WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/577 
24 June 2005 
 (05-2722) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French/  Spanish 
 
   
ISSUES OF INTEREST TO THE SPS COMMITTEE DISCUSSED BY THE OIE 
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE AT THE 73
RD GENERAL SESSION 
 
Communication from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)  
  
 The following communication, dated 23 June 2005,  is being circulated at the request of the 
OIE. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
 The 73
rd General Session of the International Comm ittee of the OIE, the World Organization 
for Animal Health, was held at the OIE headquart ers (Paris, France) from 22-27 May 2005.  Of the 
OIE membership of 167 member countries, 145 count ries or territories were represented by their 
delegates, and 44 international or regional organiza tions, institutions and fede rations also attended the 
General Session.  Issues relevant to the work of the SPS Committee discussed by the OIE 
International Committee during the Ge neral Session were as follows: 
 
1. The President of the International Committee descr ibed the contents of the Fourth Strategic 
Plan for the period 2006-2010 and presented the priori ty work areas for the OIE for this period, 
emphasizing capacity building for national Vete rinary Services and development of regional 
activities.  The Committee approved the Fourth Strategic Plan of the OIE. 
2. Two major technical items were presented and di scussed – "Implementation of OIE standards 
in the framework of the SPS Agreement", and "Appli cations of genetic engineering for livestock and 
biotechnology products".  The Committee adopted resolutions for these technical items (see 
Appendix 1 for the resolution relating to the first item). 
3. International organizations which had si gned a Cooperation Agreement with the OIE 
(including the WTO, Codex Alimentarius Comm ission, WHO, World Bank, FAO, IDF and the 
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)) made presentations on their work programmes, 
stressing their close relationship with the OIE.  The International Committee approved the terms of new agreements signed by the Director General on be half of the OIE with the Permanent Veterinary 
Committee of the Southern Cone; the Southeast As ian Fisheries Development Centre;  the South 
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation;  the A ssociation of Southeast Asian Nations;  and the 
International Federation of Agricultural Producers. G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 2  
 
 Report on the Animal Production Food Safety work programme 
 
4. The Chairman of the Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety (Prof. S. Slorach) 
presented the activities of the Working Group which included a revision of its modus operandi based 
on the Terms of Reference established at the 70
th OIE General Session. 
5. Additional work and priorities for 2005 included: 
• animal identification and traceability; 
• testing, inspection and certification; 
• antimicrobial resistance; 
• most effective approaches to zoonoses; 
• good farming practices; 
• guidelines for animal feeding, addr essing the animal health issues; 
• control of hazards of public health and an imal importance through ante- and post-mortem 
inspection; 
• the Terrestrial Code  chapter on brucellosis; 
• salmonellosis – taking into account the work of  other organizations on risk reduction for 
salmonellosis, initially Salmonella enteritidis  in eggs; 
• continued strengthening of the relationshi p between OIE and Codex by encouraging 
enhanced OIE input into Codex texts and deve loping a method for the most effective use 
of Codex expertise in the work of OIE Ad hoc Groups;  and 
• the role of Veterinary Services in the reducti on of chemical hazards of public and animal 
health significance at the farm level. 
 
Report on the Animal Welfare work programme 
6. The Chairman of the Animal Welfare Working Group (Dr D. Bayvel) reported that, since the 
previous General Session, the focus of activity of  the Working Group had been on the implementation 
of the agreed annual work programme and, in par ticular, on finalizing the standards proposed by four 
Ad hoc Groups dealing with tran sport (land and sea), slaughter for human consumption and killing for 
disease control purposes.  
7. The Working Group identified the followi ng areas to be of strategic priority: 
• companion animal welfare – urban animal control; 
• wildlife and zoo animal welfare – harvesting/culling; 
• laboratory animal welfare – housing, animal us e in regulatory testing and alternatives to 
animal use; 
• terrestrial animal welfare – housing/ production (initially generic);  and 
• aquatic animal welfare. 
  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Report of the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases 
8. The Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases had reviewed the new Terrestrial Code  
appendix on "Animal health surveillance: general pr inciples and practices", and developed guidelines 
for specific disease surveillance for foot and mouth disease (FMD), avian influenza (AI) and  classical 
swine fever (CSF), in line with these principles. 
9. The Commission reviewed the reports of Ad hoc  Groups on the Evaluation of Country Status 
for FMD and Rinderpest, as well as the dossier subm itted by a member country to be recognised as 
free from contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.   
Report of the Terrestrial Animal Health Sta ndards Commission - adoption of new measures in 
the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code  
10. The President of the Terrestrial Animal Hea lth Standards Commission recalled the extensive 
work programme for the Commission as a result of discussions at the 2004 OIE General Session, with priorities including a further revision of the avian in fluenza chapter, a three-category approach for the 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) chapter, a revision of the BSE surveillance appendix, as 
well as finalisation of the first specific standards on animal welfare.  He believed that it had been 
another productive year, with 24 new or revised te xts being submitted for adoption and several others 
in preparation. 
11. The OIE International Committee adopted a ll of the draft texts proposed by the Terrestrial  
Code Commission, including on the following subjects: 
(a) general definitions – including a revised de finition for "buffer zone" and the deletion 
of the term "surveillance zone"; 
(b) zoning and compartmentalisation – to provi de more guidance to member countries on 
the procedures for establishing and mainta ining zones and compartments, and for 
having them recognised by trading partners; 
(c) general guidelines for animal health surve illance – to serve as an introduction to the 
appendices dealing with surveillance of specific diseases; 
(d) a revised list of terrestrial animal diseases; 
(e) revised FMD chapter – to not require the maturation and deboning of meat for 
countries and zones free from FMD with vaccination; 
(f) revised appendix on FMD surveillance; 
(g) significantly revised BSE chapter – in additi on to the simplification of country/zone 
status from five categories to three, revisions of the safe commodity list (including the addition of deboned skeletal muscle m eat under certain conditions) and of the 
recommendations on SRM were made; 
(h) revised appendix on BSE surveillance; 
(i) bluetongue; 
(j) bovine tuberculosis; G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 4  
 
 (k) revised classical swine fever chapter and new surveillance appendix on classical 
swine fever; 
(l) revised chapter on avian influenza – which t ook into account the views of experts and 
comments from member countries on the chapter adopted the previous year as "under 
study"; the importance of the revised text to public and animal health, especially in the current situation of severe avian influenza outbreaks was noted and the 
importance of timely and accurate notification was emphasised; 
(m) new appendix on avian influenza surveillance 
(n) matters relating to semen and embryos; 
(o) Rift Valley fever;  and 
(p) appendices on antimicrobial resistance. 
Report of the Biological Standards Commission 
12. Inter alia , the President of the Commission noted the support for programmes of "twinning" 
between laboratories in developed and developing c ountries to enable a high level of performance to 
happen.  He also noted that a template was drafted to assist laboratories wishing to make such "twining" arrangements.  The Commission believed that  there is a need for Reference Laboratories for 
Japanese encephalitis, avian infectious  bronchitis and leishmaniosis. 
13. Seven chapters, including FMD (new informa tion on vaccines) and Avian Influenza (new 
information on vaccines including the DIVA strate gy (differentiating infected from vaccinated 
animals) etc.) were amended for the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial 
Animals . 
Adoption of new provisions in the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code and topics 
14. The OIE International Committee approved so me additions and amendments to the Aquatic 
Code,  including revised chapters and a ppendices on the following subjects:  
(a) general definitions; 
(b) disease listing and notification criteria, and the OIE list of aquatic animal diseases; 
(c) notifications and epidemiological information; 
(d) epizootic haematopoietic necrosis; 
(e) infection with Marteilia refringens;  
(f) white spot disease;  and 
(g) general recommendations on disinfection. 
15. As well, the Commission was working closely w ith the Terrestrial Animal Health Standards 
Commission to ensure that approaches being taken by both Commissions in their work were closely 
harmonised, for example on criteria on diseas e notification and on the concept of 
compartmentalisation.  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 5 
 
 
 Recognition of the status of member countries in regard to rinderpest, FMD, BSE and CBPP 
16. Based on the recommendations of the Scientif ic Commission for Animal Diseases, the OIE 
International Committee asked the Director General of  the OIE to publish the list of member countries 
recognised as FMD free (see Appendix 2), th e list of member countries recognised as BSE 
provisionally free (see Appendix 3), the list of me mber countries recognised as free from rinderpest 
infection (see Appendix 4) and the list of member countries recognised as free from Contagious 
Bovine Pleuropneumonia (see Appendix 5). 
 
*      * 
* G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 6  
 
 Appendix 1
 
RESOLUTION No. XXVII 
Implementation of OIE Standards in the Framework of the SPS Agreement 
 
CONSIDERING Participation in the international and regional trade in animals and an imal products offers opportunities 
for all Member Countries of the OIE, 
Compliance with and the maintenance of internationa l sanitary standards for the trade in animals and 
animal products are major constraints for many Member Countries  to successfully participate in 
international and regional trade in animals and animal products, 
International standards, guidelines and recommenda tions of the OIE and the SPS Agreement facilitate 
access to the international trade mark et for animals and animal products, 
New concepts to facilitate the trade in animals and animal products following t echnological developments 
in veterinary science are continuously evaluated and updated by the OIE, 
The Veterinary Services of many importing and expo rting countries do not yet have a system of export 
certification and import procedures that co mplies with international standards,  
Standards regarding the quality and evaluation of Vete rinary Services have been developed by the OIE in 
order to among other things strengthen the credibility of export certification procedures established by the 
national Veterinary Services of OIE Member Countries, 
OIE international sanitary standards may be used  even by non-exporting OIE Member Countries as 
relevant guidelines to improve their national animal health status, 
The Directors General of the OIE, FAO, WTO, WHO and World Bank have expressed the commitment 
of their organizations in a combined declaration at the Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Doha, Qatar 
in November 2001, to strengthen the capacity of Me mber Countries and especially developing countries,  
in meeting SPS standards. 
THE COMMITTEE   
RESOLVES THAT 
1. The OIE, in collaboration with other international organisations, facilitate the capacity building and 
regional training of officials, including veterinarian s, to actively participate in the development, 
evaluation and implementation of  OIE standards including the application of international 
certification standards for trade in animals and animal products, and of compartmentalisation and 
zoning. 
2. The Director General of the OIE request the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission 
to continue with their efforts to establish a unifo rm format for developing standardised Chapters 
and Appendices for the Terrestrial Animal Health Cod e to facilitate a common and uniform 
understanding and implementation of standa rds to enhance country participation.  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 7 
 
 
 3. The Director General of the OIE request the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission 
to continue to take into account the needs a nd specific circumstances in Developing Countries in 
the development of standards. 
4. The Director General of the OIE request the rele vant Commissions to consider when possible the 
inclusion in each disease chapter of the relevant Codes  to describe risk mitigation procedures that 
can be applied to specific animal products to re nder them safe for trade and to also list in each 
disease Chapter those products that can be traded  without restriction for that given disease.  
5. The OIE request the WTO to consider observer st atus for relevant regional organisations for 
representation of countries that do not have the cap acity or expertise to ensure continuity of 
representation at the SPS Committee meetings of the WTO. 
6. The OIE will work with the WTO to study how to take into account the guidelines, 
recommendations and standards developed and pr ovided by the OIE on animal welfare. The 
outcome of these discussions will be reported fo r assessment to the Inte rnational Committee.  
7. The OIE, in collaboration with relevant partners , consider support methods for the evaluation of 
Veterinary Services  and the establishment of an independent audit system for Veterinary Services 
functioning under the auspices of the OIE, which could be used by Member Countries to evaluate 
the delivery of their Veterinary Services and to fa cilitate in the identification of their needs for 
compliance to OIE standards of quality and for relevant investments if requested. 
_______________ 
 
 
 
    
 
     
 
    
 
  
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 26 May 2005) G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 8  
 
 Appendix 2
 
RESOLUTION No. XX 
Recognition of the Foot and Mouth Disease Status of Member Countries 
  
CONSIDERING THAT 
1. During the 63rd General Session, the Internati onal Committee adopted Resolutions XI and XII, 
‘Establishment of a list of foot and mouth disease (FMD) free countries where vaccination is not practised’, and ‘Procedure for the recognition of the foot and mouth disease status of Member Countries’, respectively, 
2. During the 64th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XII, which 
asks that the Director General publish a list of th e countries or zones within national territories 
that fulfil the criteria of one of the FMD free categories described in Chapter 2.2.10 of the 
Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrestrial Code ), 
3. The Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (the Scientific Commission) has continued to 
apply the procedure approved by the Inte rnational Committee, and has supported the 
recognition of the FMD free status of additional countries and zones within national territories 
for annual adoption of the list by  the International Committee, 
4. Recommendations of the Scientific Commission regarding the evaluation of countries as being 
free from foot and mouth disease have been submitted to Member Countries for comments as outlined in Resolution XVI ,which was adopted during the 67th General Session of the 
International Committee, 
5. The Scientific Commission proposed that an  updated list of countries and zones previously 
recognised as free from foot and mouth disease and those newly proposed by the Scientific Commission in consultation with Member C ountries be annually adopted by resolution, 
6. During the 65th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XII, which 
stated that the Delegates of Member Countries where countries or zones within their national 
territories are recognised as FM D free, annually confirm by letter during the month of 
November that their FMD status and the crite ria by which that status was recognised have 
remained unchanged, 
7. During the 65th General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution XVII 
delegating to the Scientific Commission the author ity to recognise, without further International 
Committee consultation, that a Member country or  zone within its territory has regained its 
previously recognised FMD free status following outbreaks that are er adicated in accordance 
with the relevant provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial Code , 
8. During the 71st General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution XXI 
delegating to the Scientific Commission the author ity to recognise, without further International 
Committee consultation, an FMD free zone cr eated following outbreaks within a Member 
country or its territory in accordance with the rele vant provisions of Chapters 1.3.5. and 2.2.10. 
of the Terrestrial  Code.   G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 9 
 
 
 9. During the 70th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XVIII asking 
Member Countries applying for evaluation for fr eedom from FMD to meet part of the costs 
sustained by the OIE Central Bu reau in the evaluation process, 
10. Information published by the OIE is derived from declarations made by the official Veterinary 
Services of Member Countries. The OIE is not responsible for inaccurate publication of country 
disease status based on inaccurate information or changes in epidemiological status or other 
significant events that were not promptly reporte d to the Central Bureau subsequent to the time 
of declaration of freedom, 
THE COMMITTEE RESOLVES 
That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries recognised as FMD free 
countries where vaccination is not practised, accordi ng to the provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the 
Terrestrial Code
 1: 
Albania 
Australia 
Austria 
Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada Chile 
Costa Rica 
Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Rep. 
Denmark 
El Salvador Estonia Finland Former Yug. Rep. of Macedonia 
France Germany 
Greece 
Guatemala 
Guyana Honduras Hungary Iceland Indonesia 
Ireland 
Italy Japan Korea (Rep. of) Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg Madagascar Malta Mauritius 
Mexico Netherlands 
New Caledonia  
New Zealand 
Nicaragua Norway Panama Poland Portugal 
Romania 
Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain 
Sweden 
Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom United States of America 
Vanuatu 
  AND 
That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries recognised as FMD free 
countries where vaccination is practised, according to  the provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the 
Terrestrial Code
1: 
 Taipei China Paraguay and Uruguay AND 
                                                     
 
1 For information on the status of non-contiguous territories of Member Countries recognised as 
FMD free, please address enquir ies to that country’s Delegate or to the Director General.  G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 10  
 
 That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries as having an FMD free 
zone where vaccination is not practised, according to the provisions of Chapter 2.1.1. of the 
Terrestrial Code:  
Argentina
: zone situated south of the 42° parallel; 
Botswana : zone designated by the Delegate of Botswa na in documents addressed to the Director 
General on 24 July 2003; 
Colombia : Northwest region of Choco Department; 
Malaysia : zones of Sabah and Sarawak designated by the Delegate of Malaysia in a document 
addressed to the Director General on 15 December 2003; 
Namibia :  zone designated by the Delegate of Namibia in a document addressed to the Director 
General on 6 February 1997; 
Peru: one zone as designated by the Delegate of Peru in a document addressed to the Director 
General in December 2004. 
Philippines : Mindanao, Visayas, Palawan and Masbate; 
South Africa : zone designated by the Delegate of S outh Africa in a document addressed to the 
Director General in May 2002; 
AND That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries as having FMD free zones 
where vaccination is practised, according to the provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial Code: 
Argentina
: Zone situated above the 42° parallel; 
Bolivia : zone of Chiquitania designated by the Delega te of Bolivia in documents addressed to the 
Director General on January 2003; 
Brazil : States of Acre along with two adjacent municipalities of Amazon state, Bahia, Espírito 
Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, 
Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo,  Sergipe, Tocantins, the Federal District, 
and Rondonia; 
Colombia : zone designated by the Delegate of Colombia in documents addressed to the Director 
General on January 2003 and two zones d esignated by the Delegate in documents 
addressed to the Director General in December 2004.  
 
  
 
  
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 24 May 2005) 
  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 11 
 
 
 Appendix 3  
RESOLUTION No. XXI 
Recognition of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Status of Member Countries 
  
CONSIDERING THAT 
1. During the 69th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution No. XV, 
asking Member Countries that wish to be evalua ted for conformation with the requirements of 
the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code  (the Terrestrial  Code ) for bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE) free status to submit a formal  application to the Director General of the 
OIE for consideration by the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (Scientific 
Commission), 
2. An Ad hoc Group of experts on BSE (OIE  Ad hoc Group for Evaluation of Country 
Submissions for Recognition as Complying with the Terrestrial  Code  as Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy Free) has been set up by the OIE and the Group has developed guidelines to 
facilitate the submission of data by Member Countries in accordance with the requirements in 
the current edition of the Terrestrial Code , 
3. During the 70th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XVIII asking 
Member Countries applying for this evaluation to meet part of the costs sustained by the OIE Central Bureau in the evaluation process, 
4. During the 71st General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution XXII 
authorising the Scientific Commission to also evaluate submissions for provisional freedom 
from BSE in accordance with Article 2.3.13.4 of the Terrestrial Code , 
5. The Ad hoc Group has already examined submissions from several countries and made 
appropriate recommendations that have been  endorsed by the Scientific Commission 
6. These recommendations have been submitted to  Member Countries for comments as outlined in 
Resolution No. XVI, which was adopted during th e 67th General Session of the International 
Committee for foot and mouth disease (FMD), 
7. During the 72nd General Session, the OIE Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution No. XX 
asking the Director General to establish a list of  countries or zones recognised by the OIE as 
BSE ‘free’ and ‘provisionally free’ in accordance with Chapter 2.3.13 of the Terrestrial Code . 
This list should be updated as and when new countries are approved by the International 
Committee and shall be adopted  annually by resolution. 
8. During the 72nd General Session, the OIE a dopted Resolution No. XX asking the Director 
General to inform Delegates of Member C ountries whose countries or zones within their 
national territories are recognised as ‘free’ or ‘p rovisionally free’ from BSE that they should 
annually confirm by letter during the month of N ovember whether their status and the criteria 
by which their status was recognised have rema ined unchanged. The list of countries or zones 
will be published free of charge by the OIE. G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 12  
 
  
9. Information published by the OIE is derived from appropriate declarations made by the official 
Veterinary Services of Member Countries. The OIE is not responsible for inaccurate publication of country disease status based on  inaccurate information or changes in 
epidemiological status or other significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central 
Bureau, 
THE COMMITTEE RESOLVES THAT The Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases c ontinue to examine the dossiers of applicant 
countries in accordance with Chapter 2.3.13 of the 13
th edition of the Terrestrial Code  (2004), until 
one year after a new BSE chapter (describing three categories of BSE country status) and its 
complementary surveillance appendix are a dopted by the International Committee. 
Countries having already submitted dossiers for the evaluation of country status need not pay any 
additional costs should they have  to renew their applications. 
In future, applications from countries may take in to account the requirements of the new BSE Chapter 
and its complementary surveillance guidelines if these are adopted. 
The Director General publish the following list of Member Countries recognised as ‘provisionally 
free’ from BSE in accordance with  Chapter 2.3.13 of the 13th edition of the Terrestrial Code : 
Argentina, Iceland, Singapore and Uruguay. 
 
 
 
    
 
     
 
    
 
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 24 May 2005)  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 13 
 
 
 Appendix 4  
RESOLUTION No. XXII 
Recognition of Member Countries Free from Ri nderpest Infection and Rinderpest Disease 
  
CONSIDERING THAT 
1. During the 63rd General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution XIV 
‘Establishment of a list of countries that are free of rinderpest’, 
2. During the 68th General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution XIII 
designating a baseline list of Member Countries th at were free from rinderpest infection. The 
countries included in the list certified that they met the requirements specified in Chapter 
2.3.14. of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrestrial Code ), 
3. The OIE has also developed a list of countries that are considered to be free from rinderpest 
disease in accordance with Chapter 2.3.14. of the Terrestrial Code , 
4. Recommendations of the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (the Scientific 
Commission) regarding countries that are evaluated as free from rinderpest disease and from 
rinderpest infection have been submitted to  Member Countries for comments as outlined in 
Resolution XVI which was adopted during the 67th General Session of the International 
Committee, 
5. The Scientific Commission has continued to apply the procedure approved by the International 
committee and has supported the recognition of countries and zones as free from rinderpest 
disease and rinderpest infection for annual adoptio n of the list by the International Committee, 
6. During the 71st General Session, the Scientif ic Commission proposed that Member Countries 
so recognised reconfirm annually whether  thei r rinderpest status as well as the conditions 
under which such status was granted have remained unchanged a nd that this annual 
reconfirmation would be a requirement  for maintaining OIE recognition, 
7 During the 70th General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XVIII 
resolving that most of the costs incurred by the OIE Central Bureau in the evaluation of country applications for obtaining the free status with  respect to rinderpest disease or rinderpest 
infection would be recovered whenever possi ble from sources other than the applicant 
countries, 
8. Information published by the OIE is derived from appropriate declarations made by the official 
Veterinary Services of Member Countries. The OIE is not responsible for inaccurate 
publication of country disease status based on  inaccurate information or changes in 
epidemiological status or other significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central 
Bureau subsequent to the time of declara tion of freedom from disease or infection, 
 
 G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 14  
 
 THE COMMITTEE 
RESOLVES That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries recognised as free from 
rinderpest infection, according to the provisions of Chapter 2.3.14. of the Terrestrial Code : 
 
Albania 
Algeria Andorra Argentina Australia 
Austria 
Barbados Benin Belgium Bhutan 
Bolivia 
Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Canada 
Chile 
Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba 
Cyprus 
Czech Rep. Denmark Ecuador  El Salvador 
Eritrea 
Estonia Finland Former Yug. Rep. of Macedonia France Germany  
Greece Guatemala Guyana Honduras 
Hungary 
Iceland Indonesia Ireland Italy 
Jamaica 
Japan Korea (Rep. of) Laos Latvia Lesotho 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia 
Malta 
Mauritius Mexico Moldavia Mongolia 
Morocco 
Namibia  
Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia 
New Zealand Norway  Panama Paraguay 
Peru 
Philippines Poland Portugal Romania 
Senegal 
Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain 
Swaziland 
Sweden Switzerland Thailand Taipei China 
Togo 
Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Ukraine 
United Kingdom 
United States of America Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela 
Vietnam 
Zimbabwe 
  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 15 
 
 
 That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries as being free from 
rinderpest disease according to the provisions of Chapter 2.3.14. of the Terrestrial Code;  
 
Burkina Faso 
Chad2 
Cote d'Ivoire  Egypt Ghana 
Guinea India Lebanon Mali 
Mauritania Myanmar Niger Nigeria 
Tanzania  
 
That the Director General publish the following list of Member Countries having zones designated by 
their respective Delegates as free from rinderpest disease according to the provisions of Chapter 
2.3.14. of the Terrestrial Code;  
Ethiopia: zone designated by th e Delegate of Ethiopia in a document addressed to the Director 
General in July 2004 
Sudan: zone designated by the Dele gate of Sudan in a document addressed to the Director General in 
October 2004 
 AND 
That the Delegates of Member Countries whose count ries or zones within their national territories are 
recognised as rinderpest infection or rinderpest disea se free, annually reconfirm by letter in November 
of each year that both their status and the criteria by which such status was recognised have remained 
unchanged. It is understood that these Delegates will immediately notify the Central Bureau if 
rinderpest infection or disease occur in their countries or zones within their territories. 
 
   
 
     
 
    
 
  
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 24 May 2005) 
                                                     
 
2  Zone designated by the Delegate of Chad in documents addressed to the Director General 
on December 2003 G/SPS/GEN/577 
Page 16  
 
  
Appendix 5
 
RESOLUTION No. XXIII 
Recognition of the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia Status of Member Countries 
 
CONSIDERING THAT 
1. Appendix 3.8.3 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal H ealth Code (the Terrestrial Code) provides for a 
pathway for Member Countries to be declared  free from contagious bovine pleuropneumonia 
(CBPP) by the OIE if an application including supporting data as outlined  in Appendix 3.8.3 of 
the Code is submitted to the OIE. The Terrestrial Code also provides a procedure for the 
Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (the  Scientific Commission) to review these 
applications and report its recommendati ons to the International Committee, 
2. During the 71st General Session, the Inte rnational Committee approved Resolution XXIV 
regarding the recognition of the CBPP status of specific Member Countries, 
3. Appendix 3.8.3 contains provisions for countries or zones within their territories that are 
continuously free from CBPP for at least 10 years and meet the relevant requirements of 
Appendix 3.8.3 for "freedom from CBPP" in that a) no vaccination has been carried out for at 
least 10 years, b) throughout that period there has been no clinical or pathological evidence of 
CBPP infection, c) throughout that period a permanent adequate disease surveillance and 
reporting system has been and is still in place covering all susceptible domestic livestock, and 
d) in appropriate circumstances, use of di agnostic procedures capable of differentiating 
Mycoplasma mycoides  from other bovine Mycoplasma  infections in the investigation of 
respiratory disease has been made, with findings consistent with freedom from M. mycoides  
infection, may be declared free from CBPP by the Scientific Commission without the necessity 
to proceed through the normal intermediate steps detailed in Appendix 3.8.3 of the Terrestrial 
Code,  
4. During the 70th General Session, the Inte rnational Committee adopted Resolution No. XVIII 
asking Member Countries applying for evaluation for freedom from CBPP to meet part of the costs sustained by the OIE Central Bureau in the evaluation process, 
5. During the 72nd General Session, the Intern ational Committee adopted Resolution XXIII asked 
the OIE Director General to establish a list of  countries or zones free from CBPP with or 
without vaccination and include in that list countries already recognised free of CBPP by the 
OIE. 
6. The Scientific Commission continue to appl y the procedure approved by the International 
Committee with respect to the recognition of di sease free status and support the recognition of 
the CBPP free status of additional countries a nd zones within national territories for annual 
adoption of the list by the International Committee. 
7. An updated list of countries and zones prev iously recognised as free from CBPP and those 
newly proposed by the Scientific Commission af ter consultation of Member Countries will be 
annually adopted by resolution.  G/SPS/GEN/577 
 Page 17 
 
 
 8. Member Countries recognise that information pub lished by the OIE is derived from appropriate 
declarations made by the official Veterinary  Services of Member Countries. The OIE is not 
responsible for inaccurate publication of country  disease status based on inaccurate information 
or changes in epidemiological status or other significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central Bureau subsequent to the time of declaration of freedom, 
THE COMMITTEE 
RESOLVES THAT 1. The Director General publish the following lis t of Member Countries recognised as free from 
CBPP without vaccination according to the provisions of Appendix 3.8.3 of the Terrestrial 
Code : 
  Botswana, Portugal and Switzerland 
2. The Delegates of Member Countries whose count ries or zones within their national territories 
are recognised as free from CBPP reconfirm by letter in November of each year that both their status and the criteria by which such status w as recognised have remained unchanged. It is 
understood that these Delegates will immediately notify the Central Bureau if CBPP occurs in 
their countries or in zones within their territories. 
 
    
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 24 May 2005) 
  
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