease surveillance
Laboratory biosafety
and biosecurity
Pathogen detection
and characterisation
Border controls
Disease reporting
Shipment of dangerous pathogens
Prevention and control
Education
Research
Biological threat reduction
Failure of one country may endanger the entire planet

23. thank you for your attention
Organisation Mondiale de la Santé Animale
World Organisation for Animal Health
Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal