rp_actions3.doc
828 Prague, 13 January 2011
Last amendment on 26 May 2013
CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL
ERADICATION OF RINDERPEST
(Provisional text)
Prof.MVDr.Václav
.Kouba,DrSc.
Former Chief, Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(Addendum: Rinderpest global eradication management)-
Introduction
The author received on
His direct
participation in the greatest global eradication programme in animal
populations covered the period when he worked as the Chief, Animal Health
Service (AGAH), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations being
in charge of and responsible for all UN programmes in animal health. The
responsibility for the programme of global eradication of rinderpest (cattle
plague) was always a priority. The programme strategy and tactics were based on
specific activities of international assistance to protect countries under
risk, to apply recovery/eradication measures in the infected countries as well
as intensive specific surveillance to identify specific epizootiological situation
and to confirm rinderpest-free status. The concrete actions of international
assistance were organized gradually at national, regional and continental
levels and finally at global level. An important factor was the extensive
production and control of
anti-rinderpest vaccine and its targeted use. In
addition, the author participated in previous UN positions in the activities supporting indirectly the
anti-rinderpest programme through specific research, education, training,
information, publications and veterinary service organization. The member
country governments and sponsoring organizations required from the AGAH, FAO as
United Nations agency deeds –
concrete results of practical problems’ solutions and not words – abstract theory/paper works ("Facta, non verba").
The author was fortunate that he gained experience as an
Assistant to Prof. Dr. Antonín Klobouk, DrSc. who led a Czechoslovak expedition against
rinderpest in
Material
The main
source of data for this article were the documents
of Animal Health Service (AGAH), Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), responsible
for executing worldwide assistance to member-country governments’ animal health programmes, including against
the rinderpest as the priority disease. The reports of the author’s missions (Duty Travel Back-to-Office Reports) and the protocols from AGAH meetings,
international negotiations and expert consultations’ reports related to the measures against rinderpest
were for this paper of key importance. Other sources of information were the reports presented to ministers of member country
governments (e.g. during FAO biennial conferences) and by the yearbooks
on animal disease worldwide occurrence as published in the FAO/WHO/OIE Animal Health Yearbook (the author was its
Editor-in-Chief: 1978-1984 and 1987) and in the OIE World Animal Health.
There
were considered also the documents of “Joint FAO/IAEA Animal Production and Health
Division, International Atomic Energy Agency” in Vienna, Austria which
provided professional assistance to member countries, in particular introducing
the most modern laboratory diagnosis of the rinderpest. Among other supporting
documents there were reports and publications of regional and continental
programmes. "The Pan African Rinderpest
Campaign (PARC)” – FAO Project
GCP/RAF/218/JPN - was launched in 1986 by the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) in cooperation with the FAO. The second FAO anti-rinderpest regional
project was established in the same year in
The
author as the Editor-in-Chief regularly was evaluating rinderpest global
epizootiological situation in the FAO/WHO/OIE Animal Health Yearbook and
later as the Chief, AGAH introduced in
this Yearbook *) detailed reports in three languages from 1988 on “Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC),
Organization of African Unity (OAU), Nairobi, Kenya”) and from 1989 on “West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign
Coordination (WARECC)”.
Personal
information of leading AGAH virologists
in charge of the anti-rinderpest programmes, e.g. Dr. Yoshihiro Ozawa (Japan),
Senior Animal Health Officer (Virology), later Chief, AGAH and Dr. Kris. J.
Wojciechowski (Poland/Ireland), Senior Animal Health Officer (Virology), AGAH
were also taken into account.
----------
*) There were produced up to 6 500
copies every year. The majority was distributed free of charge to all: FAO, WHO
and OIE member country governments, Chief Veterinary Officers, veterinary
faculties, FAO and WHO animal health reference laboratories and collaborating
centres, institutions of major international importance and selected
international specialists. The rest was left for FAO Distribution and Sales
Section.
Activities against rinderpest
The
basic activity was to discover in time new rinderpest outbreaks and apply
isolation measures and to identify the territories with the rinderpest
occurrence (i.e. affected localities/herds – outbreaks), zones under direct specific
risk, other zones under specific indirect risk, the limits of territories free
of clinical cases of rinderpest and limits of territories free of rinderpest
virus. This required extensive serological monitoring always considering eventual post-vaccination
reactions. The eradication strategy consisted in using radical methods of
slaughtering or destruction of all specifically diseased and suspected animals
as well as animal-contacts (“stamping out”).
At the same time it was applied very strict quarantine of infected sites and surrounding
zones supplemented with follow-up perifocal vaccination and territorial
vaccination in territories under specific risk.
Participation of the author in
anti-rinderpest actions was time-limited for the period of his activity at FAO
HQs from 1978-1991 in the following positions: Animal
Health Officer (Research and Education), Animal Health Officer (Veterinary
Intelligence) and Senior
Animal Health Officer (Veterinary Services)
having anti-rinderpest programme supporting
responsibility and later as the Chief, Animal Health
Service (AGAH) having full global responsibility for the
programme implementation and its results. This period was marked by
the start of a frontal assault against rinderpest by the affected countries,
regions, continents and worldwide under
the leadership of the AGAH FAO. In Africa, this period was preceded by
improvements in the years 1962-1976 due to extensive vaccination (programme JP 15*), but its premature termination (due to economic
reasons) led to a flare and spread of this infection from the residual
“pockets” to the north up to Egypt, to the west up to Senegal, to the east up to Djibouti and to the south up to Tanzania. In
------------------------------------------------
*) Joint
Campaign against Rinderpest in
Provided
anti-rinderpest activities of the author and of
other FAO Animal Health Service (AGAH) staff, consisted not only in
global initiative, organization, international coordination, management,
gaining necessary external support as
well as in concrete assistance (sending professional manpower, methods,
material, funds, etc.) to member country governments. Direct assistance
consisted in solving various anti-rinderpest problems on the spot during
official visits of Member States, regions and continents concluded with the
proposals for follow-up concrete FAO help. The assistance usually consisted, after becoming familiar with the specific
situation and influencing conditions, in various activities: identification of
rinderpest situation and its trend (forecast), identification of infected
territories (populations) and threatened territories, elaboration of anti-rinderpest
strategy, tactics, surveillance (e.g., large-scale serological monitoring for
rinderpest situation identification, post-eradication control and confirmation
rinderpest-free status), contingency plans, specific protective and control
measures, provision of methodologies, professional advising, assisting in
rinderpest diagnosis (establishing and
strengthening diagnostic laboratories including
equipment and FAO
international experts), production and control of anti-rinderpest vaccines,
staff preparedness, education/training (sufficient number of well trained,
informed and organized veterinary manpower = key factor), specific information
system, legislation, strengthening of veterinary services organization**),
specific research, etc. Every outbreak of this dynamic biological phenomenon
was clinically and epizootiologically different under different conditions
requiring different complex measures based on on-the spot investigations
(therefore, mathematical models requiring reliable field data were not used).The
AGAH missions also supervised the implementation of the FAO anti-rinderpest
field programmes and eventually identified new or additional professional help.
Occasionally, the author solved some operational problems on the spot ***).
**) Following author's initiative and under his guidance
it was prepared a FAO book “Guidelines
for Strengthening of Animal Health Services in Developing Countries",
1991 translated into French and Spanish.
***) During a visit of a veterinary clinic (very closed to
sheep market) in Fudaliya, the city south of Baghdad, Iraq on 25 June 1989 the author
together with by Dr. S. C. Mathur, rinderpest specialist (first Project Manager
of the new programme WARECC), found
typical symptoms of rinderpest in a cow with a wrong diagnosis (Iraq that
year reported rinderpest-free status) and immediately began emergency measures on
the spot and mobilized local authorities and Ministry of Agriculture.
FAO anti-rinderpest field projects during
the 1980s’ started based on the requirements of individual member country
governments and of some international organizations (sponsors) as well as on
Animal Health Service (AGAH) own initiative. Once approved objectives and
deadlines, the AGAH developed a more detailed proposal ("Project Document") containing the
main individual tasks ("Terms of
Reference”) and necessary provisions in terms of methodology, personnel,
material, finance, etc. for consideration and approval by relevant FAO
departments and by representatives of the governments or sponsoring
organizations. The document represented a detailed methodological procedures, a
list of professional and supporting staff, list of needed materials, breakdown
of the budget (costs: experts, support staff, travel, subcontracts, training, equipment, tools, premises, operations etc.), potential
risks, controls and reporting, etc.. Very important was the selection of the
best possible experts, both professionally and linguistically proven animal
health specialists from AGAH "Active
Roster" (several hundreds) in case of time urgency or by issuing “Vacancy Announcement” with a detailed
description of the requirements for expertise, experience and language knowledge.
Selected experts for the "Field Programme"
went first through AGAH professional instruction ("briefing"). Material and financial provisions (including the
acquisition of sponsors) was provided by other services of the FAO HQs. With
exception of emergency situations requiring immediate action, no programme was
initiated until it was fully secured (especially financially). Usually it was
required a participation of the member country government receiving the FAO assistance. All programmes
must have the consent of relevant member country government(s). Methodological issues as well as regional, continental and
global strategic problem solutions were addressed in the FAO's own budget (“Regular Programme – RP”), from which
there were reimbursed also operational (emergency) assistance programmes
("Technical Cooperation Programme -
TCP). At that time the most important contributions
to anti-rinderpest programmes were provided by the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP). Several FAO programmes were funded by some member
country government itself (“Trust Funds –
TF”) or by more governments together ("Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries-TCDC”).
Important
role played FAO reference laboratories dealing with rinderpest research and
diagnosis. Extremely useful global role had Institute for Animal Health,
The worst situation, i.e. the most
difficult to solve rinderpest eradication problems, was in the African
continent.
The
author initiated and organized special Seminar on Epizootiology and Veterinary
Economics (“Séminaire FAO sur l’épizootiologie
et les aspects économiques de la santé animale”) for Directors General of Veterinary Services of
all francophone African countries in
In 1986 it was established by
the Organization of African Unity (OAU), a
special programme called "The Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC)”
which took over the managerial and coordination role at continental level being
technically supported by the Animal Health Service, FAO and by the
*/ *) Example: From Czechoslovakia participated in anti-rinderpest vaccine
production at Serum and Vaccine Production Institute in Mogadishu, Somalia, following
virologists: Associate Professor Dr. Jaromir Menšik, Dr.
The author also exploited the opportunity when attending the 8th
Conference of the OIE Regional Commission
for
.
The author, as the Chief. AGAH, was supervising
also a special regional FAO/UNDP Programme against rinderpest
in the Middle and Near East called "The
Very important programme of the FAO Animal Production and Health
Division (AGA) in this region was «Middle
and Near East Regional Animal Production and Health Project (MINEADEP)»
given the priority task to support AGAH rinderpest eradication programme in
this region (WARECC). The author met
several times Dr. F.I El-Dessouky (
In
The author exploited also the opportunity to discuss rinderpest
eradication problems with some Chief Veterinary Officers: e.g. during the Fifty
Sevenths OIE General Session, Paris, 21-27 May 1989 or FAO Expert Consultation
on Strengthening Animal Health Services in Developing Countries, Rome, 15-19
October 1990 +/.
+/ For example: Dr Qiu Zhenyuan, Deputy Director, Dpt.
of Animal Husbandry and Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Husbandry and
Fisheries, Beijing, China; Dr J.M. Ng’ang’a, Deputy Director, Veterinary
Services, Ministry of Livestock Development, Nairobi, Kenya; Dr. K.B. David
West, Federal Dpt. Livestock and Pest Control Service, Lagos, Nigeria, etc.),
Author’s duty
travels to Africa and Asia
Below is
the list of author’s duty travels to countries in
Middle and
Saudi Arabia, Riyad, 9-15 March 1979, 20-26
January 1980 and 21-24 February 1981: Dr Mezaini, Director of Animal Production
and Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources
Syrie,
Irak, Bagdad, 6-10 February 1981: Dr Kadouri, Director
General, Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Resources, Ministry of
Agriculture; 17-27 June 1989: Dr Mushar K. Mohammed, Director General,
Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Resources, Ministry of
Agriculture, National Director of
MINEADEP and Dr Mohammed About Muhsin, Director, Veterinary Research and Vaccine
Production laboratories, National Coordinator, WAREC
Thailand, Bangkok, 25 February – 6 March 1983: Dr Tim
Bhannasiri, Chief Veterinary Officer and 16-23 April 1991: Dr Tweesackdi,
Director General, Department of Livestock Development,Ministry of Agriculture
and Cooperatives and Dr Laddawalaya Ratananakom, Disease Control Division
Other
author’s missions
The author, after being nominated as the Chief, Animal Health Service,
FAO, visited important international organizations to coordinate animal health programmes
and to obtain necessary support for FAO field projects, first of all for the programme
against the rinderpest. He met during these visits leading decision-making competent
officers:
France, Paris,
21-22 November 1988: Dr Luis Blajan, Director General, International, Office of Epizootics (OIE).
This agency provided rinderpest diagnostic standards, information on its
occurrence, international code for trade in animals and animal products, conditions
for declaring rinderpest-free status and methodological documents (OIE as
supportive theoretical organization while the FAO as United Nations agency was
responsible for practical execution and results).
Austria, Vienna,
25-26 November 1988: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear and
Biotechnology Application in Food and Agriculture - Dr B. Sigurbjorsson,
Division Director, Dr J.D Dargie, Head, Animal Production and Health Section and
Dr Martyn H. Jeggo, Animal Health Officer. This agency provided modern
rinderpest laboratory diagnostic kits, equipment and training.
Discussion and conclusion
The
author as the Chief, Animal Health Service, FAO-UN was that time responsible
for all UN animal health programmes and field projects and for their results, giving the priority to
rinderpest regional and global eradication.
The
extremely complex and demanding eradication (“de
facto” */) of rinderpest in the world was first of all the merit of
thousands of veterinarians and of supportive staff at all levels headed by the Chief Veterinary Officers of very
large number of developing and developed countries *) being supported by
several international organizations (e.g. OIE, IAEA, etc.) and financial
sponsors. The global eradication of the rinderpest represents the major
achievement in the history of veterinary medicine.
*/ The real practical eradication was achieved in 2010 (end of the
field operations) irrespective of any
later formal declarations.
The anti-rinderpest global eradication
principal role of initiator, promoter, organizer, manager and responsible
executor providing concrete assistance to Member States and their groupings played
Animal Health Service (AGAH), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), headed by its Chiefs during last five
decades: Dr Ervin Eichorn (USA), Dr. Reg Barn Griffiths (Great Britain), Dr.
Yoshihiro Ozawa (Japan), short-term acting Dr Paul J. McCosker (Australia), Dr.
Vaclav Kouba (Czechoslovakia), Dr. Yves Cheneau (France), Dr. Maurice Joseph
Domenech (France) and Dr. Juan Lubroth (USA). Each of them was
responsible during a particular time period for the anti-rinderpest programme
and its results. Special anti-rinderpest responsibilities had AGAH virologists,
e.g. during the 1980s’ Dr Yoshihiro Ozawa and Dr
This historic achievement of the global eradication of
rinderpest ranked as the second in history after the global eradication of
smallpox in humans in 1980. Huge damage that rinderpest, the most dangerous
killing animal infection, has done in the past will not be repeated. It is a
great contribution to the livestock development and production, agriculture
economy, international trade in animals and their products and to poverty
reduction in developing countries of
The fight against rinderpest being managed globally by the AGAH/FAO in the eighties of the twentieth century was at the beginning marked by a new intensive start against
catastrophic expansion in previous
years, particularly in
During this period (1981-1990) following 23 countries
officially reported last cases of rinderpest (= eradication): Lebanon and Syria
(1982), Izrael, Central African Republic, Palestian Auton. Territories and
Somalia (1983), Chad (1984), Kuwait, Bahrain and Djibuti (1985), Mali, Cameroon,
Cote d’Ivoir, Niger and Cambodia (1986), Benin, Quatar, Nigeria and Egypt
(1987), Burkina Faso and Ghana (1988), Georgia (1989) and Nepal (1990). During this period in other 19 rinderpest
countries +) was achieved significant occurrence reduction creating necessary
conditions for future eradication.
+) Mongolia (1992), Iran, Sri Lanka and
Uganda (1994), Afghanistan, Ethiopia, India, Oman and Yemen (1995), Iraq,
Turkey and United Arab Emirates (1996), Tanzania (1997), Russia and Sudan
(1998), Saudi Arabia (1999), Pakistan (2000), Mauritania and Kenya (2003).
Note: During previous two decades last
cases were reported as follows: 1961-1970 – Angola (1962), Gambia (1965), Laos
(1966), Guinea and Guinea-Bissau (1967) and Bhutan (1969); 1971-1980 – Jordan
(1972) and Vietnam (1977).
In the middle of that decade for the first time in
history the AGAH made a deep analysis of the global rinderpest occurrence and
influencing factors, which made possible to establish the deadline for the
final eradication – 2010, i.e. to achieve it during following a quarter century
including years’ long monitoring (observation/surveillance) period. This term
has proved to be demanding but real. Setting a deadline gave a new impetus for
time scheduling at all levels of rinderpest eradication programmes requiring to
intensify significantly these projects. Thus was created the basic premise that
the recovery process could gradually be accelerated and completed in deadline
time. The results of the science and practice of previous stages created conditions for the next ones forming a chain
of interdependence between individual stages following the previous ones (as a „relay“). Key role
played the transfer of previous and new available scientific knowledge and of
accumulated experience into the practice at field level representing the
decisive principle for the final result of the whole global anti-rinderpest
programme. Without active anti-rinderpest actions of previous generations of
veterinarians (starting already in 19th century) the present generation could not achieve this outstanding result.
All stages of anti-rinderpest
actions were important, i.e. not only those of control and proper eradication
measures but also those of post-eradication measures confirming rinderpest-free
status at local, national, regional and finally at global level to can declare
our planet as free of rinderpest virus. All stages were demanding and
difficult. All participants of this gigant work merit thanks and appreciation.
Formally the
international global rinderpest eradication ended by the „Adoption of the FAO Declaration on Global Freedom from Rinderpest“ during 37th
Conference Plenary Session, Rome, 28 June 2011. The author attended this historical act being invited as former Chief,
Animal Health Service, FAO when he was responsible for the implementation and
results of this global programme.
Literature
1. Dedek, L. and Petlach, J. (2010): Memories of
a veterinary practice. (In Czech). Zodiac, Vol. 17: 1929-1930
2. FAO (1996): The World Without rinderpest. FAO Animal Production
and Health Paper 129,
3. FAO
(1996): Manual on the diagnosis of rinderpest,
4. FAO (1998): Rinderpest: The challenge ahead.
FAO Technical Consultation on the global rinderpest eradication Programme.
5. FAO
(2010): The Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme. Status report on progress
made to May 2010 in the eradication of rinderpest: highlighting success stories
and actions required prior to Global Declaration in 2011 (AGA),
6. Kouba, V.
(Editor): FAO / WHO / OIE Animal Health Yearbook,
7. Kouba, V.
(Editor): Guidelines for Strengthening of Animal Health Services in Developing
Countries", FAO, 1991, 141 pp.
8. Kouba, V. (2003): Occurrence and eradication of
rinderpest in
9. Kouba, V.
(2011): Peste bovina - la primera infeccion animal erradicada en todo el mundo.
Revista
Electronica de Veterinaria, Vol.12, No 4, Abril 2011 http://www.veterinaria.org/revistas/redvet/n040411/041104.pdf
10. Masiga, W.N. (1999): Pan-African
surveillance for transboundary animal diseases: The Pan-African Programme for
the Control of Epizootics, "Pace". In: Fourth Expert Consultation on
the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and
Diseases (Empres) - Livestock Programme,
11. Obi, T.U., Roeder, P.L., Geering W.A. (1999):
Manual on the Preparation of rinderpest contingency Plans, FAO, 34 pp.
12. OIE (1990-2009): World Animal Health,
13. OIE World
Animal Health Information Database – WAHID, 2010,
14. OIE (2000): Manual of Standards for Diagnostic
Tests and Vaccines, Fourth Edition,
15. OIE (2009).
International Animal Health Code,
16. Ozawa, Y.
(1985): Personal Information
17.
Rweyemamu, M. (1996): The global status of rinderpest in the 1996th In:
Proceedings of the FAO Technical Consultation on the Global Eradication of rinderpest
Programme,
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Wojciechowski, K.J. (1990): Personal Information
Addendum:
AGRICULTURA TROPICA ET SUBTROPICA,
46/2, 35-42, 2013
Rinderpest Global Eradication Management
Václav Kouba
Department of Animal Science and Food Processing in
Tropics and Subtropics, Faculty of Tropical
AgriSciences, Czech University of Life sciences
Prague, Czech Republic
Former Chief, Animal Health Service, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Abstract
The global eradication of rinderpest in 2010 ranked as the second in
history after the eradication of smallpox in humans in 1980.Rinderpest (in
recent history included also among biological weapons of mass destruction)
recurred throughout history causing hundreds of millions of animal deaths. It
was recorded in 114 countries of all continents. After the World War II it was
still reported from 66 countries in Africa and Asia. After all necessary
knowledge about rinderpest virus and its circulation became available, along
with excellent vaccine as well as enough experience with anti-rinderpest
measures, the global eradication programme was launched in 1986 after a long
preparatory period. It was composed of three new regional projects including
all national anti-rinderpest programmes. The main method consisted in active
search, isolation and stamping out of all outbreaks combined with mass prophylactic vaccinations and followed
by years-long risk-based surveillance. The transfer of research results into
practical reality required an extraordinary komplex of a highly demanding
system of managerial measures. It included analyses of rinderpest occurrence,
identification of objectives/deadlines and control methods, planning, ensuring
necessary manpower, material and funds, organizing and implementation of
coordinating programmes etc. This complex was represented by a managerial
pyramid structure of inter-connected components having the basis at rinderpest
affected localities and countries and its top at the Animal Health Service,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as executive agency
responsible for technical assistance and global leadership/coordination.
Keywords: anti-epizootic methods, anti-epizootic planning, anti-epizootic
organization, biological weapons, disease-free status, disease emergency,
epizootiology, managerial pyramid, UN animal health service. financial support.
INTRODUCTION
The rinderpest (caused by a Morbillivirus), the most dangerous animal infection included among biological
weapons of mass destruction,
recurred throughout history1
killing hundreds of millions of
bovines. It hit Europe hard in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the beginning of the 20th century, the disease occurred widely in Africa, Asia and Europe and was
responsible for the death of hundreds of millions of cattle, buffaloes, yaks
and wild artiodactyls, and for the loss of people’s assets, livelihoods and
ability to fend off famines. The rinderpest (known also as “cattle plague”) was
historically registered in 114 countries of all continents. After the World War
II it was reported from the remaining 66 tropical and subtropical countries in
Africa and Asia. An enormous number of specific research results, publications,
meetings and conferences recommending rinderpest global eradication resulted up
to 1986 only in a theory with good intentions. That year the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as a worldwide competent
executive agency started the global eradication programme. It was extremely
difficult to select from the very rich sources of available information that
made possible to transfer them into practice, i.e. into a realistic
time-bounded plan and procedures leading to rinderpest global eradication. This
required highly complex studies, experiments, epizootiological and economic
analyses, selecting realistic
control methods and ensuring necessary inputs such as staff, material, funds
and managerial system focused on final global eradication. In June 2011, FAO
Conference, the highest body of this United Nations’ agency adopted the “FAO Declaration on Global Freedom from Rinderpest”. The author was present, being invited as former Chief, Animal Health
Service, FAO, temporarily responsible for the management of global rinderpest
eradication programme. This invitation and the message “FAO highly values your contribution towards the
eradication of rinderpest” represent the impulse to write
this paper.
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Bible, The Old
Testament: Exodus 9: 1-7 „The plague
of the cattle“ (fifth plague of Egypt) - during
pharaohs‘ nineteenth dynasty (arend 13th century B. C.).
MATERIAL
The documents of FAO Animal
Health Service (AGAH), responsible for executing global anti-rinderpest management and for practical assistance to
member countries, represented the main source of data. The protocols from AGAH
meetings, international negotiations and expert consultations on rinderpest
eradication were of key importance. Other information were found in the
yearbooks on animal dinase occurrence in “FAO/WHO/OIE Animal Health Yearbook”2 and in “OIE World Animal Health”
as well as in “OIE World Animal Health Information Database”. Several other FAO
publications on rinderpest (1996, 1998, 2011) were used as well. The papers
published in 2011 by Slingenberg; Chibeu and El-Sawalhy; Kamata; Mathur; Njeumi
and Roeder; Sasaki, Rajasekhar, Raja and Hussain; Knop, Miyagishima and Vallat
in a special issue of FAO EMPRES Bulletin3 on rinderpest eradication represented important global and continental
historical data on anti-rinderpest actions. Among many papers on rinderpest
monitoring the contribution of Mariner et al. (2003) was of major importance.
Personal information of AGAH
virologists who were in charge of the rinderpest projects, i.e. Y. Ozawa and K.
J.
Wojciechowski, represented
another source of useful data. Finally, the author’s own experience was used
(Kouba, 2003 and 2012). Numeric data for global cost/benefit analysis were
unfortunately not available.
History
of rinderpest control
The development of rinderpest
control had a long history. A more or less passive approach consisted in stamping out of outbreaks
and cattle movement control complemented after the World War II by specific
vaccination in the areas under specific risk. Stamping out consisted in sanitky slaughtering
specifically diseased and suspected animals. Mass vaccination using attenuated
tissue culture valine developed in the 1950s by W. Plowright and D. Ferris had an extraordinary role. About 3
billion doses were administered to animals. Fixing 2010 deadline for global
eradication of rinderpest was possible only after having proved that its virus
stops circulating among wild animals several years after eradicating individual
outbreaks in domestic cattle and buffaloes living in the same zone. Identifying
limits of rinderpest territories, all outbreaks and zones under specific risk
required extensive clinical and serological monitoring in domestic and wild
animal populations of susceptible species. Global eradication of rinderpest
represented a komplex of difficult-to-solve problems being multiplied by the
fact that every case was different under different conditions requiring
different application of anti-rinderpest principles.
Fig. 1. Rinderpest –
map of all countries affected (V. Kouba according to OIE WAHID 2009 data)
----------------------------------------------------
2 The author as its Editor-in-Chief
was regularly evaluating rinderpest occurrence in the world and introduced
reports on “Pan African Rinderpest Campaign”
and on “West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign”.
3 EMPRES: “Emergency Prevention
System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases”
Not only the rinderpest
territorial occurrence and spreading tendency must be considered but also the size
and space distribution populations of
susceptible of animal species. Influencing factors such as ecological,
economic, social and political conditions as well as public, government and
support of donors must be considered as well. The degrese of demandingness was
multiplied by the fact that the timebound programme required to reach the
eradication prior to the deadline. This was much more difficult than the
previous practice without a fixed global final term. A complex systém approach
when applying action-oriented epizootiological principles was of extraordinary
importance. International management of global eradication programme had
different work/resources/time consuming phases.
Global preparatory phase consisted in: rinderpest aetiology, immunology and epizootiology research;
field investigations to identify all outbreaks and threatened territories;
identification of control/eradication strategy and methodology (including
laboratory diagnosis procedures); identification of specific objectives; high quality
valine development, production and control; creation of neceséry conditions
(manpower, material, funds, transport; information and logistics systems;
public, legislation and political support, etc.); strengthening animal health
services; education and training; establishing international rinderpest
reference laboratories4 for confirmatory diagnosis; attraction of donors; clearance procedures,
etc.. Global pilot phase. Initially the eradication efforts took place largely on an individual
country basis facilitating to accumulate national experience with the tested
methods. Mass vaccination proved its effectiveness. Major campaigns in Asia
throughout the 1960s brought the disease largely under control. At the
beginning of the 1960s, a programme called JP 15 (Joint Campaign against Rinderpest in Africa) attempted to vaccinate all cattle in participating countries. This
programme supported by German government brought significant improvements in
the years 1962-1976. However, its premature termination (due to economic
reasons) led to a flare and spread of this infection from the residual
“pockets” in Sudan to the north up to Egypt, to the west up to Senegal, to the
east up to Djibouti and to the south up to Zambia killing millions of cattle,
as well as wildlife. In Asia the rinderpest spread to the west up to Turkey.
Global attack phase, combined with protective measures including mass vaccination,
internationally organized as “FAO g l o b a l rinderpest eradication programme”
was launched in 1986. The AGAH, under the leadership of Dr Y. Ozawa, after
rinderpest global situation analysis, could finally set a realistic deadline
for its eradication – “Horizon 2010” thus creating an attractive motivation for
all participants and donors. Time-bound strategy gave a new important impulse
to global rinderpest eradication campaign at all levels resulting in the
intensification of control/ eradication measures aiming at the final common
objective. At that time the AGAH created, merged and technically backstopped
three new regional projects: “The Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC)”– (FAO Project GCP/ RAF/218/JPN), “The South Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign (SAREC) - (FAO Project RAS/86/023) and “The West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign Coordination (WARECC)” - (FAO Project RAB/86/024) including all existing and new national
anti-rinderpest programmes in the affected countries. The campaign required to
interlink local, national, regional and global programmes thus creating a
worldwide management structure “pyramid” with its top at FAO HQs in Rome.
Fig. 2. Rinderpest –
map of global eradication programme in 1986 (FAO archive)
----------------------------------------------------------------
4 Institute for Animal Health,
Pirbright Laboratory, United Kingdom; Kenya Agricultural Research Institute,
Muguga Laboratory, Nairobi; Institute sénégalais agricole, Laboratoire national
de l´élevage et de recherches vétérinaire, Dakar and Plum Island Animal Disease
Center, New York, USA.
In 1994, the final eradication phase started with the goal to terminate the eradication programmes in remaining
rinderpest countries. The FAO Council approved the establishment of EMPRES
within the FAO Animal Health
Service. Under EMPRES a special
unit was established - GREP (“Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme”) a programme aimed at the evidence-based
global eradication of rinderpest virus by 2010. A scientific erification that the virus was no longer circulating
in the wild was necessary. The foundation of the GREP represented a new very
important impulse for the programme. The last confirmed case of rinderpest was
registered in a wild buffalo population in Kenya in 2001. Anti-rinderpest
actions managed by the FAO Animal Health Service consisted in global
initiative, organization, international coordination, gaining necessary
external support and in providing technical assistance to member countries according to
their requirements. This assistance usually consisted in: identification of
rinderpest situation; elaboration of anti-rinderpest strategy and contingency
plans; realization of specific protective, control/eradication measures and
risk-based surveillance (e.g., serological monitoring of rinderpest situation,
confirmation of rinderpest-free status and post-eradication control);
rinderpest diagnosis (establishing and strengthening diagnostic laboratories
including equipment and experts); provision of methodologies (including
manuals); production and control of anti-rinderpest vaccines5, establishing cold chain;
strengthening veterinary services; providing means of transportation and
communication; capacity building; education and training, legislation etc. FAO
anti-rinderpest projects budget structure usually consisted of the following
components: personál (professional, non‑professional
and administrative support), travel, sub‑contracts
(specifying types of goods and services), training (fellowship, study tours,
group training, in‑service training, etc.),
equipment (expendable, non‑expendable), premises and
miscellaneous (operation and maintenance, cost of equipment, reporting costs
etc.).
------------------------------
5 PANVAC –
African Union Pan-African Veterinary Vaccine Center in Debre Zeit (Ethiopia)
and Dakar (Senegal). Introduction of
thermo-stable vaccine significantly reduced dependency on a cold chain system.
The programme required close collaboration with different
global partners such as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was
helping through “Joint FAO/IAEA Division on Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture” with rinderpest diagnosis using Enzyme- Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay
(ELISA) and Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques. The most important was International
Office of Epizootics (OIE) providing
information on rinderpest
occurrence, standards for diagnostic tests and vaccines, guidelines for
anti-rinderpest
measures, guidelines for
rinderpest virus sequestration, pathway and basic information for declaration
of individual countries as well as of
the whole world as rinderpest-free. From the regional partners at least African
Union’s Inter- African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) managing PARC
programme (1986-1998) succeeded by the
Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics (PACE) must be mentioned.
Among important participating partners belonged also French Centre de
Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
(CIRAD). Close collaboration with rinderpest country governments represented a
key prerequisite.
FAO rinderpest global eradication
field projects were supported from different financial sources: FAO Technical Cooperation Programmes (TCP) were
funded from the own Regular Programme budget of the organization. Among other financial sources
belonged United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Trust Funds (TF),
FAO/Government Cooperative Programme (GCP), Unilateral Trust Funds (UTF) etc.
Financial support was obtained also from other donors such as several
governments (Japan, United Kingdom, France, USA, Italy, Canada, Germany,
Ireland, etc.), numerous donor agencies such as European Development Fund
(EDF), Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) etc. and from several
international banks. It should be stressed that without such massive financial
support the eradication programme would not have been possible to carry out.
The rinderpest global eradication
programme was implemented or actively supported
by: governments of all affected
and threatened countries; hundreds of participating institutions: for national
and international research, for rinderpest vaccine production and control, for
laboratory diagnostics, etc. The people of many generations
behind the eradication included: incalculable numbers of veterinarians,
animal health assistants and laboratory
technicians of public and private
animal health services; veterinary researchers; teachers and students of veterinary schools; livestock specialists,
cattle/buffalo farmers and pastoralists; community, regional and national
autority officers and countless other collaborators. They all deserve respect
and recognition because without their hard work and enthusiasm it would not
have been possible to achieve the global eradication.
FAO Animal Health Service (supported by FAO leadership and relevant FAO HQs units such as the
Operation Division) having the responsibility for the management of global
rinderpest eradication programme played a principal role as initiator,
promoter, organizer, coordinator and executor of concrete assistance to
rinderpest affected and threatened member countries. At that time all its
Chiefs were responsible for the anti-rinderpest global programme implementation
and results during a particular period. Special responsibilities within the FAO
Animal Health Service had the Infection Diseases Group and from 1994 the EMPRES
group with a special GREP unit and thein rinderpest virologists. The Chiefs,
Animal Health Service, FAO were also supervising and coordinating FAO Regional
Animal Health Officers responsible for anti-rinderpest programme within the
given regions.
RESULTS
Global issues
The first major global impulse
was given in 1985(remaining 39 rinderpest countries) by identifying the final
deadline - 2010. In 1986, the
proper g l o b a l rinderpest eradication programme was started merging three
new
regional programmes. The second
major impulse was given in 1994 (remaining 19 rinderpest countries) by the
establishment of the EMPRES/GREP
unit. The numbers of countries reporting their last case of rinderpest in
individual decades were as follows: during the 1940s – 5, during the 1950s – 5,
during the 1960s – 7, during the 1970s – 3, during the 1980s – 26, during the
1990s – 18 and during the 2010s – 2 and thus finalizing successfully the global
eradication process. Somali ecosystem in Kenya was the last place where rinderpest
had been diagnosed in 2001. The final
vaccinations were stopped in 2006 allowing the investigators to disclose
eventual reservoirs of rinderpest virus. The last targeting surveillance
operations took place in 2009, failing to find any evidence of the disease. FAO
halted all field anti-rinderpest operations in October 2010. Substantial
disease search and widespread serological surveillance throughout Asia, Africa
and Middle East had been conducted without any evidence of virus circulation.
This information was based on detailed evidence provided by all countries and
territories and had been verified by the OIE recognizing the world as free from
rinderpest virus circulation.
The FAO noting the conclusions
reached by the “Joint FAO/OIE Committee on Global
Rinderpest Eradication “6 adopted during the 79th General Session, 2011 a resolution declaring officially that the world had
achieved freedom from rinderpest in its natural setting: “Declaration on Global Freedom from Rinderpest and on
the Implementation of Follow-up Measures to Maintain World Freedom from
Rinderpest“. The Declaration called upon
FAO to assume its responsibility for undertaking the measures to maintain
worldwide freedom from rinderpest. The Declaration required developing a post-eradication strategy so as to consolidate success of eradication taking into account the fact
that the presence
6 The “Joint FAO/OIE Committee on Global
Rinderpest Eradication”, under the chairmanship of Dr
W. Taylor, based its conclusions on the reports of the meetings of the “OIE Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases “ and on the reports of the meetings of the “OIE ad hoc Group on Evaluation of Rinderpest Disease
Status of Members”. of virulent or attenuated
rinderpest virus in laboratories constitutes a potential threat to the global
rinderpest-free status. It urged all member countries to maintain appropriate
surveillance system for rinderpest, to destroy rinderpest virus-containing
materials, to ensure that rinderpest occupies an appropriate place in veterinary
education and training programmes and to support all technical measures
required to minimize the risk of rinderpest re-emergence.
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DISCUSION AND CONCLUSION
This extraordinary achievement,
based on excedent research results, would not have been possible without the
joint efforts and strong
commitments of FAO, governments, relevant organizations in Africa, Asia and
Europe, and without the continuous
support of many international agencies and donors. The global anti-rinderpest
campaign structure involved incalculable number of participating persons and
institutions. The rinderpest global eradication was estimated to have had a
cost of about 5 billion USD. The largest and longest international global
programme against the most dangerous animal disease converted successfully the
research findings into worldwide practice and a historical result. Rinderpest is the first animal infection eradicated
globally and not only in susceptible species of domestic but also in wild
animals. This achievement in all the
world has proved for the first time the feasibility of global eradication of
selected animal infections when theoretical methodology is transferred into
reality due to adequate management system under technical leadership of a
global competent executing inter-governmental agency. Huge damage that
rinderpest has done in the past will not be repeated. It is a great
contribution to global livestock economy development, to international trade
and to poverty reduction.
REFERENCES
FAO (1996): The World without Rinderpest. FAO Animal Production and Health
Paper 129, Rome, 173 p.
FAO (1998): Rinderpest: The challenge ahead. FAO Technical Consultation on
the global rinderpest eradication
Programme. Rome, 201 p.
FAO (2011): Freedom from the World No. 1 Cattle Plague –
Rinderpest. FAO EMPRES Bulletin No. 38, 71 p.
FAO (2011): Declaration on Global
Freedom from Rinderpest and on the Implementation of Follow-up Measures to
Maintain World Freedom from Rinderpest. Adopted by the 79th FAO General Session, Rome.
Chibeu D.M., El-Sawalhy A. (2011): Rinderpest eradication in Africa. FAO
EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 21-25.
Kamata A. (2011): Rinderpest in East and Southeast Asia. FAO EMPRES
Bulletin No. 38: 41-49.
Knop l., Miyagishima K., Vallat B. (2011): OIE’s contributions to the
eradication of rinderpest. FAO EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 18-20.
Kouba V. (2003): Occurrence and eradication of rinderpest in Africa and
Asia. Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica 36: 42-45.
Kouba V. (2012): Rinderpest global eradication. Available at
http://vaclavkouba.byl.cz/rinderpest.ppt. (accessed 15 September 2012).
Lubroth J. (2011): Rinderpest’s final days. FAO Document. Available at
http://www.fao.org/ag/grep.html (accessed 20 June 2011).
Mathur S.C. (2011): The West Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign. FAO
EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 26-31.
Mariner J.C., Jeggo M.H., van’t Klooster G.G.M, Geiger R. Roeder P.L. (2003): Rinderpest surveillance performance monitoring using quantifiable
indicators, Revue Scientifique and Technique de l’OIE, Vol. 22, No 3:. 837-847.
Njeumi F., Roeder P.L (2011): The Role of FAO in the eradication of
rinderpest. FAO EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 5-11.
Plowright W., Ferris R.D. (1962): Studies with rinderpest virus in tissue
culture. The use of attenuated culture virus as vaccine for cattle. Research
inVeterinary Sciences 3: 172-182.
Sasaki M., Rajasekhar M., Raja R.H., Hussain M. (2011): Global rinderpest
eradication and the South Asia
Rinderpest Eradication Campaign. FAO EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 32-40.
Slingenbergh J. (2011): The Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme as the
spearhead for EMPRES. FAO EMPRES Bulletin No. 38: 2-4.
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Table 1:
Examples of anti-rinderpest
activities of Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations
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FIELD REGIONAL PROJECTS
BACKSTOPPED BY THE ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICE IN 1990
Technical support to Pan-African Rinderpest Eradication Campaign (PARC)
PARC: Communication and Training (OAU Countries)
PARC: Training on National Communication Officers (OAU Countries)
Veterinary Vaccine Production and Quality Control in Africa
Technical Support for National Mass Communication Activities (PARC)
Improvement of Vaccine Production in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa
Communication Coordination (PARC)
Program regional de serosurveillance de la peste bovine
Western Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign Coordination (WARECC)
South Asia Rinderpest Eradication Campaign (SAREC)
RINDERPEST CONTROL MEETINGS ORGANIZED BY THE ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICE
1981: Joint FAO/OAU/OIE Meeting on Rinderpest Eradication in Africa
1983: Second Informal Meeting on the Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign
1984: Expert Consultation on Rinderpest Diagnosis and Vaccine
Production/Control
1987: Expert Consultation on Global Strategy for Control and Eradication of
Rinderpest
1992: Expert Consultation on Strategy for Global Rinderpest Eradication
1995: Emergency Preparedness and Contingency Planning for Rinderpest in
Africa
1995: Emergency preparedness and contingency planning for Rinderpest and
other diseases emergencies
1996: Technical Consultation on the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme
“The Word without rinderpest”
1998: Technical Consultation on the GREP “The challenge ahead”
2000: Verification of rinderpest freedom
2002: Consultation on the Global Rinderpest Eradication “Maintaining
momentum and commitment”
2007: GREP Ad Hoc Group Workshop
2009: GREP Experts Consultation Meeting “Will rinderpest virus ever die?
What lies beyond 2010?”
2009: GREP Experts Consultation Meetings “Rinderpest virus and vaccines
sequestration”
2010: FAO workshop on post-eradication activities with participation of OIE
2010: GREP Symposium and High Level Meeting “Lessons learnt from the
eradication of rinderpest for controlling other transboundary animal diseases”
FAO PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS ON RINDERPEST CONTROL
1967: Diagnostic of Rinderpest (author: D.R. Scott)
1985: A Practical Guide for Rinderpest Campaign Field Personnel
1986: Manual on the Diagnosis of Rinderpest
1994: Quality Control Testing of Rinderpest Cell Culture Vaccine
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Table 2
GLOBAL ERADICATION OF RINDERPEST - YEARS OF LAST
REPORTED OCCURRENCE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1962 Angola
1963
1964
1965 Gambia
1966 Laos
1967 Guinea, Guinea Bissau
1968
1969 Bhutan
1970
1971
1972 Jordan
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977 Vietnam
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982 Lebanon, Syria
1983 Somalia, Central African Republic, Izrael, Palestinian Terr.
1984 Chad
1985 Bahrain, Kuwait, Djibuti
1986 Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d`Ivoire, Mali, Niger
1987 Benin. Egypt, Nigeria, Quatar
1988 Burkina Faso, Ghana
1989 Georgia
1990 Nepal
1991
1992 Mongolia
1993
1994 Iran, Uganda, Sri Lanka
1995 Afghanistan, Ethiopia, India, Oman, Yemen
1996 Iraq, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
1997 Tanzania
1998 Russia, Sudan
1999 Saudi Arabia
2000 Pakistan
2001
2002
2003 Mauritania, Kenya
OIE WAHID International
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Table 3:
List of countries affected by
rinderpest and years of reporting last cases (OIE World Animal Health
Information Database - WAHID 2010)
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Africa: Angola (1962), Benin (1987), Botswana (1899), Burkina Faso (1988),
Burundi (1934), Cameroon (1986), Central African Republic (1983), Chad (1984),
Congo (1986), Cote d’Ivoire (1986), Djibuti (1985), Egypt (1987), Eritrea
(1995), Ethiopia (1995), Gambia (1965), Ghana (1988), Guinea (1967), Guinea
Bissau (1967), Kenya (2003), Lesotho (1886), Libya (1966), Mali (1986),
Mauritania (2003), Mozambique (1896), Namibia (1907), Niger (1986), Nigeria
(1987), Reunion (1902), Ruanda (1932), Senegal (1978), Somalia (1983), South
Africa (1904), Sudan (1998), Swaziland (1898), Tanzania (1997), Togo (1986),
Uganda (1994), Zambia (1896), Zimbabwe (1898).
Americas: Bermuda, Brazil (1921).
Asia: Afghanistan (1995), Armenia (1928), Azerbaijan (1929), Bahrain (1985),
Bangladesh (1958), Bhutan (1969), Brunei (1950), Cambodia (1986), China (1955),
Hong-kong (1950), India (1995), Indonesia (1907), Iran (1994), Irak (1996),
Izrael (1983), Kuwait (1985), Japan (1924), Jordan (1972), Kazakhstan (1928),
Korea (1931), Korea-DPR (1948), Laos (1966), Lebanon (1982), Malayasia (1924),
Mongolia (1992), Myanmar (1957), Nepal (1990), Oman (1995), Pakistan (2000),
Palestian Auton. Territories (1983), Philippines (1955), Qatar (1987), Saudi
Arabia (1999), Singapur (1930), Sri Lanka (1994), Syria (1982), Taipei China
(1949), Thailand (1959), Turkey (1996), United Arab Emirates (1995), Vietnam
(1977), Yemen (1995). Europe: Albania (1924), Austria (1881), Belgium (1920), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(1883), Bulgaria (1913), Croatia (1883), Czech Republic (1881), Denmark (1782),
Finland (1877), France (1870), Georgia (1989), Germany (1870), Greece (1926),
Hungary (1881), Ireland (1866), Italy (1949), Latvia (1921), Netherlands
(1869), Poland (1921), Romania (1886), Russia (1998), Serbia and Montenegro
(1883), Slovakia (1881), Slovenia (1883), Sweden (1700), Switzerland (1871),
U.K./Great Britain (1877), U.K. Northern Ireland (1900).
Oceania: Australia (1923).
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Fig. 3: Countries
officially reporting last cases of rinderpest Animal Health
Database, 2010
(1963-2003). Source: OIE WAHID data 2009, graph made by V. Kouba.
Received for publication October 8, 2012