Return to Table of Contents: WVA Bulletin Vol 16 No 1 January 1999
Veterinary and human medical
programmes against zoonoses
Interaction at a
global level - Historical aspects
V. Kouba - Professor, MVDr V. Kouba, PhD, DrSc,
Former Chief, Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations; Professor of Epizootiology, Brno University of Veterinary
Medicine, Czech Republic.
Introductory lecture presented at the WAHVM (World
Association for the History of Veterinary Medicine) Congress 1998, Munich,
Germany.
The history of common global activities of veterinary
and human medical services against zoonoses started after establishing the
United Nations, i.e. after World War II.
This analysis is dedicated to the interactions of
inter-governmental organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Office of Epizootics (OIE) on
one side and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the other side. The paper
is based on available historical documents and on personal experience of the
author who was many years leading animal health officer of the FAO and expert
of the WHO and the OIE.
Global organizations involved in zoonoses control
programmes
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) with HQs in Rome which was
founded in 1945. Its Animal Health Service has been responsible within the
United Nations' system for global veterinary policy. It assisted to member
countries in zoonoses control through elaborating and implementing particular
national, regional and global field programmes including establishment and
strengthening animal health services manpower, organization, management, information
systems, diagnostic laboratories, vaccine production and control, etc. It was
supported by the international networks of specialized FAO (event. joint with
WHO) collaborating centers and reference laboratories. Chiefs of Animal Health
Service were R.B. Griffiths, Y. Ozawa, V. Kouba and Y. Cheneau.
World Health Organization (WHO) with Hqs in Geneva, a specialized agency of
the United Nations established in 1948 participated through its Veterinary
Public Health Unit (VPH) and international networks of WHO (event. joint with
FAO) collaborating centers and reference laboratories in the field of zoonoses.
Regional role had the Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Center (MZCC), the
Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and its Pan American Zoonoses Center
(CEPANZO), etc. The VPH Unit was for many years a part of the Division of
Communication Diseases and from 1995 of the Division of Emerging and Other
Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Control as Zoonotic Disease Unit. Its
activities were concentrated on zoonoses control and food hygiene assisting to
member countries through methodological documents (published in Technical
Report Series or as separate documents) with recommendations and standard
methods important for the protection of human health against diseases
transmissible from animals. Chiefs of Veterinary Public Health Unit were M.M.
Kaplan, M. Abdussalam, Z. Matyas, K. Boegel and F.X. Meslin.
International Office of Epizootics (OIE) with Hqs in Paris was founded in 1924 as
specialized inter-government agency. It has coordinated national veterinary
services, elaborated standards of diagnostic methods and measures against
animal diseases, including zoonoses, and provided basic recommendations for
international trade in animals and their products. It was collecting and
disseminating information on animal disease situation through weekly reports,
monthly bulletin and the World Animal Health Yearbook. Scientific information
was disseminated through publications such as Scientific and Technical Review.
Very important for the coordination were annual General Sessions of the
International Committee and regular sessions of the Regional Commissions. OIE
activities were supported by several commissions of specialists, working groups
and reference laboratories as well as collaborating centers. Directors General
were R. Vittoz, L. Blajan and J. Blancou.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with Hqs in Vienna participated through
veterinary unit of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food
and Agriculture assisting member countries in developing and introducing modern
diagnostic methods for selected diseases including zoonoses such as
brucellosis, trypanosomiasis, etc.. Heads of the Animal Production and Health
Section were J.D. Dargie and M.H. Jeggo.
"The
second half of 20th century was the most important historical period in
controlling zoonoses in animal and humans achieving many formidable results.
Interactions of the global international organizations contributed through the
national veterinary and public health services to the territorial reduction and
eradication of several specific zoonoses".
Forms of interactions
The above mentioned organizations established close
relations for the work to combat selected zoonoses assisting to member countries
in different forms with the aim to improve zoonoses epidemiological and
epizootiological situation. Main forms of interactions consisted of:
a) Common and coordinated reporting and information
systems, monitoring and surveillance, epidemiological and epizootiological
field and laboratory investigations.
Examples
·
FAO-OIE-WHO Animal
Health Yearbook founded in 1956. (Photo 1). This three-languages yearbook
produced in about 6,000 copies was disseminating information about more than
one hundred animal diseases including major zoonoses occurring in all the
countries of the world. The book was distributed free of charge to all the
governments for relevant ministries, all veterinary faculties, all reference
laboratories, all collaborating centers, other leading institutes and
personalities. The contents see in Table 1. Chief-Editors were H.O.
Konigshofer, V. Kouba, M. Bellver-Gallent, L. Velloso, P. Finelle and V.R.
Welte. From 1996 due to economic difficulties this yearbook ended. OIE World
Animal Health yearbook took over only basic statistical tables.
·
The OIE Group of
Animal Health
b) Common and
coordinated preventive and prophylactic, disease reduction, elimination and
eradication strategies, programmes and measures.
Examples
·
WHO and FAO common
field programmes against: rabies in developing countries, trypanosomiasis and
Rift Valley Fever in Africa, brucellosis in Mediterranean Region,
foot-and-mouth disease in South America, parasitic zoonoses in developing
countries, etc..
·
FAO/WHO/OIE
Inter-agency Consultation on Strengthening of National and International
Services in Animal Production Hygiene, Ottawa, Canada, 2-9 September 1990.
(Photo 2).
c) Common and
coordinated methodological instructions for field actions and for laboratory
diagnosis standards, zoonoses research and production of specific diagnostic
material (sera, antigens, etc.).
d) Common expert committees, expert consultations
elaborating different recommendations for the member countries governments,
veterinary services, institutions and schools.
Examples
·
WHO/FAO Expert
Consultations on zoonoses (see Tab. 2)
·
FAO/WHO Expert
Committee on Brucellosis
·
FAO/WHO Expert
Committee on Meat Hygiene
·
FAO/WHO Expert
Committee on Milk Hygiene
·
FAO/WHO Expert
Consultations on Veterinary Education (see Tab. 3).
WHO with participation
of FAO organized in Brno in 1983 a particular Consultation on Under-graduate
and Post-graduate Teaching in Veterinary Public Health which produced detailed
models of syllabi for teaching subjects related to the protection of human
health, priority being given to zoonoses.
e) Common programme for the education, training and
extension through workshops, training courses, symposia, seminars etc. dealing
directly or indirectly with zoonoses. Both FAO and WHO provided assistance in
training of teachers for veterinary schools and supplied internationally
recruited teachers, essential teaching equipment and books as well as international
fellowships.
Example
·
FAO/WHO World
Directory of Veterinary Schools was published in 1963. Veterinary chiefs of the
FAO, OIE and WHO were members of WVA Education committee.
f) Common publications
supporting modern technology transfer.
Examples
·
Monographs on meat and
milk hygiene published by FAO and WHO
·
Manual for Teaching
Basic Veterinary Epidemiology prepared at WHO/FAO Collaborating Center in
Teramo with the participation of WHO and FAO experts and published by Istituto
Zooprofilatico Sperimentale, Teramo.
·
Guiding principles for
planning, organization and management of veterinary public health programmes
prepared by WHO experts with the assistance of FAO experts and published by
WHO/FAO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Veterinary Public
Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Laboratorio di Parassitologia, Rome.
·
Special issues of the
OIE Revue Scientifique et Technique, Paris in 1991 and 1992 containing papers
dealing with veterinary public health problems (zoonoses and food hygiene)
where participated veterinary chiefs as well as experts of OIE, WHO and FAO.
g) Other common
activities related to protection of human health was represented by FAO/WHO
Codex Alimentarius Commission as an international body with the specific aim of
protecting the health of the consumers, ensuring fair practice in the food
trade and promotion of harmonization of food standards.
h) Of particular importance were FAO/WHO or WHO/FAO
reference laboratories (majority of them dealing with specific zoonoses) and
FAO/WHO or WHO/FAO collaborating centers performing specific studies, research,
training and diagnostic tests, providing information, advise, etc..
i) The cooperation was supported by official
agreements at the level of Directors General such as OIE-FAO Agreement approved
by the FAO in November 1952 and by the OIE in May 1953 and OIE-WHO agreement
approved by the WHO in February 1961 and by the OIE in May 1962.
j) Historically first interaction between WHO and FAO
to control zoonotic diseases was the meeting of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Group
on Zoonoses in Geneva in 1950 which defined the measures for controlling
brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis and anthrax.
k) Usually one international organization was in
charge of the given common event, i.e. being responsible for organizing,
experts inviting, financing and reporting.
Zoonoses control programmes
a) National and international programmes against
zoonoses were usually interlinked. International organizations provided
technical recommendations and direct help. National veterinary and human
medical services implementing specific programmes contributed by their
experience to improve international activities. Several zoonoses were reduced
or eradicated in different countries thanks also to the assistance of global
international organizations. However, no one zoonosis has been globally
eradicated yet.
b) Relatively good results were achieved in
controlling bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis. According to WHO data, the
number of cases in human brucellosis world-wide was estimated to be about
500,000. Following the recommendations of the WHO and FAO general
pasteurization of cow milk was introduced as a protective measure against
bovine tuberculosis saving health and life of millions of inhabitants.
c) Rabies. International programmes under the
leadership of WHO and supported by FAO and OIE based upon national actions
against rabies were generally successful saving thousands human lives. In spite
of this WHO World Survey of Rabies for the year 1996 estimated world-wide
number of human rabies deaths to be between 35,000 and 50,000 annually.
d) Trypanosomiasis. Costly programme against
trypanosomiasis in Africa contributed significantly to the reduction of human
cases. However, much more work has been left for the future to fight against
this very dangerous diseases with natural focality among wild animals. In this
field the interaction among relevant international organization was exemplary.
The joint programme has been carried out by FAO, WHO, IAEA and OAU/IBAR
together with national governments supported by many donor countries and
organizations.
e) Screwworm. Example of successful international
programmes contributing effectively to economic development and protection of
human health was the eradication of the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia
hominivorax) in Northern and Central America during second half of 20th century
and in Northern Africa during 1989-1991. The latter programme was implemented
under FAO leadership supported by WHO and OIE as well as by several donor
countries and organizations (Photo 3).
f) International control programmes against
salmonellosis, trichinellosis, toxoplasmosis, listeriosis, Q-fever,
leptospirosis, parasitic zoonoses such as echinococcosis/hydatidosis,
cysticercosis, etc. represented other common actions of the above mentioned
international organizations.
Conclusion
The second half of 20th century was the most
important historical period in controlling zoonoses in animal and humans
achieving many formidable results. Interactions of the global international
organizations contributed through the national veterinary and public health
services to the territorial reduction and eradication of several specific
zoonoses and thus to the reduction and elimination of specific risk and
incidence in human populations.
Unfortunately, global data on zoonoses in human
population were not available. Therefore, it was impossible to quantify the
final world-wide effect of common programmes against these diseases. However,
it can be supposed that in selected zoonoses, such as bovine tuberculosis and
brucellosis, Malta fever, rabies, trichinellosis and trypanosomiasis, the
global incidence in human population was reduced.
This is not the case in hundreds of zoonoses not
being internationally controlled. Their spreading was continuing due to
increasing legal and illegal international trade in animals and their products
without corresponding control of government veterinary services. Globalization
risk of animal diseases spreading, including zoonoses, represents alarming
danger, particularly when historical experience is not respected and strict
protective measures not applied. It was very sad situation when in the
territory, in which specific zoonosis was eradicated, the same disease was
again introduced due to benevolent import conditions or insufficient veterinary
control in exporting and importing countries. The above mentioned international
organizations are responsible to member countries for international measures
avoiding spreading of zoonotic diseases.
Biographical note:
Professor MVDr Vaclav Kouba, PhD, DrSc, born in Czech
Republic in 1929, graduated in 1953 at Brno University of Veterinary Medicine.
Formerly: Chief, Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO), Rome; Veterinary Public Health Expert, World Health
Organization (WHO), Geneva;
Table 1. Contents of
the FAO-OIE-WHO Animal Health Yearbook
Animal Diseases tables according to individual
countries
Number of Livestock and Human Population (tables)
Number of Veterinarians and of Animal Health Auxiliary Personnel (tables)
Zoonoses in Human Population (*)
Main Changes in the Epizootiological Situation
Types of the Virus of FMD identified at Pirbright World Reference Laboratory
Report of the European Commission for the Control of Foot- and Mouth Disease
Reports of Pan American Foot- and Mouth Disease Centre
Report on the FAO Animal Health Service Activities (*)
List of FAO Field Veterinary and Other Projects backstopped by the Animal
Health Service (*)
Report of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture (*)
Report of FAO Regional Offices: for Africa (RAF), Latin America and the
Caribbean (RLC), Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and Near East (RNE) (*)
List of FAO Publications and Documents on Animal Health (*)
List of FAO Meeting Reports dealing with Animal Health (*) Report of the
International Office of Epizootics (OIE) (*) Report of the of the World Health
Organization (WHO), Veterinary Public Health (*)
List of WHO Zoonoses Centres and WHO Collaborating Centre List of FAO Reference
Laboratories, FAO Collaborating Centres, FAO/WHO and WHO/FAO Col. Centres (*)
List of software packages related to animal population, veterinary economics,
management and epizootiology*)
(*) Introduced by the author when he was the
Editor-in-Chief
Table 2. Examples of
the WHO/FAO Expert Consultations on zoonoses
WHO (1951) First Joint WHO/FAO Expert Group on
Zoonoses
WHO (1959) Second Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Zoonoses
WHO (1967) Third Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Zoonoses
WHO (1969) Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Zoonoses
WHO (1979) Parasitic zoonoses: WHO Expert Committee with the participation of
FAO
WHO (1982) Bacterial and viral zoonoses. WHO Expert Committee with the
participation of FAO
Table 3. FAO/WHO
expert consultations on veterinary education
First International Meeting on Veterinary Education,
London 25-30 April 1960
First Meeting of the FAO/WHO Expert Panel on Veterinary Education, Rome 14-23
March 1962
Second Meeting of the FAO/WHO Expert Panel on Veterinary Education, Rome 23
April-2 May 1963
Second FAO/WHO International Meeting on Veterinary Education, Copenhagen 12-21
August 1965
Third Meeting of the FAO/WHO Expert Panel on Veterinary Education, Rome 12-16
July 1971
Fourth Meeting of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Veterinary Education,
Uppsala 28 August-2 September 1978
Fifth Meeting of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Veterinary Education, Rome
7-10 September 1993
(photos)
1) From the right: J. Blancou, Director General, OIE,
K. Boegel, Chief, Veterinary Public Health, WHO and V. Kouba, Chief, Animal
Health Service, FAO when attending Inter-agency Consultation on Strengthening
of National and International Services in Animal Production Hygiene, Ottawa,
Canada, 2-9 September 1990.
2) Cover page of the FAO-OIE-WHO Animal Health
Yearbook.
3) Screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) - a severe
case of human myiasis infesting a wound on the cheek just below the ear. (Photo
FAO).
Return to Table of Contents: WVA Bulletin Vol 16 No 1 January 1999