Supporting

International Trade

Veterinary Services (VS) facilitates the domestic and

international marketability of U.S. animals and animal

products through its National Center for Import and

Export (NCIE). NCIE is at the forefront of APHIS’

efforts to safeguard the health of our Nation’s 

agricultural resources through its Import and Export

teams and its Sanitary International Standards Team.

The growing interest in agricultural trade in the

global market has expanded VS’ role to include

ensuring that new trade opportunities are created

while continuing to safeguard the Nation’s animal

health.

Under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, countries are

required to base their sanitary import measures on

science–based principles and guidelines. The WTO

recognizes the Office International des Epizooties

(OIE) as the international forum for setting animal

health standards, reporting global animal events and

disease status, and presenting guidelines and 

recommendations on sanitary measures relating to

animal health. As a result of various trade 

agreements, there is a greater potential for countries

to use diseases as artificial barriers to trade by trying

to apply import health requirements to protect their

own industries and thus limit trade in animals and/or

animal products.

OIE and International Standards 

The OIE also known in English as the World

Organization for Animal Health was established in

Paris, France, in 1924 with the signing of an 

international agreement by 28 countries. As of 2004,

the organization had 166 member nations, each of

which is represented by a delegate who, in most

cases, is the chief veterinary officer of the country.

OIE’s mission is to prevent the spread of animal 

diseases. It works to achieve this mission through

three primary functions: 1) collecting and 

disseminating information on the distribution and

occurrence of animal diseases, 2) coordinating

research on contagious animal diseases, and 3)

developing international standards for the safe 

movement of animals and animal products in 

international trade.

Three major program areas within VS interact

directly with OIE. They are: 1) NCIE’s Sanitary

International Standard Team, 2) the Center for the

Diagnosis of Animal Diseases and Vaccine

Evaluation for the Americas, and 3) the Centers for

Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH).

NCIE’s Sanitary International Standards

Team

NCIE’s Sanitary International Standards Team

guides the development of sound international health

standards for the safe trade in animals and animal

products by coordinating consensus–based 

comments on proposed modifications to chapters of

the OIE International Animal Health Code. Other

specific functions of the unit are as follows:

• Maintains a data base of disease and subject 

matter experts to review specific Code chapters.

• Monitors and evaluates reports and scientific 

data produced by the OIE.

• Compiles information for the World Animal Health

(Volume 1 and 2), reports the annual tabular and 

narrative disease reports on the world animal 

health status of member countries, and submits 

monthly disease reports.

• Coordinates the import/export efforts to address 

the international movement of livestock, biological

products, and animal products, and provides 

recommendations on the health conditions 

regarding the movement of animals and animal 

products.

• Conducts meetings with appropriate staff 

members, pertinent industry groups, and subject 

matter experts to review and develop positions 

for the safe movement of animal and animal 

products.

• Prepares agendas, briefs, and trade issue 

analyses for the delegates attending the 

Quadrilateral Animal Health Committee Meeting 

(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United 

States), the North American Animal Health 

Committee Meeting (Canada, Mexico, and the 

United States), and the OIE annual meeting.

• Recommends changes to effectively address 

trade issues and align USDA standards and 

policies with international standards.

• Represents the Deputy Administrator and the 

Department of Agriculture at meetings with 

international officials as well as with livestock and

poultry industry representatives.

Factsheet

Veterinary Services May 2004

APHIS
Contact point for the Sanitary International 

Standards Team:

National Center for Import and Export

Sanitary International Standards Team

USDA, APHIS

4700 River Rd Unit 33

Riverdale, MD 20737

United States

Telephone: (301) 734–5324

Fax: (301) 734–8818

E-mail: usa.oie@aphis.usda.gov

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal

Health: An OIE Collaborating Center

As an OIE collaborating center, CEAH shares its

risk analysis and disease surveillance expertise with

member countries. It provides them with technical

assistance and expert advice on disease surveillance

and control, and risk analysis.

As a collaborating center, CEAH fulfills the 

following objectives:

• Reviews, evaluates, and adapts methodologies 

and approaches to enhance animal disease 

surveillance systems and the risk analysis 

process.

• Promotes a harmonized approach to disease 

surveillance and risk analysis. Provides technical 

assistance to OIE member countries as needed.

• Improves the quality of animal disease 

surveillance and risk analysis by establishing a 

critical mass of trained individuals in OIE member 

countries.

• Networks with other OIE collaborating centers to 

coordinate activities.

Contact point for the CEAH:

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health

USDA, APHIS

2150 Centre Avenue, Building B

Fort Collins, CO 80526

United States

Telephone: (970) 494–7214

Fax: (970) 472–2668

E-mail: ceah@aphis.usda.gov

Center for the Diagnosis of Animal

Diseases and Vaccine Evaluation for the

Americas: An OIE Collaborating Center

The Center for the Diagnosis of Animal Diseases

and Vaccine Evaluation for the Americas is made up

of three components—the National Veterinary

Services Laboratories (NVSL), the Center for

Veterinary Biologics (CVB), and the Institute for

International Cooperation in Animal Biologics (IICAB).

National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL):

NVSL is comprised of a number of full service laboratory with expertise in diagnostic tests for significant

animal diseases found in the Americas and is 

committed to share and coordinate these procedures

with other countries in the Americas.

NVSL supports the OIE in the following manner:

• Provides diagnostic assistance, such as agent 

isolation and characterization.

• Supplies reference reagents to other laboratories, 

which can be used to standardize testing or for 

routine diagnosis.

• Evaluates diagnostic reagents used by other 

countries and exchanges sera to standardize and 

harmonize testing.

• Provides training in the diagnostic tests that it 

performs.

• Consults on a wide range of techniques.

• Conducts developmental projects to improve 

diagnostic techniques for diseases of significance 

in the Americas.

CVB is the sole confirmatory and investigatory

testing laboratory involved in regulation of commercial

veterinary biologics (vaccines and diagnostic kits) in

the United States. CVB supports OIE in the following

manner:

• Develops, distributes, and uses worldwide 

standard protocols for biologics evaluation and 

trains scientists from throughout the world on 

these protocols.

• Validates and provides standard reagents to 

biologics manufacturers and regulatory 

laboratories worldwide.

• Conducts developmental projects to improve 

biological techniques for diseases of significance 

in the Americas.

• Reviews, develops, compares, and harmonizes 

testing protocols in collaboration with industry and

other Government laboratories.

• Hosts scientific meetings in the area of veterinary 

biologics.

IICAB, based at Iowa State University, concentrates its efforts on educational endeavors and 

facilitating international communication and harmonization related to the availability, safety, and efficacy

of veterinary biologics). The IICAB concentrates on

the following activities:

• Offers training on scientific principles behind 

vaccine safety and efficacy.

• Works with other international organizations to 

harmonize regulations regarding veterinary 

biologics in the Americas.

• Assists developing countries to obtain veterinary 

biologics for specific unmet needs and in their 

efforts to manufacture, import, and regulate 

veterinary biologics and diagnostics.
• Organizes scientific meetings and serves as an 

international resource for information on the use 

of veterinary biologics.

Contact points for the Center for the Diagnosis of 

Animal Diseases and Vaccine Evaluation for the 

Americas:

• National Veterinary Services Laboratories

USDA, APHIS

P.O. Box 844

Ames, Iowa 50010

United States 

Telephone: (515) 663–7266

Fax: (515) 663–7397

E-mail: NVSL_Concerns@aphis.usda.gov

• Center for Veterinary Biologics

USDA, APHIS

P.O. Box

Ames, Iowa 50010

United States

Telephone: (515) 663–7331

Fax: (515) 663–7673

E-mail: cvb@aphis.usda.gov

• Institute for International Cooperation in Animal 

Biologics

College of Veterinary Medicine

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa 50010

United States

Telephone: (515) 294–1850

Fax: (515) 294–8259

E-mail: iicab@iastate.edu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual

orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases

apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,

large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office

of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call

(202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity

provider and employer.

nited States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture