WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/762 
26 February 2007 
 
 (07-0807) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL 
ORGANIZATION FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) 
RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION 
OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
Report to the Thirty-Eighth Meeting of the Co mmittee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
28 February and 1 March 2007  
 
 
 The following communication, received on 23 Fe bruary 2007, is being circulated at the 
request of OIRSA. 
 
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The OIRSA institutional restructuring process 
 1. In October 2006, OIRSA initiated a restructur ing process with a long-term horizon for the 
year 2015, in accordance with the guidelines issued by its hi ghest executive authority, which 
comprises the Ministers and Secretaries of Agri culture and Livestock (H. CIRSA), agricultural 
production chains and the agricultural trade.  This process is based on six (6) pillars:  (a) Shared 
vision;  (b) human capital;  (c) performance eval uation;  (d) risk management;  (e) operational 
excellence;  and (f) sanitary and phytosan itary solutions for the productive sector. 
Training and dissemination in the area  of agricultural health and trade 
 
2. The fourth and final videoconference on the pr evention of H5N1 avian influenza, entitled 
"The risk to the poultry sector and preventive me asures", was organized in conjunction with the 
Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA).  The videoconference linked up all the countries in 
the OIRSA region and participants included au thority representatives, producers and academics.  
3. In Mexico, OIRSA participated in the 14
th annual meeting of the National Technical Advisory 
Council on Animal Health (CONASA), presenting a se minar entitled "How to establish a professional 
animal health risk analysis system which supports decision-making". 
4. In El Salvador, within the framework of activ ities for the prevention of avian influenza, a 
sanitary communication and dissemination strategy was established at a "Training for trainers" event 
in order to strengthen the biosecurity culture and promote the notification of avian diseases.   
5. In El Salvador, OIRSA has worked in conjunc tion with the US Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) to organize a seminar on biosecurity in  live bird markets, which will be held from 
6 to 8 March 2007. G/SPS/GEN/762 
Page 2  
 
  6. In Guatemala, a workshop-seminar on the standardization of laboratory testing for the 
diagnosis of avian diseases was attended by officials from the whole of the OIRSA region. 
7. In Guatemala, field workers involved in the Programme for the Control and Eradication of 
Classical Swine Fever were given training on co mmunication and epidemiological surveillance 
strategies in the eradication phase. 
8. In Panama, the ELISA diagnostic test for Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis was 
harmonized. 
9. In Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua , national training workshops on Good 
Manufacturing Practice (GMP) systems and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) were held, whilst in Honduras, a regional workshop was he ld on these same topics.  They were organized 
by OIRSA, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) and 
the IICA/ILRI – CFC project.
1 
10. In Guatemala, a regional training workshop on traceability in the livestock sector was held 
with the cooperation of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 
11. In Panama, a regional workshop was held on th e drafting of the Food Code or Law, as 
provided for within the framework of the PAHO-WHO-OIRSA Agreement. 
12. In El Salvador, four training courses were he ld at national level on safety systems, basic 
concepts, GMP, SSOP (Sanitation Standard Oper ating Procedures), HACCP and traceability.  These 
events were aimed at technical staff from m unicipal slaughterhouses, businessmen and official 
inspectors of products of animal origin. 
Support for the dissemination of in ternational and regional standards 
 
13. Taking as a reference the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code and the sanitary status of the 
country of origin and destination, animal health  requirements were drafted and proposed for the 
importation into Panama of beeswax from Argentina. 
14. The competent authority in the Dominican Repub lic was issued with the interpretation of 
surveillance for Bovine Spongiform Encepha lopathy (BSE) under Appendix 3.8.4 of the 
OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, with the aim of establishing a points system for different sizes of 
adult bovine populations in countries in which no cases of BSE have been detected. 
15. Regional guidelines have been developed to facilita te trade in poultry products and are in the 
process of being approved by the Regional Technical  Committee on Poultry Health which is made up 
of representatives from the public and private sectors of OIRSA member countries. 
Support for the prevention, control a nd eradication of pests and diseases 
 16. In El Salvador, technical and financial suppor t has been provided to help implement the 
National Programme for the Prevention, Control and Eradication of Classical Swine Fever (CSF).  The control phase of this programme was successfully completed, involving inter alia :  
(a) Administration of 344,167 doses of vaccine agai nst CSF in a two-day vaccination sweep across 
the country, with coverage of 78. 5 per cent and 82.0 per cent respec tively;  and (b) 72,572 small pig 
farmers on family-run farms, 67 per cent of whom  were women, benefited from the programme. 
                                                     
 
1 Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Ag riculture and International Livestock Research 
Institute Project on Common Fund Commodities.  G/SPS/GEN/762 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Strengthening national sanitary institutions in order to facilitate trade 
 
17. Continued support has been provided, within th e context of the Central American Customs 
Union, to the Sub-Group on Sanitary and Phyto sanitary Measures, with the following documents 
being submitted for review: 
(a) Contingency plans for the following pests:  Fruit fly, pink hibiscus mealybug, Thrips 
palmi , lethal yellowing of the coconut palm, khapra beetle, Tilletia barclayana , cyst 
nematodes and citrus canker. 
(b) Contingency plans for the following diseases:  Foot-and-mouth disease, bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy, classical swine fever and avian influenza. 
(c) Standard on the overland transit of live animals. 
18. In Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salva dor, Belize, Guatemala and the Dominican 
Republic, simulation exercises on outbreaks of highl y pathogenic avian influenza were carried out. 
Strengthening OIRSA's relations with other international agencies 
 
19. OIRSA participated in the OIE Permanent Commission of the Americas on Transmissible 
Spongiform Encephalopathies in Animals (COPEA), which reviewed the progress made and problem 
areas faced by the countries of the Americas in co mplying with the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health 
Code's provisions on bovine spongiform encepha lopathy and its appendix on surveillance. 
20. A proposal for a poultry sector safety plan was developed in coordination with the 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agricultu re (IICA) and the Federation of Poultry Farmers 
of Central America and the Caribbean (FEDAVICAC). 
21. OIRSA also participated in a seminar on trac eability for bovine animals, organized in 
conjunction with the Spanish Internationa l Cooperation Agency (AECI), and the 18th Conference of 
the OIE Regional Commission for the Americas. 
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