. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1147 
27 March 2012 
 (12-1630) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original: Spanish 
  
 
ESTABLISHING COMPARTMENTALIZATION AS A TOOL 
FOR HEALTH MANAGEMENT 
 
Communication from Chile 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 15 March 2012, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Chile. 
 
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 1. Chile is a country of high health status in te rms of freedom from the main pests and diseases 
of global significance.  It is noted for applying the regionalization principle of the SPS Agreement in the areas of both plant and animal health.  The count ry has therefore considered it appropriate to take 
a step forward in the area of animal health by implementing compartmentalization, as the result of a 
public-private endeavour conducte d with the guidance of the World Organisation for Animal 
Health (OIE), which has advocated compartmen talization in a number of SPS Committee meetings. 
2. Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) is the authority responsible for, inter alia , 
protecting, maintaining and increasing the country's liv estock.  One of its functions is to adopt the 
appropriate sanitary measures to prevent, cont rol and eradicate communicable animal diseases. 
3. In its Terrestrial Animal Health Code, the OI E defines compartments as a tool for health 
management, using the term to mean "an an imal subpopulation contained in one or more 
establishments under a common biosecurity management system with a distinct health status with 
respect to a specific disease or  specific diseases for which re quired surveillance, control and 
biosecurity measures have been applied for the purpose of international trade". 
4. In the Code, the OIE suggests that in disease-free countries or zones, "compartments 
preferably should be defined prior to the occurre nce of a disease outbreak", since this would prevent 
production losses in the event of an outbreak and consequently facilitate international trade. 
5. The principles of compartmentalization – such as biosecurity, animal identification, control of 
movements, traceability, surveillance and monitoring – are applied in the majority of the disease 
control and eradication programmes developed by SAG. 
6. In view of the importance of aligning nationa l animal-health regulations and management 
measures with the guidelines issued by the inte rnational organizations, SAG has begun implementing 
this management mechanism.  It has the authority to  approve, suspend or revoke the health status of a 
compartment. 
7. On 23 December 2011, Resolution No. 8309 was issued, establishing compartmentalization 
as a tool for health management, applicable to th e prevention, control and eradication of animal 
diseases. G/SPS/GEN/1147 
Page 2  
 
  8. The document states that the term "compartment " is to be taken as meaning one or more 
animal-production establishments and their relate d units, under a common biosecurity management 
system, containing an animal population with a distin ct health status with respect to one or more 
specific diseases for which sufficien t surveillance, control and biosecurity measures have been applied 
for the purpose of maintaining international trade and as a tool for disease management. 
9. To gain official approval for a compartment,  the interested party must fulfil certain 
requirements, as appropriate, such as:  submit a formal request for approval of the compartment;  define and technically substantiate the preventive na ture of the compartment with respect to one or 
several diseases, determining its health status, th e location of and relationship between all of its 
components and related units, the animal moveme nts and the mitigation measures set out in the 
biosecurity plans;  establish and document the ep idemiological separation of the compartment, 
especially in relation to critical management fact ors and potential sources of infection;  have a 
surveillance system in place for the early detec tion and control of the specific diseases in the 
compartment;  have access to the diagnostic service s of official laboratories for each specific disease 
in the compartment;  have procedures in place for th e timely notification to SAG of any change in the 
health status determined for the compartment;  have an emergency plan ready for use in the event of a 
change in the level of exposure that may affect the health status of the compartment;  have a 
self-monitoring system in place, adopted by the establishment, to ensure compliance with the 
requirements of the compartment. 
10. If the information submitted by the interested party receives a favourable evaluation by SAG, 
the compartment will be approved by a SAG resolution. 
11. SAG will establish a verification system to ch eck ongoing compliance with the conditions of 
approval of the compartment. 
12. Authorization of the compartment will be inde finite, as long as the conditions of approval are 
maintained. 
13. Costs relating to the approval and maintenance of  the compartment by SAG will be borne by 
the interested party. 
14. SAG Resolution No. 393 of 20 January 2012 approved as a compartment the Producción de 
cerdos del Complejo Agroindustrial Valle del Huasco  (Swine Production of the Huasco Valley 
Agro-Industrial Complex), located in the Ataca ma region in the north of the country. 
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