New approvals of official recognition of animal health status and control programmes

Members can apply for the official recognition of animal health status for six priority diseases on a voluntary basis. Such recognition is key to support national livestock economies, as it plays an important role in facilitating regional and international trade of animals and animal products.  

Several Members obtained official recognition of their animal health status for their entire territory or specific zones: 

• Ecuador and Mongolia were declared free of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP); 
• A zone in Russia was declared free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) with vaccination; 
• Bahrain was declared free of African horse sickness (AHS);
• France’s bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk status has been recognised as negligible; 
• Russia’s BSE risk has been recognised as controlled.  

Members can also submit their official control programmes for four diseases for assessment. This year, Botswana and Zambia received the endorsement of their control programmes for FMD and CBPP, respectively. These are important accomplishments in the fight against highly contagious diseases that cause high morbidity rates in livestock and significant economic losses. They acknowledge the quality of a country’s strategic approach to tackle a specific disease. They can thus be instrumental to help Veterinary Services get increased support and resources from their governments to catalyse the implementation of these plans and progressively control these diseases more effectively.  

Every year, applications for official animal health status recognition and control programme endorsement are reviewed through a very detailed process, which evaluates the sanitary measures in place and compliance of the Member with the OIE international Standards.  This official animal health status recognition reflects the level of transparency and the quality of national Veterinary Services, ultimately contributing to the value of the livestock sector in countries.