Recognition of Foreign Animal Diseases

CHAPTER 68 Recognition of Foreign Animal Diseases



Corrie C. Brown


Globalization has created a new landscape for animal health and disease recognition. Decades ago, foreign disease incursions were an extremely rare event, and primarily only regulatory veterinarians and those working at the ports or in overseas positions were concerned about international disease issues and threats. Currently, the term foreign animal diseases is rapidly becoming both more meaningful and less meaningful. The term may be less meaningful because of the rapid movement of diseases around the world, so that fewer diseases are now considered “foreign” (e.g., monkeypox, bovine spongiform encephalopathy). At the same time, “foreign animal diseases” is more meaningful for exactly the same reason; that is, more pathogenic microbial agents are entering new territories than ever before.


The initiation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), fueled by the combined forces of information flow and fluidity of markets, has created a new set of rules for those involved in transnational commerce. Designed to “level the playing field” and allow all countries access to global markets, the result has been not only a new game plan for international marketers, but also a revolution in expectations for the entire animal health community. At present, with the increasing traffic of people, animals, and animal products, the chances of a foreign animal disease (FAD when referring to its investigation) entering the United States are very high. U.S. borders are porous, and a foreign animal disease could just as easily appear in the middle of the country as at one of the border ports of inspection. A private practitioner who may never venture more than a hundred miles from home needs to be aware that the world is at his or her doorstep. A hitchhiking vector or a fomite on someone’s clothing could bring a disease to any of the 50 states.


Horses are a unique species, treading the line between companion animals and livestock. Historically based in agriculture, horses now serve more as pleasure animals or as athletic performance animals. Because many equids have significant commercial value, regulatory issues and international commerce are closely monitored to ensure health of the populations and preservation of industry value. Oversight is supplied in most cases by federal agricultural agencies, and overall global coordination is through the multilateral animal health regulatory body known as the World Organization for Animal Health (formerly the Office International des Epizooties and still referred to by the abbreviated designation of OIE).



EQUINE DISEASES AS LISTED BY OIE


The OIE maintains lists of diseases of animals that must be monitored in order to participate in international trading. Before January 2005, there were two “lists”: List A and List B. There were 15 List A diseases, of which only two affected horses: African horse sickness and vesicular stomatitis. The defining characteristic of a List A disease was its ability to spread rapidly and have serious socioeconomic impact. Member countries were bound to report the occurrence in their country of a List A disease to the Central OIE Bureau in Paris within 24 hours of diagnosis. List B diseases were defined as diseases of potential socioeconomic impact, and these 94 diseases had to be reported to the OIE Central Bureau on an annual or semiannual basis. Over time, the assignment of specific diseases to these lists was questioned. For example, bovine spongiform encephalopathy was a List B disease, so immediate reporting was not necessary, and Hendra was not on either list, so it never would be reported.


The OIE convened an ad hoc group that spent 2 years developing a new list and a new set of criteria for inclusion. The overriding criterion for inclusion on the list is a disease’s potential for international spread. Other qualifications include a capacity for significant spread within naive populations or potential for zoonotic infection. The list is now fairly lengthy, including a total of 130 pathogens (for a complete listing, see http://www.oie.int/eng/maladies/en_classification.htm). Box 68-1 lists the pathogens that impact horses, and Table 68-1 provides the preferred diagnostic tests for these diseases.



Box 68-1 Diseases Notifiable to the OIE



Multiple-Species Diseases



• Anthrax

• Aujeszky’s disease

• Bluetongue

• Brucellosis (Brucella abortus)

• Brucellosis (Brucella melitensis)

• Brucellosis (Brucella suis)

• Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever

• Echinococcosis/hydatidosis

• Foot-and-mouth disease

• Heartwater

• Japanese encephalitis

• Leptospirosis

• New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax)

• Old World screwworm (Chrysomya bezziana)

• Paratuberculosis

• Q fever

• Rabies

• Rift Valley fever

• Rinderpest

• Trichinellosis

• Tularemia

• Vesicular stomatitis

• West Nile fever


Equine Diseases



• African horse sickness

• Contagious equine metritis

• Dourine

• Equine encephalomyelitis (eastern)

• Equine encephalomyelitis (western)

• Equine infectious anemia

Related posts:

  1. Mycobacterial Infections
  2. Gastrointestinal and Peritoneal Infections
  3. Contagious Equine Metritis
  4. Cestodes

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Jun 8, 2016 | Posted by in EQUINE MEDICINE | Comments Off on Recognition of Foreign Animal Diseases

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