Cobb Focus Three 2011 (English)

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When first proposed by the OIE (the worldorganisation for animal health) somesix years ago, the concept ofcompartmentalization was designed toprovide an additional level of confidenceand credential beyond geographicalborders or ‘zones’ traditionally adoptedduring a notifiable disease outbreak.With compartmentalization, industryand governments not only consider thephysical boundaries but also theepidemiological factors, includingmanagement practices and biosecurity, thathelp define an effective separation betweensubpopulations in the event of disease.The concept is aimed at helping withinternational trade and disease controlduring an active disease crisis episode inthe exporting country.For trading during a disease crisis,compartmentalization can help with themovement of commodities where ‘country’C O M P A R T M E N T A L I Z A T I O N : T H E N E X T S T E P SPreparing for the inevitable withreassurances in placeby Dr KATE BARGER, veterinary groups and quality assurancemanager/veterinarian at <strong>Cobb</strong> Europeor ‘regional’ diseasefreedom assurancescannot be authorized.Secondly, for diseasecontrol or eradicationprocedures, progressivecompartmentalizationsteps in a country mayenable a more strategicapproach for governmentrisk analysis and disease preventionmethods within a geographic area.While the purported benefits arestraightforward for exporting countries,importing countries and suppliers ofvaluable commodities, implementation hasbeen more challenging.Qualified biosecurity systemsThe OIE has clearly provided aframework for compartments, but theresponsibility lies with individual countriesfor the specific details required forinfrastructure, training ofindependent government staff toassess and approve sites, andthe notification of approvedcompartments.In various cases, implementation— Stage 2 — has been a joint effortbetween industry and government.With the elite poultry breedingindustry, exporting companieshave a clear understandingof the need to have qualifiedbiosecurity systems to help ensure thattrade disruptions are limited in the eventof a disease crisis within the country oforigin.For governments, having approvedcompartments for a defined subspeciesmay not only improve the quantity andfrequency of disease surveillance withinthe subpopulation, but should also providegreater transparency and traceability oflivestock with regards to biosecurity andepidemiological factors.Epidemiologic isolation of farms is important for disease prevention. Biosecurity measures andcompliance are, however, essential for compartment approval4Compartment expectationsTo implement compartments, countrieshave responded in different ways to set upthe procedures and assessments for theirapproved compartments.Some governments are using the OIEstandards as a basic outline forcompartmentalization. By only utilizingthe OIE standards as the primaryframework for their compartments,these governments allow companies todemonstrate the robustness of theirbiosecurity programs, epidemiologic linksand disease surveillance systems to meetthe OIE definitions for compartments.Other governments have additionallyprovided industry with stringent criteriato eliminate potential areas of selfinterpretationor leniency. These strictguidelines include clearly definedchecklists for biosecurity and managementprocedures, expectations for facilityinfrastructure, surveillance testing andbiosecurity measures that go well beyondthe basic framework of the OIE criteria.A final example of Stage 2implementation is the EU compartmentstandard that provides benchmark criteriafor EU member countries. These EU
C O M P A R T M E N T A L I Z A T I O N : T H E N E X T S T E P SStrict procedures for vehicles and personnel entry are critical to ensure epidemiologic separationStandards are more specific and provideadditional detail to basic OIE criteria.Once the national or governmentalrequirements are known, industries andindividual companies can begin toimplement Stage 2 by actively developingthe documentation and implementingbiosecurity measures to meet anyadditional compartment standardsexpected by their governments. Ascompanies complete their internal workand achieve compartment recognition bythe veterinary authority of the countrywhere their production locations aresituated, compartmentalization can thenbecome a reality.Establishing operations as compartmentselevates the company and the industry toa higher status of biosecurity and healthduring times of disease occurrence.While the process and implementation isindeed a burden and requires an incredibleamount of attention to detail, mostcompanies have found that theserequirements have improved the objectivesand assessments of their dailymanagement procedures as well astransparency of their biosecurity actions.The next step for compartmentalizationi s S t a g e 3 a n d w i l l c r i t i c a l l ydemonstrate the functionality of approvedcompartments. This phase involvesrecognition, and in some cases evaluation,of the defined compartment by theimporting country. At the recent May <strong>2011</strong>OIE meeting in Paris, a luncheon meetingwas attended by approximately 165 OIEdelegates to learn more about the UKcompartment scheme. Presentationshighlighted the UK’s collaborative effortbetween government and industry todetermine the necessary criteria forc o m p a r t m e n t s a n d t h e a c t u a limplementation and approval ofcompartments for poultry breedingcompanies located in Great Britain.‘Calm before the storm’While events like this to promote thecompartment process are vital, speakersalso stated that importing/exportinggovernmental discussions aboutcompartments must now take place5during the time of disease freedom. Thisperiod - essentially the ‘calm before thestorm’ - is vital to many exports and toproving that the compartments aresustainable.To facilitate this phase of understandingbetween governments for the purpose ofinternational trade, small changes arealready taking place. For example,updating export health certificates toinclude the text ‘compartment’ instatements related to disease freedom isjust a portion of the work that needs to becompleted.For the actual recognition and approvalof compartments to take place, theexporting government must be transparentwith the standards and assessmentsthey have provided to approve thecompartment, and also be willing toopenly share this information with theimporting government.By sharing this information in advancefor recognition of the compartment, theultimate goal will be to avoid blanketcountry-wide restrictions and lengthytrade delays during notifiable diseasesituations. This was the original goal whenthe OIE began work on compartmentsyears ago, and is still the goal for industryand governments today.In a perfect world there will be no needfor a Stage 4 — the real test of thecompartment concept during a diseasecrisis. But, as we all know, it is best to beprepared for the inevitable and to haveadditional reassurances in place longbefore they will be needed!
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Cobb Focus Three 2011 (English)

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