Discussion Documents

Surveillance Working Group Report

NAHS Meetings
Jan 15 & 16, 2008
Kanata, Ontario

• Working group members & methods
• Introduction & background
• Proposed definition & vision
• Expected outcomes & measures of success
• Proposed guiding principles & scope
• Components & governance
• Suggested next steps

Surveillance Working Group Members & Methods

Members
BC Mark Sheppard
AB Gerald Ollis & John Berezowski
MB Wayne Lees
ON Bruce McNab
QC Helene Bergeron
NB Jim Goltz
CFIA Christine Power (Francine Lord)
NAHS Ron Clarke* & Manjit Kerr-Upal

Methods
conference calls - discussion, consensus group e-mail,
circulated references,
definition & vision,
report outline / table of contents**
section assignments circulated drafts for editing
respect for travel budgets

Introduction & Background

• Need information to make good business & policy decisions
  
• Surveillance information is internationally recognized as essential
  
• Much has been written over many years
  
• e.g. Ottawa consultation 1998
  
•  Knowing the frequency and distribution in space and time of healthy animals, un-healthy animals, and hazards to health, is extremely valuable to: prevent spread, detect change, facilitate & validate response, and improve sustainable commerce.

Proposed* Definition & Vision

Definition
Surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, collation, analyses and interpretation of animal-health-data, and the dissemination of resultant information to those who need to know, so that appropriate action may be taken*.

Vision
Having credible knowledge of the health status of our animals and the ability to detect important changes in that status.

* The above definition is similar to USDA’s, whereas more technical definitions describe “monitoring and surveillance” and refer to monitoring, critical thresholds and pre-defined control measures. Regardless of the semantic boundaries one places on the definition; surveillance is critical to the NAHS.

Outcomes & Measures of Success

• Establishing Canada’s animal health status
• Demonstrating extremely low prevalence or freedom
• Timely identification of important risks & determinants
• Industry & regulatory decision-makers’ use of surveillance data to guide animal health program prioritization & refinement
• Demonstrating success & value of prevention, response & recovery initiatives
• Reduction of animal diseases
• Reduction in related risks to public health
• Increased commerce & trade due to trust in Canada’s surveillance

Proposed Guiding Principles &Scope

Guiding Principles

• Working together in partnerships (industry / provincial / federal)
• Understanding roles and use of information
• Sharing information
• No or minimal duplication of effort
• “one medicine”

Scope

• Same as NAHS
• Emphasis on food and farmed animals
• But also, wild, companion & zoo animals, at least to the extent that their health status and health hazards directly influence or are influenced by public health, farmed animal health or economic health.
• Geographic emphasis on Canada, but also international intelligence of influential hazards and trends beyond our borders, to the extent that they threaten our health and commerce.

Components and Governance

Components

• many integrated components required
• network of modern, ever-improving diagnostic laboratories
• skilled staff, standard or compatible protocols
• promote submissions, low fees, value-added service
• IT to share, collate, analyze data, normal trends, thresholds
• investigation, follow-up, response to thresholds exceeded
• data re: populations-at-risk, including normal & abnormal flow
• market and field syndromic and surrogate measures of health (e.g. sales-yard, abattoir, dairy, vet practice & farm)
• base-line and targeted surveys (systematic, repeated & ad-hoc)
• international surveillance respecting & balancing individual confidentiality & broader-good
• communications (including integration with FPT systems)
• foresight and continuous improvement

Governance

• clear understanding and agreement on roles & responsibilities
• systems of decision-making & accountability
• cost sharing and dispute-resolution
• integration with Federal Provincial Territorial ADMs

 

Suggested Next Steps

• Agreement among stakeholders re: importance of surveillance
• Present to FPT Table for decision of support as a pillar of NAHS
• Commitment to further develop and implement
• Strategic plan of implementation
• Make linkages with “Growing Forward” initiative for $
• More detailed agreements on protocols concerning:
  • diagnostics
  • information sharing and use
  • analysis and communications
  • accountability & cost sharing