Defining an emerging disease.

Defining an emerging disease is not straightforward, as there are several different types of disease emergence. For example, there can be a 'real' emergence of a brand new disease, such as the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the 1980s, or a geographic emergence in an area not previously affected, such as the emergence of bluetongue in northern Europe in 2006. In addition, disease can emerge in species formerly not considered affected, e.g. the emergence of bovine tuberculosis in wildlife species since 2000 in France. There can also be an unexpected increase of disease incidence in a known area and a known species, or there may simply be an increase in our knowledge or awareness of a particular disease. What all these emerging diseases have in common is that human activity frequently has a role to play in their emergence. For example, bovine spongiform encephalopathy very probably emerged as a result of changes in the manufacturing of meat-and-bone meal, bluetongue was able to spread to cooler climes as a result of uncontrolled trade in animals, and a relaxation of screening and surveillance for bovine tuberculosis enabled the disease to re-emerge in areas that had been able to drastically reduce the number of cases. Globalisation and population growth will continue to affect the epidemiology of diseases in years to come and ecosystems will continue to evolve. Furthermore, new technologies such as metagenomics and high-throughput sequencing are identifying new microorganisms all the time. Change is the one constant, and diseases will continue to emerge, and we must consider the causes and different types of emergence as we deal with these diseases in the future.

Eradicating rabies at source.

Along with zoonotic influenza and antimicrobial resistance, rabies has been identified as a key One Health issue by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It provides an excellent example of a disease that has an impact on public, animal and environmental health, and therefore benefits from a One Health approach to management. Regrettably, this zoonotic disease is still neglected despite the fact that, annually, it kills as many as 70,000 people worldwide (chiefly children in Asia and Africa), millions of dogs suffer and die, and the disease threatens some populations of endangered wildlife. This is particularly unfortunate, given that effective means of prevention exist. As Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan pointed out in a video to mark World Rabies Day on 28 September 2013, rabies is a serious world public health problem that is all too often underestimated and even neglected. Yet we know it can be eliminated. By combatting rabies at its source in animals and vaccinating 70% of dogs, we can eradicate it.

Antimicrobial resistance in animal and public health: introduction and classification of antimicrobial agents.

Bacteria have a remarkable ability to adapt, evolve and survive by developing resistance to therapeutic compounds. This ability is also shared by other pathogenic agents such as viruses, fungi, and parasites. Even when focusing on bacterial resistance only, this phenomenon is quite complex to analyse due to the diversity of animal species, the diversity of rearing environment, the number of antimicrobial classes available and the diversity of pathogenic bacteria involved. This introductory paper includes developments on the place of antiviral compounds in veterinary medicine and a classification of antimicrobials used in food-producing animals.

The long journey: a brief review of the eradication of rinderpest.

In 2011, the 79th General Session of the World Assembly of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the 37th Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAD) Conference adopted a resolution declaring the world free from rinderpest and recommending follow-up measures to preserve the benefits of this new and hard-won situation. Eradication is an achievable objective for any livestock disease, provided that the epidemiology is uncomplicated and the necessary tools, resources and policies are available. Eradication at a national level inevitably reflects national priorities, whereas global eradication requires a level of international initiative and leadership to integrate these tools into a global framework, aimed first at suppressing transmission across all infected areas and concluding with a demonstration thatthis has been achieved. With a simple transmission chain and the environmental fragility of the virus, rinderpest has always been open to control and even eradication within a zoosanitary approach. However, in the post-1945 drive for more productive agriculture, national and global vaccination programmes became increasingly relevant and important. As rinderpest frequently spread from one region to another through trade-related livestock movements, the key to global eradication was to ensure that such vaccination programmes were carried out in a synchronised manner across all regions where the disease was endemic - an objective to which the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the African Union-Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources, FA0 and OIE fully subscribed. This article provides a review of rinderpest eradication, from the seminal work carried out by Giovanni Lancisi in the early 18th Century to the global declaration in 2011.

The importance of governance and reliable veterinary certification.

Good veterinary certification is possible only if a country's veterinary governance complies with the quality standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The standards in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code stipulate that the main prerequisite for good veterinary governance is for Veterinary Services to be independent, that is to say they are able to carry out their mandate while remaining autonomous and free from any commercial, financial, hierarchical or political pressures that could lead them to make technical decisions that were contrary to OIE standards. Veterinary Services should include, in particular, a veterinary administration with nationwide jurisdiction for implementing the animal health measures and veterinary certification procedures recommended by the OIE and for overseeing or auditing their implementation. They should also include veterinary authorities and persons authorised by the veterinary statutory body to perform tasks under the responsibility and supervision of a veterinarian (veterinary paraprofessionals). This veterinary governance must be sustainable over time in order to administer long-term animal health policies. Good governance relies on appropriate legislation that is in compliance with OIE guidelines and on the requisite human and financial resources for ensuring its enforcement. The evaluation of this governance, either by an importing country in the context of international trade, as authorised by OIE standards, or by the country itself (self-evaluation or an evaluation requested from the OIE [using the OIE Tool for the Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services]), helps to facilitate the proper operation of Veterinary Services and to ensure the reliability of any certification granted under the authority of the veterinary administration.

Invasive mammals.

Every region of the world is concerned by potential mammal invasions, as humans are already present on all the world's land masses. All these invasions are a result of species introductions by humans for one reason or another. The authors briefly review the known movements and observed consequences of mammal-related invasions. They take examples from all five continents, as well as from a few island systems. The ancient introduction of game species, and later of domestic species, has been followed more recently by movements of commercial species. We are now seeing the emergence of what are known as entertainment species. In a number of cases, such introductions have led to the establishment of new epidemiological cycles that previously might never have been thought possible. According to current indicators, this phenomenon is not on the wane.

Invasive reptiles and amphibians.

Although they are frequently lumped together, reptiles and amphibians belong to two very different zoological groups. Nevertheless, one fact is clear: while numerous reptile and amphibian species on Earth are in decline, others have taken advantage of trade or human movements to become established in new lands, adopting different, and sometimes unusual, strategies. The authors have taken a few examples from these two zoological groups that illustrate the majority of cases. A brief analysis of the causes and effects of their introductions into new areas reveals connections with economic interests, trade in companion animals, medical research and public health.

Why own an exotic pet?

Even though people have owned a wide variety of companion animals since times of old, the modern craze for increasingly exotic and little-known species raises a number of questions, including some of an ethical nature. While trade in exotic animals is certainly profitable for these who practise it, it poses great risks of varying types: ecological risks, threats to biodiversity conservation and health risks. Several introduced animal populations have gone on to establish a line in their new host country. We are just starting to measure the adverse impact this has had, in some cases on a very large scale. The veterinary profession doubtless has a major role to play in endeavouring to reform this trade in living creatures that unfortunately results in many losses.

Invasive species. Part 1: general aspects and biodiversity. Part 2: concrete examples.

The problem of invasive species is of interest to researchers in a variety of different fields, including biology, epidemiology, agriculture, public health and even human sciences. It is an issue that affects all regions of the world to a greater or lesser extent. It can also have detrimental effects on animal health and biodiversity. For example, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (lUCN) reported that 625 (51%) of known endangered species are threatened because of invasive (alien) species.

Defining an invasive species.

The definition of an invasive species will depend on the viewpoint of the observer, who in some cases may be responsible for introducing the species. History has taught us that humans are the species that has invaded the largest surface area of the planet. So, before going on to propose a few definitions, this article describes three different examples or types of example in which domestic animal species, wild animal species and microorganisms (for biological pest control) have been transported intentionally. By doing so, this paper uses a variety of situations to support the definitions. A contemporary argument would counter a strictly biogeographical definition with a more ecological definition. The two are probably complementary. In any case, these definitions should remain practical. The consequences of species movements vary. However, their health impacts should not be underestimated.

Geographical distribution of domestic animals: a historical perspective.

Our understanding of the history of animal domestication has been built on regular input from archaeozoology. This fast-expanding discipline uses increasingly sophisticated and specialised tools to enhance our knowledge of phenomena dating back, for the oldest species, to the Neolithic Revolution. This article takes three examples, those of the domestic dog, domestic goat and European rabbit, to illustrate the history of three different domestication processes using the contemporary means available. In each of the three cases, the authors define the location of original domestication, analyse the principal routes of species movements following domestication, discuss the possible reasons for domestication and suggest a few likely epidemiological impacts.

It's all about memory!

This short overview introduces the fundamental scientific concepts of immunological memory, vaccination, and the effects of ageing on these parameters, which were the focus of the second Merial European Comparative Vaccinology Symposium (MECVS) held in Prague from 13th-15th May, 2009. Significant differences in the way that ageing impacts on different domestic animal species are reviewed.

The role and mandate of the World Organisation for Animal Health in veterinary education.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which was created in 1924 under the name Office International des Epizooties, is in charge of setting international standards and guidelines for animal health and welfare. The original aim of the Organisation was to control the international spread of infectious animal diseases, but this aim has expanded over the years and now the OIE has a global mandate to 'improve animal health worldwide' for both terrestrial and aquatic animals. A vital factor in successfully fulfilling this mandate is the quality and performance of both the public and private components of national Veterinary Services, which are increasingly working at the interface between human, animal and environmental health. The OIE considers global veterinary education to be key in maintaining and improving the quality of these Veterinary Services. Consequently, the competencies and continuing education of veterinarians are a priority in the assessment tool that the Organisation has developed to evaluate the performance of Veterinary Services (PVS). Evaluating the abilities and training of veterinarians is an important part of a PVS evaluation, as well-educated veterinarians with appropriate training are essential in improving Veterinary Services worldwide and in helping the OIE to fulfil its mandate.

Essential veterinary education in infectious diseases of livestock and related scientific disciplines.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (commonly referred to bythe acronym of its original French name Office International des Epizooties [OIE]) was created in 1924 with the aim of controlling the international spread of infectious animal diseases. The OIE mandate has broadened since then, but the prevention and control of infectious and parasitic diseases are still at the heart of OIE activities. To plan and implement effective disease control strategies the Veterinary Services of OIE Member Countries need well-educated veterinarians who have extensive knowledge of how and why outbreaks of infectious animal diseases occur and spread and how they can be prevented and controlled. The teaching of fundamental scientific disciplines - virology, bacteriology, parasitology, epidemiology, risk analysis, immunology and vaccinology--is therefore a vital component of all veterinary education programmes.

A brief history of vaccines and vaccination.

Human vaccinology, with its primary focus on the individual, seems far removed from veterinary medicine, with its concern for the health of the herd. Yet several episodes in the past (smallpox, fowl cholera, anthrax, swine erysipelas, rabies, tuberculosis, etc.) serve to illustrate the proximity between research on veterinary and human vaccines. In some cases the human vaccine was developed first, while in other cases it was the animal vaccine. The history of vaccinology clearly demonstrates the importance of these 'two medicines' working together. Foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines were among the first vaccines to be developed, beginning at the end of the 19th Century. Thanks to the discoveries of several researchers, including European researchers such as Vallée (French), Waldmann (German), Frenkel (Dutch) and Capstick (British), FMD vaccines began to be produced on an industrial scale from 1950 onwards, making possible vaccination of millions of animals in Europe and beyond. Vaccination strategies against FMD have always been dependent on the properties of the vaccines being used. At the beginning of the 21st Century FMD vaccines are designed in such a way that serological tests can differentiate infected from vaccinated animals, which has affected OIE regulations on international trade in animals and animal products. The history of vaccination against rinderpest, bovine contagious pleuropneumonia, and Marek's disease will also be dealt with.