WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/758 
22 February 2007 
 (07-0750) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French/  Spanish 
 
  
REPORT ON OIE ACTIVITIES TO THE 38
TH MEETING  
OF THE WTO SPS COMMITTEE 
 
Communication from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE ) 
  
 The following communication, received on 21 Fe bruary 2007, is being circulated at the 
request of the OIE 
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 1. The OIE has continued to make progress on the work outlined in the OIE Fourth Strategic 
Plan (2005-2009).  The Fourth Plan consolidates the t asks previously defined, i.e. transparency in the 
global animal disease situation; the development of scientifically based standards; the establishment 
of guidelines for the prevention, control and eradicat ion of animal diseases; and the determination of 
Member Countries’ disease status.  This plan also  introduced new strategic priorities, including 
strengthening the OIE’s work through its five regional representations; improving the capabilities of 
OIE Member Countries by using mechanisms such  as the WTO Standards and Trade Development 
Fund (STDF); supporting the enha ncement of governance mechanisms for Veterinary Services; and 
helping Member Countries to resolve health related disputes. 
2. In the context of these new strategic priorities,  the OIE’s work in strengthening Veterinary 
Services warrants particular mention.  The OIE, in  collaboration with the In ter-American Institute for 
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), ha s developed the Performance, Visi on and Strategy (PVS) Tool.  
This Tool is designed to help veterinary services to  establish their current level of performance and to 
identify gaps in their ability to comply with OI E international standards, as set out in the OIE 
Terrestrial Animal Health Code  (see Chapters 1.3.3. on ‘Evaluation of Veterinary Services’ and 1.3.4. 
on ‘Guidelines for the Evaluation of Veterinary  Services’). Through the OIE PVS Evaluation 
Procedure, the OIE aims to help Veterinary Se rvices form a shared vision with stakeholders 
(including the private sector) and carry out st rategic initiatives to strengthen performance.  
3. The OIE has been supported by several international donors (including a contribution from 
the STDF) in carrying out this work. The OIE PVS Tool can be accessed via the OIE internet site: 
http://www.oie.int/eng/oie/organisation/en_vet_eval_tool.htm
 
4. In addition to the PVS Tool, the OIE has de veloped PVS Indicators and a Manual for PVS 
Evaluators. These documents are not, at this time, available to the public. With the conclusion of a 
major training course held 5-9 February in Paris, the OIE has now trained more than 80 veterinary 
experts to conduct PVS evaluations. There is str ong demand for evaluations by Member Countries 
and the OIE expects that OIE trained evaluators w ill continue be in strong demand during 2007-2008.  G/SPS/GEN/758 
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  5. In relation to the OIE’s normative work, the fo llowing issues may be of interest to this 
Committee: 
OIE Decisions on the Animal Health status of Member Countries 
6. The OIE Scientific Commission on Animal Diseases (the OIE Scientific Commission) 
reviewed applications from Memb er Countries for OIE recognition in regard to bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, contagious bovi ne pleuropneumonia, rinderpest and foot and mouth disease.  
OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code 
7. The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (the Code Commission) met in 
October 2006 in Paris to address Member Countries’  comments and the work completed by various 
OIE ad hoc groups and Working Groups. The Commi ssion examined several texts, including the 
Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrest rial Code) chapters and appendices on zoning and 
compartmentalisation, rabies, foot and mouth disea se, bluetongue (chapter on disease and appendix on 
surveillance), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (B SE), equine diseases (equine influenza, equine 
infectious anaemia, equine piroplasmosis, equine rhinopneumonitis, glanders, equine viral arteritis), 
classical swine fever, avian influenza (chapter  on disease and appendices on surveillance and virus 
inactivation), bovine and small ruminant semen, animal identification and traceability, disposal of 
dead animals, and animal welfare guidelines.  
Zoning and compartmentalization 
8. The Code Commission reviewed the chapter a nd incorporated Member Countries’ comments, 
taking into account the input from the OIE Scientif ic Commission concept paper published in the OIE 
Bulletin (No. 2006 – 2).  
Foot and mouth disease 
9. As requested in Resolution No. XXX of the 74t h General Session, an ad hoc Group was asked 
to establish a procedure to expedite the recovery of  status in the event of a limited disease outbreak in 
a previously FMD free country or zone. The ad hoc Group proposed a new article to facilitate an 
expedited procedure and a related definition of “containment zone”. 
Bluetongue 
10. Considering recent outbreaks in Europe and th e understanding that bluetongue is increasing 
its geographical distribution in this region, th e Code Commission modified the northern latitude 
boundary in relevant articles.  
11. Comments received from Member Countries on the first draft of the surveillance guidelines 
for bluetongue were reviewed by the OIE Scientific Commission. The Code Commission noted the 
incorporation of the compartmentalisation concep t in these guidelines but questioned how this could 
be applied in practice other than to an individual holding, such as an artificial insemination centre. 
The incorporation of compartmentalisation in the bluetongue chapter will be further considered in 
light of future comments from Member Countries.  G/SPS/GEN/758 
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  BSE 
12. The Code Commission examined outstanding con cerns regarding the risk of potentially 
infected animals in age cohorts born before risk  management measures were enforced and proposed 
certain modifications.  
13. Mindful of the safeguards provided by the production process for gelatine, the Code 
Commission examined Member Country comments and d ecided to revise the rele vant article to allow 
all bones of cattle that have passed ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections to be used as a source 
material for the production of gelatine.  
14. The Code Commission received a supporting docum ent on BSE prepared by an expert group. 
The document provides supporting scientific eviden ce for recent changes to the chapter on BSE. 
Classical swine fever (CSF)  
15. The Code Commission reviewed the chapter on CSF, which was largely restructured and 
adopted in last General Session.  
Avian influenza (AI) 
16. The Code Commission noted that the Central Bureau has been receiving many inquiries, from 
Member Countries and industry representatives, about  the health status of countries following 
occurrences of HPNAI infection in birds other than p oultry (ie in wild birds and zoo birds). The Code 
Commission therefore clarified the definition of poultry and added a new point on the obligations of 
countries in regard to international trade and HPAI related measures.  
17. The Code Commission also reviewed Code r ecommendations on the thermal inactivation of 
avian influenza virus in poultry meat.  
Animal identification and traceability 
18. The Code Commission noted the progress made by the OIE ad hoc Group on guidelines for 
animal identification and traceability. The Code Commission clarified that the guidelines were intended as an Appendix to the Code and that th e guidelines would indeed set out principles and 
general approaches rather than prescribing specific standards.  
19. The report of the Code Commission may be accessed at: 
http://www.oie.int/downld/SC/2006/A_TAHSC_OCTOBER2006.pdf
 
OIE Animal Production Food Safety Working Group 
20. The OIE Working Group on Animal Production Food  Safety (the Working Group) met for the 
sixth time at OIE Headquarters from 7-9 Novemb er 2006. The Working Group reviewed Member 
Countries’ comments and the work of OIE ad hoc gro ups relevant to its mandate (including an ad hoc 
Group on animal feed that met in October 2006) , and made recommendations on guidelines under 
development for animal identification and traceab ility, for animal feeding; and on OIE model 
certificates. The Working Group noted the ongoing clo se collaboration with the Codex Alimentarious 
in the OIE’s food safety related work. The Work ing Group recommended the development of a paper 
on the Role and Function of Veterinary Services in  Food Safety, which should include information on 
how veterinary services cooperate with other authorities to protect animal and human health 
throughout the food chain. The Working Group’s re port will be reviewed by the Code Commission 
and included in the report of its March 2007 meeting. G/SPS/GEN/758 
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  21. OIE ad hoc Groups on the revision of OIE health certificates and on animal identification and 
traceability met in January 2007. The work of these groups, after review by the Working Group via electronic consultation, will be examined by the Code Commission at its March meeting.  
 
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