Certification for regional and international trade in livestock commodities: the need to balance credibility and enterprise.

The current system for the certification of internationally traded animal commodities can act as a barrier to developing countries accessing high-value international markets. In this Viewpoint article, Gavin Thomson and colleagues discuss the situation as it stands and identify inconsistencies with respect to the certification process. They suggest ways to address the lack of capacity for credible certification in some developing countries that will encourage market access for livestock commodities. They emphasise the role of mechanisms other than demonstrating that an area of production is free from a range of animal diseases, arguing that this could be of significant benefit to developing regions and countries, but that a reliable and independent system of certification based on international standards is essential.

Community participation and the delivery of veterinary services in Africa.

Community participation is now widely promoted as an important feature of aid projects in less-developed countries. However, definitions, uses and expectations of community participation vary considerably among professionals (including veterinarians). A lack of common understanding of community participation hinders the comparison of experiences between projects and can lead to false hopes regarding how community participation should be used and what it might deliver. This paper provides an overview of experiences with community participation in animal-health service development and research in Africa. By examining two types of community-based animal-health intervention, the paper also describes how community participation can vary in veterinary projects and relates this variation to project impact and sustainability. Projects that encourage types of community participation such as interactive participation and self-mobilisation are most likely to result in sustained benefits for livestock keepers.

Participatory analysis of seasonal incidences of diseases of cattle, disease vectors and rainfall in southern Sudan.

During an investigation into a chronic wasting disease in southern Sudanese cattle, a participatory appraisal method called a 'seasonal calendar' was used to understand local perceptions of seasonal variations in cattle diseases, disease vectors, intermediate hosts and rainfall. Repetition of a standardized seasonal calendar with Dinka informants demonstrated good reproducibility of the method. Comparison of rainfall data produced by seasonal calendars and objective measures of rainfall demonstrated good validity of the seasonal calendar method. Subjective assessment of seasonal calendar scoring patterns by veterinarians indicated that herders' perceptions of seasonal populations of biting flies, ticks and snails were similar to modern veterinary knowledge. The uses of seasonal calendars in veterinary epidemiology are discussed.

Participatory diagnosis of a chronic wasting disease in cattle in southern Sudan.

In southern Sudan, livestock keepers identified a chronic wasting disease in adult cattle as one of their most-serious animal-health problems. Participatory-appraisal (PA) methods and conventional veterinary-investigation methods were used to characterise the chronic wasting disease and identify linkages between indigenous knowledge and modern veterinary knowledge. The local characterisation of chronic wasting encompassed trypanosomosis, fasciolosis, parasitic gastroenteritis and schistosomosis (as both single and mixed infections).A standardised PA method called matrix scoring had good reproducibility when investigating local perceptions of disease-signs and disease causes. Comparison of matrix-scoring results showed much overlap with modern veterinary descriptions of cattle diseases and the results of conventional veterinary investigation. Applications of PA methods in remote areas with very limited veterinary infrastructure are discussed. The validation of data derived from PA is discussed by reference to the low sensitivity of 'field-friendly' diagnostic tests for important cattle diseases.

Para-veterinary professionals and the development of quality, self-sustaining community-based services.

Livestock are a major asset for rural households throughout the developing world and are increasingly regarded as a means of reducing poverty. However, many rural areas are characterised by limited or no accessibility to veterinary services. Economic theory indicates that primary level services can be provided by para-veterinary professionals working as private operators and as an outreach component of veterinary clinics and pharmacies in small urban centres. Experience from the development of community-based animal health worker (CAHW) systems indicates that these workers can have a substantial impact on livestock morbidity and mortality through the treatment or prevention of a limited range of animal health problems. Factors for success include community involvement in the design and implementation of these systems, and involvement of the private sector to supply and supervise CAHWs. Examples of privatised and veterinary supervised CAHW networks are cited to show the considerable potential of this simple model to improve primary animal health services in marginalised areas. An analysis of constraints indicates that inappropriate policies and legislation are a major concern. By referring to the section on the evaluation of Veterinary Services in the OIE (World organisation for animal health) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, the paper proposes guidelines to assist governments in improving the regulation, quality, and co-ordination of privatised, veterinary supervised CAHW systems.

International trade in livestock and livestock products: the need for a commodity-based approach.

International animal health standards designed to facilitate safe trade in livestock and livestock products are set by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and documented in the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code. A core principle of the Code is the need for countries to eradicate important transboundary animal diseases (TADs) to reduce the risk of exporting disease to trading partners. International food safety standards are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, administered jointly by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The goal of global eradication of most TADs is unachievable for the foreseeable future, other than in the case of rinderpest, and this prevents many countries, especially developing nations, from engaging in international trade under WTO rules. This paper proposes an alternative, commodity-based approach to the formulation of international animal health and food safety standards, based on the fact that different commodities pose very different risks when it comes to the spread of human and animal pathogens. Therefore, the risk mitigation strategies required are equally commodity-dependent. The authors conclude that more focused commodity standards would improve access to international markets for all countries, especially those in the developing world. For this objective to be realised, credible and independent certification is required.

De-boned beef - an example of a commodity for which specific standards could be developed to ensure an appropriate level of protection for international trade.

De-boned beef from which lymph nodes and risk material associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been removed, is a product which can be produced for safe international trade irrespective of whether the locality of production is recognized as free from so-called transboundary diseases or not. Further processing of such beef provides an additional safety factor. However, this approach requires specific control measures being in place, supported by appropriate auditing and certification procedures. This document presents the arguments supporting this concept and details how safety in respect of both animal diseases and human food safety can be achieved using an integrated hazard analysis and critical control points approach.