广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区建设与探讨

为确保广州亚运马术比赛顺利进行,保障参赛马匹的生物安全,顺利返回其来源地,建设一个符合国际要求的无规定马属动物疫病区势在必行。通过制定一系列的法规及技术标准,对相关马属动物疫病实行区域化管理,严格落实《广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区建设方案》的相关建设内容,广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区顺利通过国家农业部、欧盟、OIE等的考察评估,最终顺利建成。本文对其成功建设经验及无规定动物疫病区建设过程中应注意的问题进行了分析和探讨,以期为其它地区开展无规定动物疫病区建设提供参考。     

行业动态

国内要闻广州亚运无疫区通过欧盟专家评估为了推进广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区(下称广州亚运无疫区)获国际认可,确保2010年第16届亚运     

我国内地首个无规定马属动物疫病区成功建成

2009年11月23日,对于广东省、2010年广州亚运会、中国兽医界乃至国际都是一个重要的日子,农业部以第1291号公告宣布广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区(以下简称广州亚运无疫区)通过评估正式建成。广州亚运无疫     

中央和省级高致病性禽流感应急预备队第一期培训班成功举办

为了推进广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区（下称“广州亚运无疫区”）获国际认可，确保2010年第16届亚运会马术比赛成功举办，应中国农业部的邀请，欧盟于2010年1月18日至2月1日派出食品兽医办公室3名专家来华，考察了广州亚运无疫区建设和亚运会马术比赛有关动物卫生工作情况。     

广州亚运无规定马属动物疫病区公路动物防疫监督检查站的管理初探

从化公路动物防疫监督检查站具有维持无疫区无疫状态和保障广州亚运马术比赛顺利举办的双重属性,完善的管理能有效防控重大动物疫病的跨区域传播,切断其传播途径以达到某一时期内的区域净化。     

浅谈全省免疫无口蹄疫区监测工作

<正>监测证明无疫,动物疫病监测工作是无疫区建设中的重要环节。结合全省免疫无口蹄疫区建设,开展动物疫病监测工作,应把握好以下三个环节。一、动物疫病监测工作是疫病预防控制机构的根本任务通过开展动物疫病监测工作,可以真实准确地了解和掌握动物疫病的发生、流行、分布情况,客观反映一定区域内动物疫病特征和发展趋势,是评价动物疫病预防控制效果和制定科学防控程序的重要依据,是及早发现疫病、及时扑灭疫情     

广州亚运无疫区相关马病的风险分析和防控

为建设广州亚运无特定马属动物疫病区,保障广州亚运马术比赛的顺利进行,我们于2008～2010年通过对相关区域的虫媒、野生动物的种类、数量、分布和季节变化等进行调查研究,并对所采集的虫媒和野生动物样品进行相关马病的实验室检测。结果发现,广州亚运无疫区马术场及其周围区域存在一定种类数量的蚊、蝇、虻、蠓、蜱、蝙蝠、野鸟和野猪,虫媒、野生动物所涉及的日本脑炎、水疱性口炎、尼帕病毒病、亨德拉病毒病、西尼罗河热和/或伊氏锥虫病的检测结果均为阴性。我们根据上述调查及实验室检验结果,对虫媒、野生动物传播相关马病的风险进行分析,认为虫媒、野生动物传播相关马病的风险较低或很低,并根据风险评估结论有针对性的采取了以防为主、药物杀灭为辅兼顾环境治理的综合防控措施,为成功建立起我国首个无特定马属动物疫病区和保障第十六届广州亚运会马术比赛的顺利进行打下了坚实的基础。     

广州亚运无马疫区病媒动物调查

2010年广州亚运会马术比赛在广州从化顺利进行。为了建立广州从化无马疫病区,保证此次亚运会赛马项目的顺利举行,我们于2009—2010年在广州从化赛马场周边地区调查了可能携带马疫的鸟类和兽类种类。共调查得到鸟类60种,358个个体;蝙蝠14种,365个个体;野猪16头。采集动物的咽拭子、肛拭子及血液组织样本进行病毒检测,检测了它们可能携带对赛马健康有威胁的日本脑炎、伊氏锥虫、水泡性口炎、尼帕病毒病、西尼罗河热和亨德拉病毒病6种马属动物疫病携带情况,检测结果均为阴性,说明在广州从化没有发现野生动物携带马属动物相关疫病的病原体存在。这一工作为广州从化建立无马疫区提供了技术参考。     

吉林省口蹄疫等动物疫病检测技术培训班在兰州举办

<正>为进一步加强无疫区管理,提高全省兽医实验室口蹄疫等动物疫病检测技术水平,促进全省监测工作,吉林省口蹄疫等动物疫病检测技术培训班5月11日在甘肃兰州顺利开班。此次培训班得到了中国农业科学院兰州兽医研究所的大力支持,兰研所多位行业专家就口蹄疫样品采集及流行病学监测、口蹄疫等主要动物疫病诊断方法、口蹄     

动物疫情管理体系在永吉免疫无口蹄疫区建设中发挥的作用

正吉林永吉免疫无口蹄疫区在建设过程中,严格遵循《无规定动物疫病区评估要素释义》要求,通过对区域区划、疫病状况、基础体系、预防监测、检疫监管、疫情管理六大体系的建设,逐步实现了免疫无疫,最终通过了国家农业部的验收。其中动物疫情管理体系在无疫区的建设过程中发挥了重要作用。1动物疫情报告体系永吉县动物疫病预防控制中心是对动物疫情进行收集、确认、报告、处置提供技术支撑的管理机构。确定了专人负责动物疫情报告工作,明确工作职责。     

National animal health surveillance: Return on investment

A weighted benefit-cost analysis (BCA) supports prioritization of animal health surveillance activities to safeguard animal agriculture industries and reduce the impact of disease on the national economy. We propose to determine the value of investment in surveillance by assessing benefits from: avoiding disease incursion and expansion modified by the probability of occurrence of the disease event, the sensitivity of systems to detect it, and the degree to which we can mitigate disease impact when detected. The weighted benefit-cost ratio is the modified value of surveillance as laid out above divided by the cost of surveillance. We propose flexible, stream-based surveillance that capitalizes on combining multiple streams of information from both specific pathogen based and non-pathogen based surveillance. This stream-based type of system provides high value with lower costs and will provide a high return for the funds invested in animal health surveillance.     

Surveillance programme for important equine infectious respiratory pathogens in the USA

The prevalence and epidemiology of important viral (equine influenza virus [EIV], equine herpesvirus type 1 [EHV-1] and EHV-4) and bacterial (Streptococcus equi subspecies equi) respiratory pathogens shed by horses presented to equine veterinarians with upper respiratory tract signs and/or acute febrile neurological disease were studied. Veterinarians from throughout the USA were enrolled in a surveillance programme and were asked to collect blood and nasal secretions from equine cases with acute infectious upper respiratory tract disease and/or acute onset of neurological disease. A questionnaire was used to collect information pertaining to each case and its clinical signs. Samples were tested by real-time PCR for the presence of EHV-1, EHV-4, EIV and S equi subspecies equi. A total of 761 horses, mules and donkeys were enrolled in the surveillance programme over a 24-month study period. In total, 201 (26.4 per cent) index cases tested PCR-positive for one or more of the four pathogens. The highest detection rate was for EHV-4 (82 cases), followed by EIV (60 cases), S equi subspecies equi (49 cases) and EHV-1 (23 cases). There were 15 horses with double infections and one horse with a triple infection. The detection rate by PCR for the different pathogens varied with season and with the age, breed, sex and use of the animal.     

Infection control practices and zoonotic disease risks among veterinarians in the United States

OBJECTIVE-To assess the knowledge and use of infection control practices (ICPs) among US veterinarians. DESIGN-Anonymous mail-out population survey. PROCEDURES-In 2005 a questionnaire was mailed to US small animal, large animal, and equine veterinarians who were randomly selected from the AVMA membership to assess precaution awareness (PA) and veterinarians' perceptions of zoonotic disease risks. Respondents were assigned a PA score (0 to 4) on the basis of their responses (higher scores representing higher stringency of ICPs); within a practice type, respondents' scores were categorized as being within the upper 25% or lower 75% of scores (high and low PA ranking, respectively). Characteristics associated with low PA rankings were assessed. RESULTS-Generally, respondents did not engage in protective behaviors or use personal protective equipment considered appropriate to protect against zoonotic disease transmission. Small animal and equine veterinarians employed in practices that had no written infection control policy were significantly more likely to have low PA ranking. Male gender was associated with low PA ranking among small animal and large animal veterinarians; equine practitioners not working in a teaching or referral hospital were more likely to have low PA ranking than equine practitioners working in such institutions. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE-Results indicated that most US veterinarians are not aware of appropriate personal protective equipment use and do not engage in practices that may help reduce zoonotic disease transmission. Gender differences may influence personal choices for ICPs. Provision of information and training on ICPs and establishment of written infection control policies could be effective means of improving ICPs in veterinary practices.     

Equine disease surveillance, April to June 2010

Recent outbreaks of equine infectious anaemia and equine viral arteritis in the UK. Update on the equine infectious anaemia situation in Europe. West Nile virus reported in several Mediterranean countries. Current and future approaches to equine viral arteritis control in the UK. These are among matters discussed in the quarterly equine disease surveillance report for April to June 2010, prepared by Defra, the Animal Health Trust and the British Equine Veterinary Association.     

Economic Assessment of Zoonoses Surveillance in a ‘One Health’ Context: A Conceptual Framework

Collaboration between animal and public health sectors has been highlighted as a means to improve the management of zoonotic threats. This includes surveillance systems for zoonoses, where enhanced cross‐sectoral integration and sharing of information are seen as key to improved public health outcomes. Yet, there is a lack of evidence on the economic returns of such collaboration, particularly in the development and implementation of surveillance programmes. The economic assessment of surveillance in this context needs to be underpinned by the understanding of the links between zoonotic disease surveillance in animal populations and the wider public health disease mitigation process and how these relations impact on the costs and benefits of the surveillance activities. This study presents a conceptual framework of these links as a basis for the economic assessment of cross‐sectoral zoonoses surveillance with the aim of supporting the prioritization of resource allocation to surveillance. In the proposed framework, monetary, non‐monetary and intermediate or intangible cost components and benefit streams of three conceptually distinct stages of zoonotic disease mitigation are identified. In each stage, as the final disease mitigation objective varies so does the use of surveillance information generated in the animal populations for public health decision‐making. Consequently, the associated cost components and benefit streams also change. Building on the proposed framework and taking into account these links, practical steps for its application are presented and future challenges are discussed.     

An evaluation of scrapie surveillance in the United States

Animal health surveillance systems should reflect national disease control priorities and promote the best use of public resources by maximizing effectiveness and efficiency. A surveillance system should be routinely evaluated to assess the degree to which the system accomplishes these goals, fulfills its stated objectives, and meets accepted surveillance standards. In the United States, there are a number of disparate endemic disease surveillance and eradication programs. The National Animal Health Surveillance System is a federal initiative designed to combine animal health surveillance and monitoring activities into a comprehensive and coordinated system. A protocol has been developed to facilitate the evaluation of animal health surveillance systems and investigate opportunities for coordination between the different surveillance and eradication programs. The evaluation protocol was based largely on protocols developed for public health but adapted for the specific needs and goals of animal health surveillance. The evaluation process was designed to identify program strengths and areas for improvement and facilitate the system's adaptability to changing situations. The evaluation protocol was applied to the scrapie surveillance system in the United States; scrapie surveillance was found to be an important part of surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Results from the evaluation of sensitivity, sampling methods and representativeness are presented.     

Identifying equine premises at high risk of introduction of vector-borne diseases using geo-statistical and space-time analyses

The identification of premises that may play an important role in the introduction or spread of animal diseases is fundamental to the development of risk-based surveillance and control programs. A combination of geo-statistical and cluster analysis methods was used to identify geographical areas and periods of time at highest risk for introduction of the African horse sickness virus (AHSV) into the Castile and Leon (CyL) region of Spain. Risk was estimated based on the predicted premises-specific abundance of Culicoides spp., a vector for AHSV, and on the frequency of equine introductions from outside regions. The largest abundance of Culicoides spp. was observed between May and September in the northern region of CyL. Six significant (P-value <0.01) space-time clusters of equine premises were found, at which presence of Culicoides spp. was predicted and live equidae were introduced from outside CyL. The clusters included 37 equine premises and took place between April and December. These results will contribute to updating plans for prevention of AHSV introduction and spread in Spain. The methodological approach developed here may be adapted and applied to design and establish risk-based surveillance and control programs for Spain and other European countries.     

Designing and evaluating risk-based surveillance systems: potential unwarranted effects of applying adjusted risk estimates

Risk-based surveillance systems reveal occurrence of disease or infection in a sample of population units, which are selected on the basis of risk factors for the condition under study. The purpose of such systems for supporting practical animal disease policy formulations and management decisions are: A: to detect an emerging disease or infection, if it becomes introduced into a population; or B: to substantiate freedom from a condition in a population; or C: to detect cases and estimate the prevalence of an endemic condition in a population. In risk-based surveillance these aims should be met with prudent use of resources while maintaining acceptable system performance. High-risk category units are selected for testing by identification of the presence of specific high-risk factor(s), while disregarding other factors that might also influence the risk. On this basis we argue that the most applicable risk estimate for use in designing and evaluating a risk-based surveillance system would be a crude (unadjusted) relative risk, odds ratio or apparent prevalence. Risk estimates found in the published literature, however, are often the results of multivariable analyses implicitly adjusting the estimates for confounding from other risk factors. We describe some potential unintentional effects when using adjusted risk estimates in evaluating the efficacy and sensitivity of risk-based surveillance systems (SSe). In two examples, we quantify and compare the efficacy and SSe using adjusted and crude risk estimates. The examples use Danish surveillance data from previously published studies to evaluate systems aimed at risk-based detection of new cases of an endemic infection, i.e. Salmonella in dairy cattle herds (Example 1), and for substantiating the absence of a specific infection, i.e. Trichinella in the national slaughter pig population (Example 2), respectively.