G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
3 March 2023 
(23-1462) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English/French/Spanish  
 
  
85TH MEETING OF THE SPS COMMITTEE  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE WORLD ORGANISATION FOR ANIMAL HEALTH ( WOAH ) 
The following communication, received on 28 February  2023, is being circulated at the request of 
the WOAH . 
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The World Organisation for Animal Health ( WOAH  founded as  OIE) is pleased to provide this report 
for the information of WTO Members attending the 85th meeting of the SPS Committee.  
The rep ort summarises key activities in WOAH 's standard -setting work programme, animal health 
information, capacity building activities and other relevant topics.  
1  90TH GENERAL SESSION  
1.1.  The 90th Annual General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates of the World Organisation 
for Animal Health will take place from Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 May 2023 in Paris, and will include 
the adoption of administrative and technical resolutions as well as elections for vacancies in some 
of the governing bodies of the Organi sation. The provisional programme will be available on the 
WOAH website in March 2023. With exception of the administrative session reserved to elections, 
all daily sessions of the General Session will be webcasted live via the WOAH website.  
1.2.  The 90th Gener al Session will include an Animal Health Forum focused on avian influenza. 
This innovative Forum will provide a unique opportunity for Delegates and partners of the 
Organisation present at the General Session to discuss in depth this disease which has seri ously 
impacted many members . 
1.3.  In addition, side events and exhibition stands will take place before and after the daily plenary 
sessions. These activities will allow delegations to interact with experts on a number of specific 
initiatives relevant to WOAH a nd its missions.  
1.4.  As has been done in recent years , Pre-General Session Information Webinars will be held in 
virtual mode to provide an opportunity for the Presidents of the four Specialist Commissions to share 
information with members on the standards to be presented for adoption at the 90th General Sessi on. 
They will take place on 18 April 2023 for the Biological Standards Commission, the 19 April 2023 for 
the Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (Code Commission) with support of the 
Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (Scientific Commissi on) and the 20 April 2023 for the 
Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission (Aquatic Animals Commission). Each webinar will be 
conducted with simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish and will be recorded and 
uploaded on the WOAH website.  
2  WOAH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC ANIMALS  
2.1.  The four Specialist Commissions met virtually during February 2023 to continue work to review 
existing, and develop new, WOAH international standards in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, t he 
Aquatic Animal Health Code, the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals and 
the Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals, along with other activities relevant to each 
Commission 's terms of reference.  G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
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  2.2.  Starting from February 2023, the distribution of the meeting reports of the Code Commission, 
the Aquatic Animals Commission and the Biological Standards Commission will return to a single 
report that provides information about the new and revised texts that will be proposed for adoption 
at the 90th General Session and information about other topics discussed at Commissions ' 
February  2023 meetings including texts circulated for comment and other information. The report 
of the Scientific Commission will be published as one report w hich is unchanged from past years.  
2.3.  In addition, starting from March 2023, the reports of these four Commission meetings will only 
be published as an official report which will be uploaded onto the Delegates only website and the 
WOAH public website simultan eously for each language (English, French and Spanish) once finalised.  
2.4.  The links to the February 2023 reports, once available, are provided below:  
− Biological Standards Commission , February 2023 meeting report  
− Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases , February 2023 meeting report  
− Aquatic Animal Health Standards Co mmission , February 2023 meeting report  
− Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission , February 2023 meeting report  
2.5.  The WOAH  would like to highli ght to the Committee the following work undertaken during the 
February meetings:  
− Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) . The Code Commission) in collaboration with 
the Scientific Commission, together with the recommendations from several WOAH ad hoc 
Group s, has undertaken an in -depth review of Chapter 11.4. Bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy of the Terrestrial Code. Amendments include updated provisions on the 
categorisation of official BSE risk status as well as revised provisions on BSE risk assessment 
and surveillance. The revised chapter was circulated for comments in the Code Commission 
September 2022 report and will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Session in 
May 2023.  
− Foot and mouth disease . The Code Commission, in collaboration with the Sc ientific 
Commission, progressed the revision of Chapter 8.8. Infection with foot and mouth disease 
virus of the Terrestrial Code. The revised chapter addresses several long -standing issues 
and was circulated for comments in the Code Commission September 20 22 report. 
The revised chapter will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Session in May 2023.  
− Rabies . The Code Commission, in collaboration with the Scientific Commission, revised 
Chapter 8.14. Infection with rabies virus of the Terrestrial Code, t o address 
recommendations for the provisions for vaccination, testing and the shipment of animals. 
The proposed amendments were circulated for comments in the Code Commission 's 
September 2022 report and will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Ses sion in 
May 2023. The corresponding Chapter 3.1.18. Rabies (infection with rabies virus and other 
lyssaviruses) of the Terrestrial Manual was also circulated for comments in the Biological 
Standards Commission September 2022 report and will be proposed for  adoption at the 
90th General Session in May 2023.  
− Rift Valley fever . The Code Commission, in collaboration with the Scientific Commission, 
revised Chapter 8.15. Infection with Rift Valley fever virus of the Terrestrial Code to clarify 
the obligations of members to notify when there is an epidemic of the disease in an ende mic 
country or zone and addresses some other issues. The revised chapter was circulated for 
member comments in the Code Commission September 2022 report and will be proposed 
for adoption at the 90th General Session in May 2023. The corresponding Chapter 3. 1.19. 
Rift Valley fever (infection with Rift Valley fever virus) of the Terrestrial Manual was also 
circulated for comments in the Biological Standards Commission September 2022 report and 
will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Session in May 20 23. 
− Equine diseases . The Code Commission, in collaboration with the Scientific Commission 
and the Biological Standards Commission, revised Chapters 12.2. Contagious equine 
metritis, 12.6. Infection with equine influenza virus and 12.7. Equine piroplasmosis  of the 
Terrestrial Code. The revised chapters were circulated for comments in the Code Commission 
September 2022 report and will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Session in 
May 2023.  
− Responsible and prudent use of antimicrobial agents in veter inary medicine . 
The Code Commission considered comments received on the revised Chapter 6.10 
Responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials agents in veterinary medicine circulated in its G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
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  September 2022 report and agreed to request the Working Group on AMR to review these 
comments and amend the draft text, as appropriate.  
− Section 5 Trade measures, import/export procedures and veterinary certification . 
The Code Commission had agreed to revise Chapters 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7 of the Terrestrial 
Code to update re commendations to address the key steps in the process of international 
trade, including measures at origin, in transit, and on arrival, given that these chapters have 
not updated for many years. At its February 2023 meeting, the Commission considered the 
report of the ad hoc Group that had been convened to commence this work and requested 
that it be reconvened to continue its work and report back to the Commission at 
its September 2023 meeting.  
− New chapter on biosecurity . The Code Commission had agreed to d evelop a new chapter 
on biosecurity for Section 4 of the Terrestrial Code and requested that an ad hoc Group be 
convened to draft a new chapter. At its February 2023 meeting, the Commission considered 
the report of the ad hoc Group that had been convened t o commence this work and 
requested that it be reconvened to continue its work and report back to the Commission at 
its September 2023 meeting.  
− Assessment of susceptible species to infection with a WOAH listed aquatic animal 
disease . The Aquatic Animals Com mission continued its work to review the susceptible 
species for WOAH listed aquatic animal diseases by applying the criteria for susceptibility in 
accordance with Chapter 1.5. of the Aquatic Code. The Commission will propose a revised 
list of susceptible species for Article 11.4.2 Infection with Marteilia refringens for adoption 
at the 90th General Session in May 2023.  
− Safe Commodity assessments for WOAH listed aquatic animal diseases . The Aquatic 
Animals Commission continued its work to update Articles X. X.3. of disease -specific chapters 
in the Aquatic Code regarding inactivation time/temperatures. The Commission reviewed the 
updated assessments and circulated the revised Articles X.X.3. for Sections 8, 9, 10 and 11 
that had to be revised to reflect new th ermal stability evidence.  
− Aquatic Animals Commission work plan . The Aquatic Animals Commission continued to 
work on the development of four new chapters for the Aquatic Code: Chapter 4.X. 
Emergency disease preparedness, Chapter 4.Y. Disease outbreak manage ment, 
Chapter  5.X. Trade in ornamental aquatic animals and 5.Y. Trade in genetic materials; 
as well as the revision of Chapter 4.3. Application of Compartmentalisation.  
− Aquatic Manual . The Aquatic Animals Commission continued its work to update and 
reforma t the disease -specific chapters of the Aquatic Manual to ensure the most current 
guidance is provided to members . The Commission circulated ten revised crustacean 
disease -specific chapters and two revised fish disease -specific chapters in its February 2023  
report that will be proposed for adoption at the 90th General Session in May 2023.  
− Terrestrial Manual . The Biological Standards Commission continued its work to ensure that 
the Terrestrial Manual is as up -to-date and relevant as possible in the face of im portant 
outbreaks of terrestrial animal diseases worldwide. The Commission circulated 15 updated 
disease chapters in its February 2023 report that will be proposed for adoption at the 
90th General Session in May 2023, including the following that included significant 
amendments to Chapter 1.1.6. Principles and methods of validation of diagnostic assays for 
infectious diseases, Chapter 3.2.1. European foulbrood of honey bees (infection of honey 
bees with Melissococcus plutonius) and Chapter 3.9.7 Influenza A  virus of swine.  
3  PROVISION OF SCIENTIFIC ADVICE TO THE WOAH AND ITS MEMBER COUNTRIES  
3.1.  The Director General establishes ad hoc Groups to provide specific technical and scientific 
advice required to support the work of the WOAH and the WOAH Specialist Commissions. 
WOAH  publishes information on its website providing the dates and terms of reference of proposed 
ad hoc Groups as well as reports once these have been validated and considered by the relevant 
Specialist Commissions. This information  is available on the WOAH website at: ad hoc Groups 
information . 
3.2.  Two permanent WOAH Working Groups, Wildlife and AMR, also provide specific technical and 
scientific advice required to support the work of WOAH and the WOAH Specialist Commissions. 
Information and report of these Working Groups is available on the WOAH website at: Working 
Groups & Reports: WOAH  - World Organisation for Animal Health . G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
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  4  SELF -DECLARED DISEASE STATUS  
4.1.  In accordance with the provisions of the Terrestrial Code or the Aquatic Code, WOAH members 
may wish to self -declare the freedom of their country, zone or compartment from an WOAH  listed 
disease. A member wishing to publish its self -declaration for disease -freedom, should provide the 
relevant documented evidence of compliance with the provisions of the relevant cha pters of the 
Codes. WOAH screens any applications and considers them for publication in accordance with its 
Standard Operating Procedure . 
4.2.  All published self -declarations are available on the WOAH website at: Self-declared Disease 
Status - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health . 
5  OFFICIAL WOAH RECOGNITION OF ANIMAL HEALTH STATUS AND CONTROL 
PROGRAMMES OF MEMBERS  
5.1.  WOAH members can apply to be granted official recognition of animal health status for foot 
and mouth disease (FMD), African horse sickness (AHS), classical swine fever (CSF), 
contagious  bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), peste des  petits ruminants (PPR) and bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk status as well as the endorsement of official control 
programmes for CBPP, FMD, PPR and dog -mediated rabies.  
5.2.  The full list of countries and their recognised status for AHS, BSE, CBPP, CSF, FMD, and PPR 
can be accessed  on the WOAH website.  
6  GLOBAL INITIATIVE FOR THE GLOBAL CONTROL OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER  
6.1.  WOAH, in collaboration with FAO under the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of 
Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF -TADs) launched a joint initiative for the Global C ontrol of African 
Swine Fever (ASF GI) aimed at bringing stakeholders from multiple sectors together to improve 
coordination and galvanise the sustained effort and political will needed for the global control of ASF. 
WOAH is also in the process of implemen ting a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure 
the progress of the ASF GI.  
6.2.  Important activities under the ASF GI include ongoing meetings of the regional Standing Group 
of Experts (SGE) in Africa , Europe  and the Americas  to enhance regional coordination of ASF control 
activities. WOAH is also working with its partners to facilitate the development of international 
guidelines for the development and manu facture of safe and effective ASF vaccines, and to support 
the establishment of a genomic platform to share information on the genetics of circulating epidemic 
strains of ASFv.  
7  ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR)  
7.1.  The eighth round of data collection for ANIMUSE , the WOAH database on antimicrobials 
intended for use in animals, closed in January 2023. Data analysis is ongoing, in parallel to the 
preparation of the seventh annual report on the use of antimi crobials intended for use in animals, 
expected to be published by April 2023.  
7.2.  Two new ad hoc Groups have been established to work on the development of the Technical 
Reference Documents listing antimicrobials of veterinary importance for bovine animals, an d cats 
and dogs. The species -specific technical reference documents – together with the recently created 
technical reference documents for poultry, swine and aquatic animals - will help to inform the 
upcoming revision of WOAH 's List of Antimicrobials of Vet erinary Importance. The WOAH List should 
be used to inform the development and update of national responsible use guidelines, and support 
risk assessment and risk management to minimize and contain AMR.  
7.3.  A second pilot phase for the establishment of a globa l alert system on substandard and falsified 
veterinary products started in January 2023. It is intended to collect data from 40 countries, which 
will be used to determine the requirements for an online customised system that can be deployed 
at the global l evel. G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
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  8  EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT  
8.1.  WOAH has been working jointly with INTERPOL and FAO to build national, regional, and 
international capacity in emergency management against all hazards. Initial findings have found that 
many countries do not have access to adequa te resources to implement emergency response plans; 
in many countries, cross government emergency management mechanisms do not include 
Veterinary Services; what is considered an emergency varies between countries depending on its 
level of development, live stock industry structure and if any export markets. The next phase of this 
project will include the development of an incident management system for WOAH members . 
WOAH  will also be launching a targeted initiative to support countries in Africa to build cap acity for 
emergency management.  
8.2.  WOAH has launched a project 'Fortifying institutional resilience against biological threats ' that 
will include the development of an Incident Management System for WOAH to improve its ability to 
respond to emergencies. This project has been developed in response to recommendations of the 
WOAH After Action Reviews carried out in its response to the pandemic.  
8.3.  WOAH, together with INTERPOL and FAO are convening a Global Conference on Emergency 
Management from 3 -5 April 2023, in P aris, France. All information is available at 
https://www.woah.org/en/event/global -conference -on-emergency -management/ . 
9  MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF WOAH INTERNATIONAL  STANDARDS – WOAH 
OBSERVATORY  
9.1.  The WOAH Observatory is delighted to announce that the first Annual report of the WOAH 
Observa tory was published in January 2023.  
9.2.  The report provides insights into the implementation of a range of WOAH standards and 
includes more than 100 indicators grouped into twelve sections. Each section focuses on a different 
topic and area of interest. One se ction is dedicate d to WTO notifications, disputes and regionalisation 
relevant to WOAH standards.  
9.3.  Findings presented in the report outline for the first time a global perspective of members' 
implementation of standards. The report raises awareness of some of the current gaps in their 
implementation and suggests how they could be filled by improving practices at the national level. 
Attention is also raised regarding the importance of submitting quality data and information.  
9.4.  In addition to the main report, ea ch section of the WOAH Observatory Annual Report is 
accompanied by:  
a. Interactive dashboards that provide an array of options for dynamic information analysis for 
a desired region, disease, group of diseases or time period. The figures presented in the 
body of the report are static snapshots of these dashboards that use examples to illustrate 
specific ideas or indicators. Therefore, it is recommended to use the dashboards to access 
all available information; and  
b. Executive summaries for each section/topic that presents infographics of the main findings.  
9.5.  The 2023 Annual Report will build on the work carried out in the 2022 report as well as feedback 
and lessons learned from the first report. It is expected to be published in January 2024.  
9.6.  The O bservatory is also working on the development of at least one thematic study in the 
course of 2023. As opposed to the annual report, where a broad overview of the implementation of 
WOAH standards is carried out, the thematic studies will dwell on a specifi c subject. The Observatory 
has already identified and prioritised topics for which deep and focused analysis will be conducted 
this year. This will start with the implementation of the standards related to regionalisation (Zoning 
and compartmentalisation) and their recognition by international trade partners.  G/SPS/GEN/2106  
 
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  10  THE PERFORMANCE OF VETERINARY SERVICES PATHWAY (PVS PATHWAY) FOR THE 
SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL VETERINARY SERVICES  
10.1.  WOAH continued the development of the technical specifications for the PVS Pathway  
Information System, and created a PVS Pathway portal that includes: a document repository, 
a search tool, and a login -interface for various accessibility levels. Data dashboards and insight on 
the PVS Pathway Programme are under development and will be published to the WOAH website in 
2023.  
10.2.  WOAH continues to implement missions at the request of WOAH members including:  
− PVS Evaluation Follow -up missions ; 
− PVS Targeted Support missions, including WHO IHR -PVS National Bridging Workshops; 
Veterinary Legislation Support Programme missions; PVS Sustainable Laboratories Missions; 
Veterinary Workforce Development Worksho ps, and Public -Private Partnerships workshops.  
11  WOAH TRAINING PLATFORM: VETERINARY SERVICES COMPETENCIES FOR TRADE  
11.1.  As part of the WOAH Competency -based Training Framework , a call for te nder was launched 
in December 2022 for the development of 11 modules in the specific trade areas of national and 
international regulatory framework, animal health status and regionalisation, export and import 
measures and control and import risk analysis. Once completed, they will be available on the 
WOAH  Training Portal and accessible for free and members will be invited to include them in their 
national workforce training plans. These modules will also represent a resource to fill the competency 
gaps identified by the PVS evaluation missions.  
11.2.  In parallel with the implementation of the Training Framework, WOAH is also developing the 
basis of its training system, including learning needs ' assessment methods, which will include 
in-depth analysis of the data and information produced by the Organisation and its members , and 
elaborated by the Observatory and the  PVS Information System (under development). The learning 
needs ' analyses and the eLearning modules will also complement regional training programmes on 
trade.  
 
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