Introduction to recommendations for the prevention and control of transmissible animal diseases

Article 4.1.1.

Effective prevention and control of transmissible animal diseases, including zoonoses, is a central mandate of the Veterinary Services of each Member Country.

Veterinary Services around the world, supported by significant progress in veterinary science, have developed and improved a number of tools to prevent, control and even eradicate transmissible animal diseases.

The chapters in this section describe these tools and the recommendations for disease prevention and control that should be implemented by the Veterinary Services.

To effectively prevent introduction and transmission of animal diseases while minimising potential negative impacts of sanitary measures, Veterinary Services should consider developing measures based on the recommendations in this section, taking into account various factors including their impact on trade, animal welfare, public health and environment. In parallel with disease-specific sanitary measures, Veterinary Services should consider relevant commodity-based sanitary measures.

Furthermore, although the general principles covering the measures described in this section are applicable to multiple diseases, Veterinary Services should adapt them to their circumstances, because characteristics of the pathogenic agents and the situations in which they occur differ between diseases and between countries. To this end, recommendations in this section should be read in conjunction with listed disease-specific recommendations in Sections 8 to 15.

Veterinary Services should ensure that any prevention and control programme be proportionate to the risk, practical and feasible within the national context and be based on risk analysis.

Prerequisites for developing such programmes include:

• quality Veterinary Services including legislative framework, laboratory capacity and adequate and committed funding;
  

• appropriate education and training to secure veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals;
  

• close links with research institutions;

• effective awareness of, and active cooperation with, private stakeholders;
  

• public-private partnerships;
  

• cooperation between the Veterinary Authority and other Competent Authorities;
  

• regional cooperation among Veterinary Authorities on transboundary animal diseases.

nb: first adopted in 2019; most recent update adopted in 2024.