A comprehensive approach to multi_disease monitoring and surveillance requires looking at all ongoing animal health and disease detection, control, and eradication activities in Veterinary Services as one general program. This approach concentrates on program activities that involve similar functions and frequently use the same personnel, processes and structure. This type of a surveillance system is based on effectively and efficiently collecting essential data to avoid or recognize recrudesce of latent infections, preventing introduction of new disease, gaining awareness of emerging disease issues, and satisfying immediate and long term requirements for the recognition of a particular disease status in defined regions of the United States. Veterinary Services monitoring and surveillance programs for animal diseases are designed to:

1. Safeguard and improve the health, quality and marketability of the national livestock herds/flocks and their products.
2. Promote animal health and support the production of quality animal products.
3. Promote access for U.S. animals & animal products to international markets.

Surveillance is the systematic collection, collation, analysis and interpreting health-related events occurring in animal populations and is followed by timely dissemination of results information to those involved in the planning, implementing, and/or evaluating prevention and control measures in order that action may be taken.

Monitoring is the routine collection of information for a disease condition, characteristic, or state in an animal population with the purpose of detecting changes in the epidemiological parameters affecting the population.

SYSTEM FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework that Veterinary Services uses for the design its monitoring and surveillance systems are applicable to most animal health programs. Specific elements must be addressed for each animal disease or syndrome to ensure the surveillance programs are effective.

Rational
Establish the rational for a surveillance program. Provide the reasoning used to justify why surveillance system is necessary for a disease or animal health program.

Goals and Objectives
Create objectives and goals for the surveillance system. These must clearly state the desired outcome and the direction that will be followed.

Case Definition
Determine the methods that are to be used for identifying the animal disease. Develop a case definition that is clear, appropriate, and consistent throughout out the system. For some diseases, where the clinical picture is not clear cut, the case definition may need some flexibility to capture the full scope of a disease present in an animal population. The definition of a case may have to be subdivided to prevent inclusion of false-positives, for example:

Suspect: case meets the clinical case definition,

Probable: clinical case under epidemiological investigation,

Confirmed: suspect case is laboratory-confirmed.

Data Collection
Data collection methods must be clearly defined, focused, systematic, efficient, reliable, and economical. Comprehensive disease indicators for both the information and the sample to be collected must be generated, and all data sources (active versus passive) coordinated. Data sets must be standardized for incorporation into a useful database for analyses. It is also necessary to develop methods field test and validate the data.

Analysis
Data analysis must be appropriate, properly presented, and useful for making decisions. To do this, scientific analytical procedures must be developed and tested. After competition, analyses and interpretation have to be strategically linked to the main stakeholders.

Reporting
Reporting must understandable, relevant, timely, and disseminated to people and institutions needing the information.

Feedback
Feedback must be appropriate and sufficient to either maintain or change the system quickly.
This requires the surveillance systems to maintain feedback to stakeholders at all levels.

Evaluation
The surveillance system must have periodic evaluations to ensure the procedures and process are efficient and working correctly and obtained data are useful, consistent, and of high quality.

FORMAT

Format used in Veterinary Services uses a consistent format for all national animal disease surveillance programs.

Disease Name and OIE Code
Rational for Surveillance
Goals of the Surveillance Program
Recommended Case Definition

Clinical case definition
Case classification

Diagnostic Procedures

Laboratory criteria for diagnosis
Diagnostic field test criteria

Surveillance Models

Mandatory surveillance
Routine surveillance
Outbreak surveillance
Sentinel surveillance
Parallel surveillance systems

Minimum Data Elements

Case-based data for investigation and reporting
Outbreak data
Aggregated data for reporting

Data Collection Insturments
Data Analysis and Presentation

Tables
Graphs
Maps

Reports

Periodic reports

Principle Uses of Data for Decision Making

Surveillance data
Investigation data
State, regional, national and international disease status

Special Aspects
Contact Information

VS Area, Regional, and Headquarters Offices

name, address, telephone, FAX, and E-mail

Additional Information

Reference publications

ANIMAL DISEASE MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS

Veterinary Services monitoring and surveillance programs are carried out using a range of methods to collect and provide information related to national livestock disease prevention, control, and/or eradication programs, and to measure the prevalence of certain diseases in U.S. animal populations. In this respect, VS animal health programs provide an integrated approach to coordinate and streamline surveillance activities at both the State and Federal level. Key activities associated with surveillance are concentrated and grouped by functional levels, field, state, and national, to reflect the structure of the overall organization. The general goals for VS monitoring and surveillance systems for infectious/contagious diseases of livestock and poultry are to:

• Effectively and efficiently avoid or detect early outbreaks of newly introduced and/or emerging infectious/contagious disease in livestock and poultry populations in the U.S.,
• Estimate the size of any identified livestock and poultry disease problem,
• Characterize changes in disease trends for identified livestock and poultry diseases,
• Evaluate intervention and preventive programs for livestock and poultry diseases,
• Assist with animal health planning for livestock and poultry in States and VS Areas,
• Improve knowledge of animal health among animal health professionals, industry representatives and producers,
• Identify research needs for specific livestock and poultry diseases, and
• Promote safe international trade of live animals, viable germplasm, and animal products.

NATIONAL ANIMAL DISEASE PROGRAM SURVEILLANCE

Veterinary Services National Animal Health Programs assesses and evaluates livestock disease programs that are national in scope for their effectiveness and efficiency in prevention, control, and/or eradication. Current monitoring and surveillance programs target individual livestock species for specific infectious/contagious disease agents.

Bovine Disease Programs

Bovine Tuberculosis (TB)
Brucellosis
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Johne's Disease (Paratuberculosis)


Ovine & Caprine Disease Programs
Scrapie
Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease)


Bison and Captive Cervidae Disease Programs

Tuberculosis
Brucellosis
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive cervids


Porcine Disease Programs

Brucellosis
Pseudorabies
Trichinosis
Hog Cholera (exotic to USA)


Equine Disease Programs

Equine infectious anemia (EIA)
Equine viral arteritis (EVA)
Contagious equine metritis (CEM) (exotic to USA)
Equine Encephalitis (VEE, EEE, WEE, WNE)


Poultry Disease Programs

Avian influenza and highly pathogenic AI (exotic to USA)
Exotic Newcastle disease (exotic to USA)
National Poultry Improvement Plan

Salmonella typhimurium, S. pullorum, S. enteritidis,
Mycoplasma gallisepticum, M. synoviae, M. meleagridis



Aquaculture Disease Programs


Infectious Salmonid Anemia (ISA)

FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

Maintain monitoring and surveillance systems for the early detection of any intrusion by exotic or foreign animal diseases that can affect livestock in the U.S. These are primarily passive surveillance systems that are designed to:

a. quickly detect foreign animal disease outbreaks on domestic soil,
b. rapidly detect foreign animal disease outbreaks near/on national borders,
c. monitor outbreaks of OIE List A Diseases in the U.S. (Vesicular Stomatitis),
d. monitor outbreaks of OIE List A and B Diseases in neighboring countries, and
e. monitor high risk livestock populations in the United States for potential outbreaks of foreign animal disease.

EMERGING ANIMAL DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

Detect and identify new and/or emerging infectious/contagious diseases in livestock populations in the U.S.

a. Monitor outbreaks of new and/or emerging animal diseases in other countries.
b. Monitor outbreaks of new and/or emerging animal diseases in regions of U.S.

INVASIVE SPECIES SURVEILLANCE

Monitor for invasive species that may directly jeopardize or be vectors for diseases that threaten U.S. livestock. (PDF)

IMPORT ANIMALS & PRODUCTS SURVEILLANCE

Safeguard imported animals and animal products to prevent the intrusion of foreign animal diseases.

a. Monitor outbreaks of foreign animal diseases on foreign soil.

- Neighboring countries
- Trading partners
- Other regions and countries

b. Monitor disease risk associated with domestic outbreaks of foreign animal diseases.

- Import of live animals, viable germplasm, and animal products
- Travel and commerce
- Movement of vectors

Facilitate access to international trade by identifying probable risk for specified animal diseases in U.S. livestock at the state, regional, and national levels using the National Animal Health Reporting System (NAHRS)

NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH REPORTING SYSTEM

• a. Document disease free status for trade purposes.
• b. Document disease prevalence for trade purposes.
• c. Conduct risk factor surveillance for diseases eradicated from the U.S. (conduct every 5 years.)

NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM

Target studies and monitor animal health issues under the National Animal Health Monitoring Systems(NAHMS) program.

ENDEMIC LIVESTOCK DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

Monitor endemic diseases that can severely affect livestock, recommend actions to users, and form strategic linkages for their control and prevention.

FEDERAL COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS FOR ANIMAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

Unify animal disease surveillance systems with Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS), and other government agencies.