G/SPS/GEN/2024   
24 May 2022  
(22-3999) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL  ORGANIZATION  
FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA)  RELATING TO THE  
WTO AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY  
AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
MARCH TO MAY 2022  
The following communication, received on 23 May 2022, is being circulated at the request of OIRSA.  
 
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1  TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES RELATING 
TO AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND T RADE  
1.1.  In the context of the African swine fever (ASF) emergency in the Dominican Republic, OIRSA 
carried out training activities on "health intervention exercises in response to the emergence of the 
ASF virus" in Panama and a national ASF simulation  exercis e in Nicaragua. In partnership with the 
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the University of San Carlos in 
Guatemala, OIRSA delivered a regional simulation workshop on the basics of early detection and 
reliable diagnosis of A SF. Farmers  in the Dominican Republic received training on biosecurity 
measures to prevent ASF outbreaks on pig farms.  
1.2.  In response to the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the United States 
and Mexico, OIRSA issued regional alerts, wi th recommendations to prevent the disease from 
spreading to other member states. It also convened the Regional Technical Commission on Poultry 
Health (CTRSA) to recommend measures in response to the outbreak.  
1.3.  A presentation was delivered to 150 farmers and 30 veterinary surgeons based in Guatemala 
on the work carried out by OIRSA and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) under 
the programme to control brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis. Attend ees were also informed what 
they were required to submit to the World Organi sation for Animal Health (OIE) and how Guatemala 
could achieve the status of having a negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).  
1.4.  The first simulation exercise on ca re for animals in natural disasters targeted residents of a 
community in Guatemala and 25 veterinary surgeons from the Animal Welfare Unit at the 
Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture.  
1.5.  At the Regional Seminar for OIE Focal Points for Aquatic Animals, OIRSA pr esented its work on 
aquatic animal health.  
1.6.  Working with officials from MAGA and the International Cooperation and Development Fund of 
Chinese Taipei, OIRSA provided 90 banana growers in Guatemala who also grow coffee with training 
on integrated pest manage ment, biosecurity measures for Musaceae cultivation and the recognition 
of symptoms of Fusarium oxysporum  f. sp. cubense  tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) and other diseases.  
1.7.  To mark the International Day of Plant Health, OIRSA organized a day of activities to pro mote 
phytosanitary programmes that are important to the region. In Honduras, OIRSA delivered a 
presentation to students and teachers on the importance of plant health and agricultural quarantine 
for the production of healthy, environmentally friendly food.  G/SPS/GEN/2024  
 
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  1.8.  Staff at the International Quarantine Treatment Service (SITC), the Service for Agricultural 
Protection (SEPA) and the MOSCAMED Programme of OIRSA in Honduras were certified in the 
application of  quarantine treatment that is compliant with Australian fumigation regulations.  
1.9.  To strengthen quarantine inspections, OIRSA enrolled its own officials and officials from the 
region’s ministries and secretariats of agriculture in the Central American Master's Programme on 
Entomology, in Panama City, t o allow them to specialize in entomology.  
1.10.  In El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, staff were hired and trained in canine 
management and control to strengthen quarantine inspection services.  
1.11.  Official MAGA staff, private -sector staff and academics in Guat emala received training on 
inspections at cattle slaughterhouses and processing plants; ante - and post -mortem procedures ; 
sampling; and pre -shipment official verification based on United States law and on the regulations 
of the Animal and Plant Health Insp ection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).  
1.12.  OIRSA supported Nicaragua's Institute for Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA) in 
implementing controls on the movement of offal and bovine and swine products not for human 
consumption. This support will give the Institute the necessary tools to better monitor disease, 
namely BSE and ASF.  
2  SUPPORT FOR THE HARMONIZATION AND EQUIVALENCE PROCESS  
2.1.  During the second phase of the regional project for the accreditation of animal healt h laboratory 
diagnostic tests (STDF/PG/495), two of the 14 laboratory tests considered were approved.  
3  PREVENTION, CONTROL AND ERADICATION ACTIVITIES (PROGRAMMES OR 
CAMPAIGNS)  
3.1.  In the Dominican Republic, OIRSA supported the ASF Incident Command System (SCI) set up 
by the Ministry of Agriculture by hiring staff for a national pig census, renting the premises used to 
operate the SCI, acquiring computer equipment, strengthening the operating capacity of disinfection 
teams for active focal points and perifocal po ints, and acquiring inputs and materials for sampling in 
the field. In cooperation with USDA/APHIS, OIRSA improved biosecurity at the Central Veterinary 
Laboratory (LAVECEN).  
3.2.  Under the agreement between OIRSA and the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, bra in samples 
from rabies -infected animals (bovine, equine, canine and feline animals and mongooses) were sent 
to the university’s laboratory so that a phylogenetic classification of the rabies virus in Central 
America could be carried out, which will allow t he development of better programmes to control the 
disease.  
3.3.  With the support of the International Cooperation and Development Fund  of Chinese Taipei , 
OIRSA used satellite imagery to obtain spectral reflectance signature data that can be used for the 
early remote detection of Foc TR4 and other banana diseases in Guatemala. In Panama, Foc TR4 
diagnostic kits were delivered to the Phytosanitary Diagnostic Laboratory of the Ministry of 
Agricultural Development’s National Directorate of Plant Health. In Honduras , OIRSA, the National 
Agricultural Health Service (SENASA) and the International Cooperation and Development Fund of 
Chinese Taipei carried out inspections at an established point used to acquire satellite imagery to 
obtain spectral reflectance signature d ata. 
3.4.  Countries in the region have dogs that can detect the scent of the giant African snail, thus 
supporting non -intrusive quarantine inspections.  
3.5.  OIRSA coordinated a meeting with MAGA  and the Guatemalan Pig Farmer's Association 
(ASOGUA) to define a work s trategy to implement swine traceability and to control animal 
movements in response to the regional alert for African swine fever.  G/SPS/GEN/2024  
 
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  4  STRENGTHENING NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO FACILITATE TRADE  
4.1.  To facilitate exports between Mexico and Guatemala, a meeting was hel d between the two 
countries to revise the protocols for Mexican imports of Guatemalan bovine animals. Also, as part of 
the marketing process, OIRSA visited the inspection pen and lairage facilities in the 
Mexico -Guatemala border area.  
4.2.  OIRSA validated the f ood-safety module linked to the Trazar -Agro system, which improved the 
processes for inspecting and registering establishments and inspecting products and processes 
related to trade in the agri -food sector.  
4.3.  To support the Panamanian Aquatic Resources Autho rity, OIRSA incorporated the movement 
of domestic and international fishery products into the Trazar -Agro system, covering everything from 
the catch (fishing logbook) and the movement of the fish to the import and export processes. This 
will facilitate Pan amanian trade with the European Union.  
5  STRATEGIC ALLIANCES TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND TRADE  
5.1.  The FAO -OIRSA agreement, "Animal health emergency preparedness and management 
systems and management of complaints and notification to improve early detection of animal 
diseases, with special emphasis on ASF in the Dominican Republic", was signed.  
5.2.  An agreement was signed between USDA/APHIS and OIRSA to support the control and 
eradication of ASF in the Dominican Republic, with three specific action plans: one on active 
surveillance in the field, one on the strengthening of quarantine areas, and one on the strengthening 
of the diagnosis area of the Central Veterinary Laboratory (LAVECEN) of the Dominican Republic.  
5.3.  An inter -agency cooperation agreement was signed between the Latin American and Caribbean 
Economic System and OIRSA that will allow the development of regional phytosanitary programmes.  
5.4.  In Honduras, OIRSA presented the Foc TR4 prevention project and shared the experience of 
Colombia and Chinese Taipei in containing the disease and the work of canine units at ports, airports 
and borders.  
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