G/SPS/GEN/2164  
6 November  2023 
(23-7467) Page: 1/4 
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,  
JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 2023  
The following communication, received on 3 November 2023, is being circulated at the request 
of OIRSA . 
 
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1  TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES RELATING 
TO AGRICULTURAL HE ALTH AND TRADE  
1.1.  In order to provide advice on the prevention, control and epidemiological surveillance of highly 
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a training course on this disease was organized with the Belize 
Poultry Association.  
1.2.  A one -day training and r efresher course on HPAI was carried out for the Official Veterinary 
Services of the Directorate of Animal Health and Quarantine Services of the Directorate General of 
Livestock  of the Dominican Republic, with a view to supporting the rapid response to the possible 
introduction of the disease into the national territory.  
1.3.  A regional virtual dialogue, on animal health strategies to control and eradicate animal 
diseases, focus ing on avian influenza, was organized in conjunction with the Directorate -General for 
Health and Food Safety ( DG SANTE ) of the European Union . 
1.4.  OIRSA participated in the "Workshop on the management of high mortality in animals in avian 
influenza emergencies" organized by the Pan American Center for Foot -and-Mouth Disease 
(PANAFTOSA ) in Brazi l. 
1.5.  OIRSA participated in the multistakeholder  forum on HPAI prevention measures, and a n 
awareness -raising meeting with the Dominican Poultry  Farming  Association (ADA, Inc.), in support 
of the formal sector, in order to promote a n HPAI prevention strategy and to raise awareness among 
the Dominican Republic's poultry sector of the possible consequences of the introduction of HPAI.  
1.6.  OIRSA took part in the subregional meeting on the International Health Regulations (2005) 
(IHR 2005), organized by the Pan American Health Organization ( PAHO ) in San Salvador.  
1.7.  A meeting of the Regional Technical Committee on Poultry Health (CTRSA)  was held  in San 
Salvador, at which technical recommendations were established for the regional epidemiological 
surveillance of HPAI.  
1.8.  A One Health Regional Workshop was organized , entitled  "Regional consultation for 
strengthening intersectoral work on the human -animal-environment interface of zoonotic influenza" , 
in El Salvador  in September 2023.  G/SPS/GEN/2164  
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  1.9.  OIRSA was involved in the event "One Health in the Americas: The importance of 
inter-institutional collaboration in the hemisphere and its rural communities" , organized by the 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica.  
1.10.  OIRSA took part in the first virtual meeting to finalize  the launch of the Quadripartite in the 
Americas, which seeks to formalize and strengthen cooperation under the umbrel la of One Health in 
the region. September 2023.  
1.11.  OIRSA participated in the international technical seminar  organized by the Standing 
Veterinary Committee of the Southern Cone (CVP) in Bolivia, for the Committee's 20th anniversary.  
1.12.  OIRSA organized a virtual celebration of World Rabies Day in conjunction with Costa  Rica's 
National Animal Health Service (SENASA).  
1.13.  In El Salvador, 17 partners of the International Quarantine Treatment Service  (SITC)  were 
accredited in accordance with the Australian methyl bromide fumigation  standard . In addition, 
El Salvador delivered a course on the use of fumigant concentration monitor ing equipment  to SITC 
staff. 
1.14.  Guatemala and Honduras organized training for  the staff of their Agricultural Protection 
Services on matters inherent to quarantine principles for inspectors responsible for implementing 
the relevant sanitary and phytosanitary measures at quarantine control points.  
1.15.  Training activities on sanitary and phytosanitary threats at the regional level were also 
organized, includi ng an online training course on general information on and the management and 
control of the giant African snail in Honduras; a quarantine training course for the veterinary 
personnel of the Dominican Republic's quarantine team; and a training course on qu arantine pests 
in stored agri -food products in Nicaragua.  
1.16.  Funding was provided for  the participation  of national food safety directors or their 
representatives in the Latin American Pesticide Residue Workshop, at which OIRSA held two 
sessions : (1) OIRSA training material on risk-based good agricultural practices; and (2) OIRSA 
training material on risk-based good agricultural practices.  
1.17.  OIRSA participated in the regional meeting on food safety innovations organized by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  
1.18.  International and regional bodies, including OIRSA, the Food and Agriculture Organization of  
the United Nations (FAO), the Pan American Center for Foot -and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary 
Public Health (PANAFTOSA/VPH), the Inter -American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), 
and the coordinators of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for L atin America and the Caribbean 
(CCLAC) joined forces for the third consecutive year to celebrate World Food Safety Day 2023 with 
a webinar entitled "Food standards save lives". OIRSA presented its Trazar -Agro module on agri-
food safety at this event, which  was attended by some of the world's leading specialists. OIRSA 
participated in celebrations at the national level in El  Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and the 
Dominican Republic to commemorate 7 June as World Food Safety Day.  
1.19.  Twenty -five food safety official s from OIRSA member countries successfully completed the 
course on quality and food safety systems for experts, and a second group of  30 participants started 
the course . 
1.20.  OIRSA participated actively in the 8th Agri-Food Fair  (Agroalimentaria 2023 ), which to ok place 
on 1-2 June in the Dominican Republic, and offered a session on new challenges in meeting 
international market requirements . 
1.21.  OIRSA took part in the European Union and Central America Forum on Innovation in the 
Agroindustry Sector.  
1.22.  Two beekeeping meetings were held in Panama: one addressed honey standards and control s 
in the member countries of the Central American Beekeep ing Federation (FEDECAPI), while the other G/SPS/GEN/2164  
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  focused on the topic of bee honey adulteration and fraud. These meetings took place during the 
18th Central American and Caribbean  Congress on Apicultural Integration and Modernization.  
2  SUPPORT FOR THE HARMONIZATION AND EQUIVALENCE PROCESS  
2.1.  The OIRSA Regional Commission for Veterinary Medicines and Animal Feed (CORMEVA) held  a 
virtual meeting . A number of topics were discussed  at the meeting , including the economic 
importance of domestic industr ies in the develop ment of  the Central American region, products with 
a fixed -dose combination of active ingredients , and residue depl etion studies or withdrawal and 
elimination period  verification studies . 
2.2.  OIRSA helped to  organiz e meetings of the regular assembly of the Antimicrobial Resistance 
(AMR) Network and of the research subgroup  of Guatemala . 
2.3.  In Guatemala, a workshop on "Global Environmental Monitoring System ( GEMS )/Food and 
Quantita tive Analysis of Chemical Risks using Monte Carlo (@Risk) simulations" was delivered to 
food safety officials of the Vice -Ministry of Plant and Animal Health and Regulations of the Ministry 
of Agricul ture, Livestock and Food (VISAR -MAGA). In addition, a training workshop was delivered to 
20 food safety officials and dealt with obtaining samples for the detection of STEC in raw beef 
products, health inspection techniques for bovine animals, swine and po ultry, evaluating  an 
establishment's food safety system , and manag ing non-compliance.  
2.4.  In the Dominican Republic, two workshops were held for 25 agr i-food safety officials:  
(1) a train -the-trainer course in risk -based good agricultural practices ; and (2) a training workshop 
on the development of quantitative exposure assessment models for pesticides in food , and the use 
of the WHO GEMS/Food database was discussed.  
2.5.  In El Salvador, officials responsible for the safety of product s of plant origin  were trained in 
various areas, including: (1) sampling of agricultural products, with an update on sampling 
procedures; (2) categorization of establishments based on risk; and (3) the process of uploading 
data to  the GEMS/Food  database . 
3  PREVENTION, CONTRO L AND ERADICATION ACTIVITIES (PROGRAMMES OR 
CAMPAIGNS)  
3.1.  Actions were carried out to execute extraordinary regional emergency funds to implement 
measures to prevent, control and eradicate low and high pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI and HPAI). 
These measure s sought to: (1) strengthen the level  3 animal health laboratories of OIRSA member 
countries; (2) implement a regional communication campaign; and (3) prepare national plans and 
the respective budgets to deal with  the emergency.  
3.2.  Nets and materials were acq uired to strengthen the epidemiological surveillance of vampire 
bats, a vector of bovine paralytic rabies.  
3.3.  Technical assistance was provided to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of El  Salvador 
for the revision of  its epidemiological surveillance pl an for bee health.  
3.4.  Traps for the small hive beetle ( Aethina tumida ) were purchased to bolster the epidemiological 
surveillance of this Coleoptera in El Salvador.  
3.5.  OIRSA provided advice, technical assistance and financial support to the veterinary services of 
Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua in response to reported cases of New World screwworm in 
Panama and Costa Rica. The objective was to control its spread and prev ent it from entering other 
member countries.  
3.6.  In Panama, OIRSA has support ed efforts to control the movement of livestock , in response to 
the New World screwworm emergency.  
3.7.  In order to strengthen measures to prevent the entry of pests or diseases, six new detection 
dog dyads  were trained for the OIRSA region. Three joined El Salvador's canine unit, and the other G/SPS/GEN/2164  
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  three went to Guatemala. In addition, two officials  completed their training as trainers , one for 
El Salvador and one for Guatemala.  
3.8.  Support was provided to t he Caribbean Plant Health Directors Forum based in Trinidad and 
Tobago to carry out a Fusarium oxysporum  TR4 emergency  simulation exercise , with two OIRSA 
technicians facilitat ing the event, which  was attended by  representatives of the Nationa l Plant 
Protection Organizations (NPPOs) from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries.  
4  STRENGTHENING NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO FACILITATE TRADE  
4.1.  The USDA -APHIS/OIRSA project , focuse d on the control and eradication of African swine fever 
(ASF) in the Domini can Republic , is underway and provides for the implement ation of  three action 
plans.  
4.2.  The project to implementing a regional programme for the detection, prevention and control 
of respiratory zoonotic disease s, with a special focus on avian influenza, in Ce ntral America and the 
Dominican Republic , is also underway.  
4.3.  A technical cooperation framework agreement has been formally concluded between the 
Standing Veterinary Committee of the Southern Cone (CVP) and OIRSA.  
4.4.  A partnership arrangement has been establish ed between the National Institute for Agricultural 
and Food Research and Technology (INIA) of the Spanish National Research Council, M.P., and 
OIRSA.  
4.5.  Work is continuing on the customs union, for the deep integration of Guatemala, El Salvador 
and Honduras, with the location of quarantine services and border treatment areas being 
coordinated.  
4.6.  The n ational food safety authorities of member countries were provided with access to the 
BCGlobal maximum pesticide residue level database.  
4.7.  OIRSA s upport ed Costa Rica i n the process of accrediting food safety -related laboratory tests. 
This included covering the costs associated with purchasing inert materials necessary for the testing 
and speciation of heavy metals, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometr y techniques 
(ICP/MS and LC -ICP/MS).  
5  STRATEGIC ALLIANCES TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND TRADE  
5.1.  Trade relations have been established to seek out and introduce  products and technologies as 
alternatives to methyl bromide, such as the fumigant ethanedinitrile (EDN) and radiation as 
quarantine treatments.  
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