G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
22 June 201 7 
(17-3344) Page:  1/6 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English/French/Spanish  
 
69TH MEETING OF THE SPS C OMMITTEE  
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE WORLD ORGANISATIO N FOR ANIMAL HEALTH (OIE)  
The following communication, received on 20 June 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
OIE. 
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The World Organisation for Animal He alth (OIE) is pleased to provide this report for  the 
information  of WTO Members attending the 6 9th meeting of the SPS Committee.  
1  85TH GENERAL SESSION  
1.1.  On 21-25 May 201 7 the OIE held its 8 5th General Session. This is the annual event for OIE 
members to exami ne and adopt new intergovernmental standards and guidelines aimed at 
preserving and improving animal health and welfare t hroughout the world. Around 
900 participants, representing the National Delegates of 180 member countries, numerous 
scientists, and obs ervers from some 43  international, intergovernmental, regional and national 
organisations took part in this event. The Final Report of the 8 5th General Session is available on 
the OIE website ( http://www.oie.int/en/about -us/final -reports -of-the-general -session -of-the-oie-
international -committee/ ). 
1.2.  In addition, the World Assembly of Delegates (Assembly) welcomed the 181st member 
country to  join the OIE, Curacao.  
1.1  Standard setting activities at the 8 5th General Session  
1.3.  The OIE Delegates adopted updated texts in its normative publications, including the Users ' 
Guide, Glossary and fif teen new or revised chapters in the Terrestrial Animal Health  Code 
(Terrestrial Code ) and the Glossary and six teen new or revised chapters in the Aquatic Animal 
Health Code  (Aquatic Code ). 
1.4.  In addition to the adoption of new and revised chapters, some Glossary definitions were 
amended in the two Codes  to ensure consi stency and clarify any ambiguity.  
1.5.  Issues relevant to th e SPS  Committee include:  
1.1.1   Terrestrial Animal Health Code  
1.6.  Several chapters on various animal diseases were revised, as were some of the generic 
chapters including those relating to animal welfare.  
 The ch apter on infection with lumpy skin disease was updated and comprehensively 
revised to reflect the current disease outbreak situations and provide the appropriate risk 
management options. In addition, a major review of the chapter on African swine fever 
has been made.  
 Two new chapters on the prevention and control of Salmonella in bovine and pig 
production systems were developed in order to provide guidance to reduce the burden of 
disease in these species, and the risk of human illness through foodborne cont amination, G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
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  as well as from direct or indirect contact with infected animals. These chapters together 
with those recently adopted by Codex ensure an integrated food chain approach t o the 
control of this pathogen.  
 Tuberculosis: A new chapter on infection wit h Mycobacterium  tuberculosis complex was 
developed by merging two existing chapters on bovine tuberculosis and on bovine 
tuberculosis of farmed cervidae into a single multispecies chapter including 
M. tuberculosis to manage the human and animal health risk s associated with the 
disease.  
1.1.2   Aquatic Animal Health  
1.7.  Amendments were made to a number of the chapters in the Aquatic Code  and Aquatic 
Manual . Some notable amendments included: Amendments to the list of susceptible species in 
seven of the disease -specific c rustacean chapters. These changes are part of ongoing work to 
apply the criteria for listing a species as susceptible to infection wi th a specific pathogen 
(Chapter  1.5.) to all OIE listed diseases ensuring that the susceptible species listed have been 
assessed in light of the most recent scientific information. This knowledge contributes to 
facilitating safe international trade. Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), listed in 
2015, now has a specific chapter in both the Aquatic Code  and Manual . 
1.8.  A new disease affecting amphibians, Batrachochytrium  salamandrivorans, was added to the 
OIE list of aquatic animal diseases, which now totals 28. This disease, originally from South -East 
Asia, was recently introduced to Europe as a result of international trade in salamanders and has 
caused serious declines in salamander and newt populations.  
1.9.  The online versions of the 26th edition (2017) of the Terrestrial Code  and the 20th edition 
(2017) of the Aquatic Code  will soon be available and can be accessed from the OIE public web 
site at: http://www.oie.int/en/international -standard -setting/terrestrial -code/access -online/  and 
http://www.oie.int/en/international -standard -setting/aquatic -code/access -online/  respectively.  
1.2  OIE Global Strategy on Animal Welfare  
1.10.   The mandate of the OIE includes the improvement of terrestrial  and aquatic animal health 
and welfare worldwide, health being a key component of animal welfare. The first OIE Global 
Strategy on Animal Welfare was adopted by the 85th General Session. Built on experiences and 
outcomes of regional animal welfare strategi es and platforms already implemented across the 
world, it aims to provide continuing direction and coordination of OIE's actions to achieve 
sustai ned improvements in this field.  
http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/home/eng/Media_Center/docs/pdf/85SG/AW/EN_OIE_AW_Strategy.p
df 
1.11.   To support the implementation of the strategy and to provide the opportunity for 
stakeholder engagement on new and emerging issues in r elation to animal welfare and the 
implementation of animal welfare standards the Director General will establish the OIE Global 
Animal Welfare Forum that is proposed to meet in the first quarter of 2018.  
1.3  Review of the mandates of permanent working groups o n animal welfare and animal 
production food safety  
1.12.   The OIE Council, as part of its work to ensure the OIE's roadmap is in line with the 
6th Strategic Plan, reviewed the mandate of the Animal Welfare and Animal Production Food Safety 
Working Groups. The Cou ncil considered that the OIE's work in animal welfare and animal 
production food safety is now integrated into the work of the OIE and therefore proposed that the 
mandate for these Working Groups not be renewed. The Assembly unanimously adopted 
Resolution Nos. 32 and 33 to disband these two Working Groups: http://www.oie.int/en/about -
us/key -texts/resolutions -and-recommendations/resolutions -adopted -by-the-oie-international -
committee/  
1.13.   This decision in no way indicates a lesser commitment by the OIE to these important areas 
of work which the OIE will continue to address. In particular, in relation to Animal Production  Food 
Safety the collaboration with Codex will continue under the Tripartite agreement with FAO and G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
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  WHO where strategic issues relevant to animal production food safety would be addressed, 
through the ongoing work of the Code Commission, and the OIE contin uing to actively engage in 
Codex fora in relation to the development of standards related to animal production food safety.  
1.14.   In regards to animal welfare, the work will continue to be supported through the 
establishment of the Global Animal Welfare Forum an d the convening of ad hoc Groups to address 
specific issues and present new and revised Chapters to the Code and Aquatic Commissions for 
their consideration.  
1.4  Official OIE recognition of disease status and control programmes of member 
countries  
1.15.   OIE member c ountries can apply to be included in the list of countries with an officially 
recognised status with regard to the following six priority diseases: bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth disease (FMD), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia 
(CBPP), African horse sickness  (AHS) , peste des petits ruminants (PPR) a nd classical swine fever 
(CSF).  
1.16.   At the 8 5th General Session, a number of new countries or zones of countries obtained 
official recognition of their status:  
 Two new countries (Paraguay and  Romania) and a zone of Colombia were recognised as 
"free from CSF " in Europe, and the Americas ; 
 Botswana was recognised as "free from PPR "; 
 No new countries were recognised as "free from AHS "; 
 One new countr y, Poland  in Europe, w as recognised as having a "negligible BSE risk "; 
and two zones  (Scotland and Northern Ireland) within the United Kingdom were 
recognised as having "negligible BSE risk "; 
 Two new countries (Brazil and South Africa)  were recognised as "free from CBPP " in the 
America s, and Africa ; 
 One country  (Paraguay) was recognised as "FMD free where vaccination is practiced " in 
the Americas ; 
 One new zone was recognised as a "FMD free zones where vaccination is not practiced"; 
in Botswana;  
 Six new zones were recognised as "FMD free zones where vacci nation is practiced"; 
one in Chinese Taipei and five in Kazakhstan.  
1.17.   Member countries can also apply for official OIE endorsement of their national control 
programme for FMD, PPR and CBPP. This year the OIE did not endorsed any additional official 
control p rogrammes.  
1.18.   In total, 17 national applications for official recognition of a given status were adopted by 
the Assembly . 
1.19.   The full list of countries and their recognised disease status for AHS, BSE, CBPP, CSF, FMD, 
and PPR can be accessed online http://www.oie.int/en/animal -health -in-the-world/official -disease -
status/ . 
1.5  Global animal health situation  
1.20.   The General Session also serves as an opportunity for member countries to discuss their 
national concerns and share information about the global animal health situation, including 
zoonoses. Particular attention was paid to various diseases, including:  
 The global epizootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza in birds with a sp ecial focus on 
H5N8, for which countries must continue their surveillance efforts, both in domesticated 
birds and in wild birds;  G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
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   Lumpy skin disease, as a vector -borne diseases with an important impact in term of 
spread especi ally in Europe in 2016 and 2017 ; 
 Infection with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPR), that had gradually spread out of 
the traditionally affected areas during the last 12 years. The analysis demonstrated that 
regulated international trade in live small ruminants has played a less impo rtant role than 
unregulated trade in the spread of the dise ase to newly affected countries;  
 Infection with rabies virus, that showed strong regional differences concerning the 
occurrence and impact of the disease in humans and animals in the last 12 years.  
An improvement of the global situation of rabies in dogs was observed, largely due to the 
eradication programmes i mplemented by several countries;  
 Foot and mouth disease, that showed also very different regional epidemiological 
situations, with some regio ns having eradicated the disease while other areas having 
experienced a stabilisation or deterioration of their situation. There were still challenges 
in characterisation of circulating FMD viruses, important for implementation of 
appropriate disease preve ntive and control measures;  
 The introduction of the OIE 's new e -learning platform on the World Animal Health 
Information System (WAHIS), for focal points was announced. The main objective of the 
platform is to provide OIE Focal Points with an easy access t o updated training material 
on WAHIS and to facilitate the process of notification.  
1.6  Discussion about the threat of antimicrobial resistance: progress and opportunities 
for future activities under the 'One Health'  initiative  
1.21.   The OIE is actively working on t he topic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and has 
developed a coherent strategy for its activities in this field. As AMR is both an animal health and 
human health issue, the OIE works closely with its member countries , the WHO, the FAO and the 
Codex Alime ntarius Commission. One of the Techni cal Items this year was titled " global action to 
alleviate the threat of antimicrobial resistance: progress and opportunities for future activities 
under the 'one health' initiative ". Noting the need to introduce new re commendations rather than 
repeat past work, the Assembly adopted a resolution endorsing eleven recommendations for future 
activities under the 'One Health' initiative. These activities include but are not limited to:  
 OIE member countries fulfilling their c ommitment to apply OIE standards and guidelines. 
In particular those on responsible and prudent use of antimicrobial agents, which include 
specific recommendations on antimicrobials of critical importance, and the phasing out of 
the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in the absence of risk analysis;  
 Continue efforts to collect data on the use of antimicrobial agents in animals;  
 Interaction at the national level between OIE and Codex Alimentarius delegates to ensure 
sustainable collaboration and coordin ation on the development of international standards;  
 Continued collaboration between the Tripartite partners to implement its work 
programme according to the four objectives of the OIE Strategy on Antimicrobial 
Resistance and the Prudent Use of Antimicrobi als; 
 Strengthening teaching on the risks related to AMR and measures to be taken to control 
AMR in the core training curriculum for veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals;  
 Continue to organise training for National Focal Points for Veterinary Produ cts; 
 Complement the specific standards and recommendations on laboratory methodologies 
for antimicrobial susceptibility testing to determine bacterial resistance and interpret the 
test results in the context of AMR;  
 That the OIE put in place tools to monit or the actions undertaken to implement its 
strategy on AMR, while taking into account the evaluations developed in collaboration 
with its Tripartite partners and the future work of the UN interagency group.  
1.7  Discussion about public -private partnerships  
1.22.   The second Technical Item was called 'Expectations of private sector partners for 
international animal health and livestock sector development programmes and the implications for G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
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  the OIE'. The presentation highlighted that the roles and responsibilities of Vet erinary Services is 
continuing to expand, triggered by multiple global trends, including: the increased demand for 
animal protein, the (re -) emergence of zoonotic pathogens and public health risks such as 
antimicrobial resistance. It further highlighted th at the United Nations' Sustainable Development 
Goals provide an opportunity for Veterinary Services to contribute significantly to the achievement 
of these goals. Together these pressures exert an unprecedented responsibility on the veterinary 
profession t o ensure a safer and healthier global community. Hindered by the scarcity of resources 
and capacities within the public or private spheres of Veterinary Services, the discussion 
acknowledged that Public -Private Partnerships offer a tangible and timely solu tion to address this 
complex environment and fulfil societal demands. The Assembly adopted a resolution endorsing 
eight recommendations for future initiatives related to promotion of Public -Private Partnerships. In 
particular, the emphasis is put on the ne ed for countries to promote, develop and implement 
policies and legislation to incentivise sustainable collaborations with the private sector to improve 
animal health and the livestock sector development.  
1.23.   The Resolutions of the 85th General Session are ava ilable on the OIE website 
http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/About_us/docs/pdf/Session/2017/A_RESO_2017_Public.p
df. 
1.8  OIE scientific network  
1.24.   The w orldwide scientific network of the OIE has grown considerably, with new Reference 
Laboratories and Collaborating Centres approved by the Assembly, bringing the number of official 
OIE Centres of scientific excellence to more than 320, spread among nearly 50  countries on five 
continents.  
1.25.   Sharing of information among these various institutes has proved vital to our achievements 
in animal health and disease control throughout the world. The updated lists of Reference 
Laboratories and Collaborating Centres are a t http://www.oie.int/en/our -scientific -
expertise/reference -laboratories/list -of-laboratories/  and http://www.oie.int/en/our -scientific -
expertise/collaborating -centres/list -of-centres/  respectively.  
2  CAPACITY BUILDING AC TIVITIES  
2.1  OIE PVS Pathway  
2.1.  At the occasion of the 85th General Session of the Assemb ly, celebrated the 10th Anniversary 
of the PVS Pathway. The PVS Pathway has demonstrated its major global impact on strengthening 
national animal health systems in areas as diverse as resourcing, governance structures and 
national coordination, or intersec toral collaboration. It has allowed worldwide improvements 
regarding animal and veterinary public health surveillance, disease control, emergency response, 
food safety, and animal welfare.  
2.2.  The ten year mark gives occasion to pause, to reflect and to set di rections for the future. 
After the experience of approximately 350 PVS Pathway missions, the major challenges to PVS 
Pathway success are well understood. Along with this awareness, a PVS Think Tank Forum was 
held at OIE Headquarters in Paris, 4 -6 April 201 7. The purpose of the 3 -day meeting was to work 
together, OIE Delegates and Members ' representatives, partners, experts and staff, to review and 
plan for the strategic evolution of the PVS Pathway.  
2.2  OIE Focal Point Seminars  
2.3.  OIE capacity -building activities also includes Information Seminars for Recently Appointed 
OIE Delegates and Regional Seminars for the OIE National Focal Points appointed for eight 
different areas (Animal Disease Notification to the OIE, Veterinary Products, Communication, 
Animal Producti on Food Safety, Animal Welfare, Veterinary Laboratories, Wildlife and Aquatic 
Animals). The aim of this programme is to provide good governance concepts for improving animal 
health, animal welfare and food safety of animal -origin products at the national, regional and 
international level, and to explain and clarify the role and responsibilities of newly -appointed OIE 
Delegates and of OIE National Focal Points with respect to OIE activities.  G/SPS/GEN/1553  
 
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  2.4.  These seminars provide participants with knowledge about the rights , commitments and 
responsibilities of OIE Delegates and OIE National Focal Points in the OIE standard -setting process 
and provide a forum for discussion of implementation and compliance with the OIE international 
standards. They allow the participants to a cquire knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of 
Veterinary Services and other relevant competent authorities, about relevant OIE international 
standards and about the specific tasks expected of National Focal Points in their respective areas. 
These training sessions are also fora for experience sharing and discussion among countries within 
a region.  
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