Companion May 2012 - BSAVA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Notifiable and zoonotic disease for companion animal practitioners Dr Sally Everitt, <strong>BSAVA</strong>’s Scientific Policy Officer, offers offers guidance on notifiable diseases and the obligations we face as a profession A notifiable disease is any disease that is required, by law, to be reported to government authorities. Animal diseases may be notifiable because they are of significant economic importance or because they pose a risk to human health. The primary purpose of the notification system is to identify possible outbreaks and epidemics to allow rapid initiation of appropriate action. In the UK notification of diseases in animals is regulated by the Animal Health Act 1981, as well as the Specified Diseases (Notification and Slaughter) Order 1992 (as amended) and Specified Diseases (Notification) Order 1996 (as amended) which enacts European Union Legislation. Certain pathogens also have to be reported under the Specific Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO) 2008. The 1981 Act states that ‘any person having in their possession or under their charge an animal affected or suspected of having one of these diseases must, with all practicable speed, notify that fact to a police constable’. However, in practice a veterinary surgeon who suspects a notifiable disease should contact the appropriate Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) office (www.animalhealth.defra.gov.uk) who will investigate the disease. Endemic, exotic and zoonotic The current list of notifiable diseases (which can be found at www.defra.gov. 8 | companion uk/animal-diseases/notifiable) includes diseases which are ‘endemic’ (such as Bovine TB), ‘exotic’ (those that are not normally present in the UK, but can be introduced, for example via illegal imports or by wild birds), and/or ‘zoonotic’ (such as rabies). To date, the notifiable disease system has largely concentrated on diseases of economic importance and public health as applied to food-producing animals, and Defra only specifically mentions one notifiable disease of dogs and cats (rabies). It should be remembered, however, that dogs and cats may also be affected by a number of notifiable diseases which normally affect farm animals, horses and birds. Exotic pets and wildlife can also become infected or be implicated in the transmission of notifiable diseases. Beyond the UK The European Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS) collects information about outbreaks of certain important infectious animal diseases. This system is supported by Council directive 82/894/EEC (last amended by 2008/650/EC) which makes it compulsory for Member States to notify primary and secondary outbreaks of listed infectious animal diseases. The primary purpose of this system is to provide information and to ensure that trade in live animals and animal products is not affected unnecessarily (http://ec.europa. eu/food/animal/diseases/adns/index_ en.htm). At world level, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) places a formal obligation on each member to report the animal diseases (including zoonoses) that it detects on its territory in order to: ensure transparency about the global animal disease situation; enable the collection, analysis and dissemination of veterinary scientific information; encourage international solidarity for the control of animal diseases; and safeguard animal health and welfare. The OIE list of diseases of importance is available online, along with more detailed information about the diseases (www.oie.int). The OIE list includes diseases of fish, bees and amphibians as well farm animals and birds. Defining the concept The concept of notifiable disease is also used in human medicine under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010. The current list of notifiable diseases includes a number of zoonoses. A comparison of the notification status of zoonotic diseases in humans and animals is provided in Table 1 (from HPA Guidelines for the investigation of zoonotic disease). <strong>Companion</strong> animals and zoonotic disease Although the concept of One Health has been gaining ground in recent years, the importance of companion animals in the transmission of zoonotic disease has been somewhat neglected*. However, there are a number of reasons why it is appropriate to examine the role of companion animals in diseases of public health importance.
Disease Requirements for humans Requirements for animals Noti fi able a Reportable to HSE under RIDDOR Noti fi able (to Animal Health) Reportable b Noti fi able under SAPO f Anthrax ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Avian infl uenza (highly pathogenic strains only) (All H5 and H7 strains) ✓ ✓ Bovine spongiform encephalopathy ✓ Brucellosis ✓ Brucella abortus, B. melitensis ✓ ✓ ✓ Brucella ovis (contagious epididymiti s, sheep) ✓ ✓ ✓ Brucella suis (pigs) and all other Brucella species Chlamydiosis ✓ ✓ ■■ Chlamydophila abortus ✓ ■■ C. psitt aci (✓) c ✓ d Diptheria (includes toxigenic C. ulcerans) ✓ Encephaliti s (all causes) g ✓ Equine viral encephalomyeliti s ✓ ✓ Echinococcus multi locularis and granulosus ✓ Equine morbillivirus (Hendra) ✓ ✓ “Food poisoning” (all causes) ✓ Glanders and Farcy (Burkholderia mallei) ✓ ✓ Leptospirosis ✓ ✓ Lyme disease ✓ Meningiti s (all causes) g ✓ Newcastle disease and paramyxovirus infecti on ✓ ✓ Plague (Yersinia pesti s) ✓ Q fever (Coxiella burneti i) ✓ Rabies ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ■■ Classical rabies virus (genotype 1) ■■ Other rabies virus genotypes (e.g. European Bat Lyssavirus) Relapsing fever ✓ Rift valley fever ✓ ✓ Salmonella spp. ✓ Streptococcus suis ✓ Trichinella spiralis ✓ Tuberculosis ✓ ✓ ✓ e Vesicular stomati ti s ✓ ✓ Viral haemorrhagic fevers (all) ✓ Viral hepati ti s (Hepati ti s E) ✓ ✓ West Nile fever ✓ Table 1: Notifiable a and reportable b zoonotic diseases and organisms in humans and animals in England and Wales a – Notifiable diseases are those where there is a statutory requirement to report clinical cases of disease. b – Reportable diseases (in animals) are those where there is a statutory requirement to report laboratory confirmed isolation of organisms of the genera Salmonella and Brucella under the Zoonoses Order 1989. The report is to be made by the laboratory which isolated the organism from an animal derived sample. c – A local anomaly exists in Cambridgeshire where psittacosis is reportable to the local CCDC under a local bylaw. d – Legislative veterinary powers under The Psittacosis or Ornithosis Order 1953 (S.I. 1953 No. 38) give discretionary powers to serve notices to impose movement restrictions and require cleansing and disinfection of affected premises, and so Animal Health may be involved in the control of Psittacosis, even though it is not actually a notifiable disease in animals or birds. e – Under the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2007, the Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2006, and the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2007, there is a statutory requirement to notify the suspected presence of TB in the carcase of any bovine, deer, farmed or companion (pet) mammal to nearest Animal Health Divisional Veterinary Manager (DVM). Furthermore, identification of M. bovis in samples taken from any mammal (other than man) is also notifiable to Animal Health unless the organism was present in the sample as a result of an agreed research procedure. Notifying the suspicion of TB in a living domestic animal in the course of clinical examination, surgery, by radiography or in biopsy material is not mandatory (except for cattle or deer), but submission of clinical samples from such cases to VLA is encouraged. f – Under the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998 anyone with reasonable grounds for suspecting the presence of these specific zoonoses should notify a veterinary inspector forthwith, unless they are held under licence made under this legislation. This requirement only relates to avian influenza viruses and Newcastle Disease viruses which are either uncharacterised or have been found to be of higher pathogenicity (set out in the legislation), or for avian influenza type A viruses H5 or H7 subtypes with specified nucleotide sequences. Echinococcus and Trichinella are only notifiable under this Order. g – These are syndromes that are notifiable in human medicine. companion | 9
Page 1 and 2: Celebrating Congress In pictures P4
Page 3 and 4: Surveillance - now is the time With
Page 5 and 6: FounDIng FAtHer. BSAVA welcomed the
Page 7: Party Night pArtY nIgHt. packed out
Page 11 and 12: Up to 8% of Daubenton’s bats carr
Page 13 and 14: What initial investigations would y
Page 15 and 16: Evaluate the CT (Figure 3). Are the
Page 17 and 18: donor can be difficult. Practically
Page 19 and 20: made aware that despite testing for
Page 21 and 22: Scottish Congress · 31 AUGUST - 2
Page 23 and 24: Figure 2: Positioning for a dorsopr
Page 25 and 26: ance, Nurse’, after passing a sui
Page 27 and 28: and/or urine is a preferred method.
Page 29 and 30: A busy World Congress During WSAVA/
Page 31 and 32: lungworm in donkeys and my continui
Page 33 and 34: Focus on... BSAVA East Anglia Regio
Page 35 and 36: evening Meeting - South WeSt region

Companion May 2012 - BSAVA

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?