1. OIE’s Active Search and Verification of non official Animal Disease Information
Results of five years activities
K. Ben Jebara & M.C. Ramirez
Animal Health Information Department
GLEWS Working Group on Early Warning, Rome, April 2007

2. Objective
Improve the efficiency of the OIE’s Early Warning System for better animal disease awareness and preparedness

3. Content
Mandate
Main steps of Active Search and Verification of non-official information
OIE Tracking Template
New Notification Procedures
Verification Results
Complementarities between Official and unofficial Sources
of Information
Conclusions

4. Mandate
In application of the DG’s Work Programme adopted by the OIE International Committee during the 69th General Session (May 2001), the OIE Central Bureau is authorised to question any Delegate of a Member Country regarding animal health incidents reported in the media (newspapers, scientific journals, ProMed, etc.)

5. OIE internal verification historical information)
Main Steps of Active Search and Verification of non official Information
Internet
resources
ProMed
GPHIN …
OIE Headquarters-Departments
OIE Regional representations
OIE Reference laboratories
OIE Collaborating centers
GLEWS ( FAO, WHO ) No
OIE internal verification
(OIE databases,
historical information)
2 cases
Non official information
Case 2
Possible new epidemiological event
Action based on Article of
the Terrestrial Animal Health Code
Case 1
Existing disease in a country
without new epidemiological event
No action
Analysis
OIE Animal Health
Information Dept.
Information
already
known?
Yes No
action

6. Main Steps of Active Search and Verification of non official Information (cont)
Action based on Article of
the Terrestrial Animal Health Code
Official letter
Official
answer ? No
Follow-up
management
and recall
Yes
OIE internal verification
(OIE’s databases, historical information)
Final report
Event closed
Disease, Infection or event confirmed
Disease, infection or event non confirmed
Immediate
notification
Follow-up
report
GLEWS
OIE Departments, OIE Regional representatives
Event
closed

7. OIE Tracking Template 1. Event identification 2. Analysis
3. Reason for notification
4. Action
5. Response
6. Additional comments

8. OIE Tracking: Example 1 Event: West Nile fever in Oman
Source of information: Newspapers online (Aljazeera)
Result of Analysis: Immediate notification
Reason for notification: Article of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (version 2003)
“for diseases not listed by the OIE, if there is information of exceptional epidemiological significance to other countries, for example if a disease may be a zoonosis”
Action: Letter sent on 21 November 2003
Response: 28 November 2003 confirming for the first time in the country the occurrence of WNV

9. OIE Tracking: Example 1

10. OIE Tracking: Example 2 Event: FMD suspicion - Peru
Source of information: Reuters (7 January 2005)
Result of Analysis: Immediate notification
Reason for notification: Article b of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (version 2004)
“re-occurrence of listed disease and/or infection in a country or zone/compartment following a report declared the outbreak ended”
Action: Letter sent on 10 January 2005
Response: 12 January 2005 confirming Anthrax. Published in INFOSAN on 14 January.

11. OIE Tracking: Example 2

12. New Notification procedures (2005): better coverage of exceptional diseases events/adaptation of active search of information
What needs immediate notification - within 24 hours?
The first occurrence of an OIE-listed disease or infection in a country or zone/compartment;
The first occurrence of a new strain of a pathogen
of a listed disease in a country or zone/compartment;

13. Notification procedures (cont.1)
The re-occurrence of a listed disease or infection in a country or zone/ compartment following a report by the Delegate of the Member Country declaring the previous outbreak (s) eradicated;
A sudden and unexpected increase in morbidity or mortality caused by an existing listed disease;

14. Notification procedures (cont.2)
An emerging disease with significant morbidity /mortality or zoonotic potential;
Evidence of change in the epidemiology of a listed disease (e.g. host range, pathogenicity, strain of causative pathogen), in particular if there is a zoonotic impact.

15. Notification procedures (cont.3)
Weekly reports: Follow-up to the immediate notification to inform on progress of the epidemiological situation (final report)

16. OIE Tracking: Example 3 Event: FMD in Uganda
Source of information: Promed (7 January 2005)
Result of Analysis: Immediate notification
Reason for notification: Article d of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (version 2004)
“a sudden and unexpected increase in the distribution, incidence, morbidity, mortality, mortality of a disease prevalent within a country or zone/compartment”
Action: Letter sent on 13 January 2005
Additional comment: OIE could not verify this with the former notification system.

17. OIE New Tracking Activities: Example 4

18. Not all exceptional disease events are covered by un-official sources of information

19. Not all exceptional disease events are covered by un-official sources of information

20. Official notifications Invalidated non-official information
Verification Results
Year
No. of correspondences
Responses
No response
Official notifications
Invalidated non-official information
2002 32
18 (56%)
14 (43%) 0%
2003 29
24 (79.2%)
5 (20.8%)
14 (48.27%)
30.93%
2004 85
67 (78.8%)
18 (21.2%)
39 (48.75%)
30.05%
2005 97
74 (76.28%)
23 (23.71)
36 (37.11%)
39.17%
2006
118
83 (70.33%)
( )
69 (58.47%)
11.86%

21. Verification Results by OIE Member Countries
Number of correspondences, responses and no responses

22. Verification Results by OIE Member Countries
Percentage of responses, official notifications and invalidated non-official information

23. Complementarities between Official and un-official Sources of Information
Non-official sources of information are important to improve transparency (69 official notifications obtained in 2006)
Verification process is important to confirm or not the non official information
Important source of dissemination of official information to a wider audience

24. Dissemination of OIE’s reports by ProMed

25. Main disseminated OIE’s reports by ProMed and by Disease

26. Conclusions
The number of verifications of non official information from OIE Member Countries is increasing year after year since 2002
The number of responses from OIE Member Countries has also increased since 2002, as reflected by the increase in the number of OIE’s disseminated official reports
Between 2002 and 2004, most of the information verified by the OIE was on former List A diseases, especially HPAI in South East Asia in 2004.

27. Conclusions
The new notification requirements that entered in force in 2005 enlarged the OIE’s verification process to other diseases and to additional significant epidemiological events
A new output as a result of active search activity has been the invalidated non-official information which brings an added value to official information and to seek the truth
The joint FAO/OIE/WHO GLEWS preliminary results for disease tracking and verification are encouraging. This Working Group I should bring recommendations to improve joint disease tracking activities and verification and to propose other sources of non-official information that can be used by the three organisations

28. Conclusions
Both official and un-official sources of information are important for transparency and are complementary
The cover of some regions/countries/diseases/ exceptional epidemiological events by the media and networks such as GPHIN, ProMed, etc. is not yet optimal, which, in addition to the weakness of some veterinary authorities might constitute pockets for emerging diseases and a source of threat to other countries

29. World Organisation for Animal Health
12 rue de prony
75017 Paris, Francia
Tél : 33 (0) – Fax : 33 (0)