Devising Import Health Measures for Safe Trade

Dr Gillian Mylrea OIE International Trade Department Devising Import Health Measures for Safe Trade Sofia, 25-26 June 2008

Topics for discussion • OIE Codes and Manuals • Setting health measures • Members obligations 2.1. Notification obligations 2.2. General obligations 4.Devising import measures 3.1. Utilising information in WAHID 3.2. Hazard identification 3.3. Using the Code 5.Drawing up health certificates

OIE International Standards Trade standards (Codes) Biological standards (Manuals) Terrestrial Animal Health Code – mammals, birds, bees Aquatic Animal Health Code – fish, molluscs, crustaceans (and amphibians) Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals

What are in the Codes? • Recommended measures to be used by Veterinary Authorities or other Competent Authorities • to establish health regulations for the safe importation of animals and animal products • while avoiding unjustified trade restrictions

Principles in the Codes • adopted by OIE Members’ by consensus during General Session • WTO obligations complied with • scientific basis for recommendations • credible health certification

Contents of the TerrestrialCode • Part 1 - General provisions Section 1.1. – General Definitions and Notification of Animal Diseases Section 1.2 - Obligations and Ethics in International Trade (incl. certification procedures) Section 1.3 - Risk Analysis Section 1.4 - Import/Export Procedures

Contents of the TerrestrialCode • Part 2 – Disease specific Chapters, e.g. • FMD • BSE • avian influenza, etc. • within each chapter, articles on • description of pathogen / disease • determining status of a country, zone or compartment • ‘safe’ commodities irrespective of country status • recommendations for other commodities Total 84 in 2007 Code (Bovine, sheep and goat, swine, equine bees etc.)

Contents of the Terrestrial Code • Part 3 – Issue Specific Appendices Section 3.1 - Diagnostics tests for international trade Section 3.2 - Collection / processing of semen Section 3.3 - Collection / processing of embryos & ova Section 3.4 - Biosecurity in establishments Section 3.5 - Identification and traceability of live animals Section 3.6 - Inactivation of pathogens and vectors Section 3.7 - Animal welfare Section 3.8 - Disease surveillance systems Section 3.9 - Antimicrobial resistance

Contents of the Terrestrial Code • Part 4 - Model international veterinary certificates Section 4.1 - Live animals Section 4.2 - Products of animal origin

1. Setting health measures Import measures aim to minimise the risks to animal and public health associated with trade; Options allowed by WTO: 1. Members to base their health measures on OIE international standards such as the Code; or 2. Use of scientific risk analysis - when there is no appropriate standard; - when a Member requires more protection than that provided by the OIE standard;

2. Member Country obligations If international trade in animal commodities is to be conducted safely and without unjustified restrictions, trading partners must meet their obligations as members of the OIE and of the WTO

Notification obligations Code Ch 1.1.2. Notification of diseases and epidemiological information obliges Members’ to make available to others, through the OIE, information necessary to minimise the spread of animal diseases of international significance and to assist in improving the worldwide control of these diseases;

General obligations (Ch 1.2.1.) To maximise harmonisation of the sanitary aspects of international trade, Members’ should base their import health measures on OIE standards; The animal health situation in the exporting country, the transit country(ies) and in the importing country, should be considered in determining the health measures; Certification requirements should be exact and concise, and should clearly reflect the agreed positions of the trading partners.

Importing country obligations Import health measures should: comply with the national level of protection chosen for animal and public health; only be for the exclusion of pathogens/diseases: - not present in the importing country or if present, are subject to an official control program; - if pathogens/diseases are subject to official control programs, should not provide a higher level of protection on imports than the protection provided for the same pathogens/diseases within that country; - which are OIE listed, unless the importing country has identified the pathogen as presenting a significant risk for that country (in an IRA).

Exporting country obligations Be prepared to supply to the importing country information relevant to the safety of the traded commodity: e.g. outcomes of any evaluation of its veterinary services, surveillance information, risk analyses

3. Determining import health measures Utilising information in WAHID Hazard identification Using the Codes

WORLD ANIMAL HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM AND DATABASE (WAHIS & WAHID) Animal Health Information Department

Information in WAHID WAHID provides a comprehensive range of information for a specific Member Country, a region or a group of selected countries.

Information in WAHID (cont…) Members that claim freedom from a specified disease are listed in WAHID: OIE officially recognises freedom from 4 diseases only (FMD, Rinderpest, CBPP, BSE); for others, concerns of trading partners need to be addressed with the OIE Member . WAHID allows two countries to be compared with regard to their disease status, based on their most recent six monthly reports.

Hazard identification first step in the process of determining import health measures ‘the process of identifying the hazards (pathogens) that could be introduced into the importing country through the commodity’ Preliminary hazard list - use WAHID to compare disease statuses of importing and exporting countries

Hazard identification (cont…) second step - refine the list of hazards: -‘probable hazards’ – present in the exporting country but absent from importing country - ‘possible hazards’ – insufficient information available. Should be retained pending further information which may allow the pathogen to be removed from the list or confirm that it’s correctly listed ‘unlikely to be hazards’ – absent from both countries or present in importing country

Hazardidentification (cont...) • Important inputs for hazard identification include: • Credibility of VS (which may be supported by an OIE PVS evaluation), • Transparency (i.e. surveillance and reporting systems) • Capacity to control and prevent diseases, including the use of compartmentalisation and zoning as provided for in the OIE Code ……..of the exporting country. • The OIE Code provides Guidelines in these

Hazardidentification (cont...) In summary: to classify a hazard: • it should be relevant to the commodity to be imported; • its presence in the exporting country cannot be ruled out; • it should not be present in the importing country or if present, it should be the subject of official control or eradication measures

Hazardidentification (cont...) EXAMPLE: Preliminary hazard list – New Zealand IRA for sheep & goat genetic material

Using the Code Chapters in Part 2 of the Code address a single disease and includes: a list of commodities considered not to require any disease-specific measures, irrespective of the status of the exporting country for the disease: i.e.‘safe’ commodities Code: ‘regardless of the <X disease> status of the exporting country, Veterinary Authorities should authorise without restriction the import or transit through their territory of the following commodities…’ e.g. BSE: deboned skeletal muscle meat (with conditions), milk; BTV: beef, milk; RVF: milk.

Using the Code… a list of commodities considered to require health measures; lists requirements which should be met by a country/zone/compartment to achieve a specified disease status: e.g. 'disease free country', 'free zone with vaccination', 'moderate risk', 'free flock‘

Using the Code… EXAMPLE: FMD - Code recommendations for trade in commodities

Using the Code… where there is no recommendation for a particular commodity in a Code chapter, it means that OIE experts have not yet developed relevant health measures: in this case, a country should base its import health measures for that commodity on a scientific risk analysis. (The OIE has developed a ‘Handbook on Import Risk Analysis for Animals and Animal Products’)

Drawing up health certificates use the model certificates presented in Part 4 of the Code as templates, with the contents of the certificate being adapted to the commodity as required.

World organisation for animal health 12 rue de Prony 75017 Paris, France Tel: 33 (0)1 44 15 18 88 Fax: 33 (0)1 42 67 09 87 Email: oie@oie.int http://www.oie.int

Devising Import Health Measures for Safe Trade