National Animal Health Surveillance System Outlook
Issue 19, September 2008
The NAHSS Outlook is an electronic communication with information about the National Animal Health Surveillance System (NAHSS) that is distributed via email to all members of Veterinary Services. Contact the National Surveillance Unit to provide comments and suggestions for future topics.
Articles in This Issue:
- Surveillance Inventory Provides Easy Access to Animal Health Information
- Swine Health Leadership Group Focuses on Surveillance
- Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 (BTV-8) is Topic of Denver Symposium
- Science-Based Methods Developed to Prioritize Surveillance
Click here for updates on ISA surveillance in Chile, implementation of scrapie surveillance, and national animal health steering committees recent meetings
Surveillance Inventory Provides Easy Access to Animal Health Information
The U.S. Animal Health and Productivity Surveillance Inventory is an online, searchable database with information about animal health surveillance activities conducted by many different U.S. Government agencies. The inventory, which has recently been updated, began in 2004 to identify existing animal health surveillance activities as the Veterinary Services (VS) Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH) National Surveillance Unit (NSU) started building a comprehensive and integrated National Animal Health Surveillance System. The easy-to-use database compiles animal health activities of various Federal agencies into a centralized overview of national surveillance. The inventory captures, in a single location, summary-level information regarding past and ongoing animal health and productivity surveillance activities in the United States as well as management studies that provide critical baseline information on diseases and risk factors. Read more about the surveillance inventory here.
Swine Health Leadership Group Meets
The swine health program and surveillance issues related to classical swine fever, pseudorabies virus, swine brucellosis, vesicular disease (primarily foot-and-mouth disease), and swine influenza virus were the major topics discussed by the swine health leadership group at its recent meeting in Fort Collins, CO. The swine health leadership group includes representatives from Veterinary Services-Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health-National Surveillance Unit, National Center for Animal Health Programs, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, National Animal Health Laboratory Network, VS Surveillance and Identification Programs staff, VS Regional staff, and APHIS Wildlife Services. The swine health leadership group has evolved from the original CSF surveillance leadership group, which included program leaders of NSU, VS program staff, and NAHLN, plus the VS Regional swine epidemiologists. The group’s mission has expanded its activities to other swine programs as VS has moved to integrate swine program activities and surveillance operations for improved effectiveness and efficiency. Read more about the swine health leadership meeting here.
VS Discusses Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 at Denver Symposium
Veterinary Services held a symposium on bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) in July in Denver. Featuring presentations by international experts, the meeting was attended by State animal health officials, academic researchers, industry representatives, and VS personnel. The purpose of the symposium was to provide a broad overview of the virus and its effect on animal agriculture, to discuss Europe’s experience with the virus, review the latest research, and explore possible implications for North America. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) lists bluetongue as a multispecies disease of importance to international trade. Meeting participants discussed the need for amplified surveillance in the United States and a response plan in the event of a BTV-8 outbreak here. Read more about the BTV-8 symposium here.
Science-Based Methods Developed to Prioritize Surveillance
The Veterinary Services-Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health- National Surveillance Unit is responsible for making recommendations on animal health surveillance priorities in the United States. Priorities are set by coordinating stakeholders’ needs with scientific justification. A variety of approaches are currently used to prioritize surveillance, some scientific and some political. A number of new science-based methods and tools have been developed to help decisionmakers find a balance between policy-driven approaches and science to determine surveillance priorities. Read more about surveillance prioritization here.