Aquatic Animal Health Code
Aquatic Animal Health Code |
For the purpose of the Aquatic Code:
means the farming of aquatic animals with some sort of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc.
means an establishment in which fish, molluscs or crustaceans for breeding, stocking or marketing are raised or kept.
means the status of a country, zone or compartment with respect to an aquatic animal disease, according to the criteria listed in the relevant chapter of the Aquatic Code dealing with the disease.
means non-viable aquatic animals and products from aquatic animals.
means all life stages (including eggs and gametes) of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and amphibians originating from aquaculture establishments or removed from the wild, for farming purposes, for release into the environment, for human consumption or for ornamental purposes.
means the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code.
means the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals.
means a set of conditions applying to a particular disease, and a particular zone or country, required to ensure adequate disease security, such as:
the disease, including suspicion of the disease, is compulsorily notifiable to the Competent Authority; and
an early detection system is in place within the zone or country; and
import requirements to prevent the introduction of disease into the country or zone, as outlined in the Aquatic Code, are in place.
means a tendency of an estimate to differ in a non-random fashion from the true value of a population parameter.
means:
biological reagents for use in the diagnosis of certain diseases;
sera for use in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases;
inactivated or modified vaccines for use in preventive vaccination against certain diseases;
genetic material of infectious agents;
endocrine tissues from fish or used in fish.
means a plan that identifies significant potential pathways for the introduction and spread of disease in a zone or compartment, and describes the measures which are being, or will be, applied to mitigate the risks to introduce and spread disease, taking into consideration the recommendations in the Aquatic Code. The plan should also describe how these measures are audited, with respect to both their implementation and their targeting, to ensure that the risks are regularly re-assessed and the measures adjusted accordingly.
means a zone established to protect the health status of aquatic animals in a free country or free zone, from those in a country or zone of a different aquatic animal health status, using measures based on the epidemiology of the disease under consideration to prevent spread of the disease agent into a free country or free zone.
means an individual aquatic animal infected by a pathogenic agent, with or without clinical signs.
is a set of criteria used to distinguish a case animal or an epidemiological unit from a non-case.
means the Permanent Secretariat of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the headquarters of which are:
12, rue de Prony, 75017 Paris, FRANCE
Telephone: 33-(0)1 44 15 18 88
Fax: 33-(0)1 42 67 09 87
Electronic mail: [email protected]
WWW: http://www.oie.int
means a person authorised by the Competent Authority to sign health certificates for aquatic animals.
means aquatic animals, aquatic animal products, biological products and pathological material.
means one or more aquaculture establishments under a common biosecurity management system containing an aquatic animal population with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease or diseases for which required surveillance and control measures are applied and basic biosecurity conditions are met for the purpose of international trade. Such compartments must be clearly documented by the Competent Authority(ies).
means the Veterinary Services, or other Authority of a Member, having the responsibility and competence for ensuring or supervising the implementation of the aquatic animal health measures or other standards in the Aquatic Code.
means a transport appliance:
of a permanent type and sufficiently strong to enable repeated use;
specially constructed to facilitate transport of aquatic animals or aquatic animal products by one or several means of transport;
provided with fittings that make it easy to manipulate, particularly for trans-shipment from one kind of transport vehicle to another;
constructed in a watertight way, easy to load and unload and capable of being cleansed and disinfected;
ensuring safe and optimal transport of aquatic animals.
means a documented work plan designed to ensure that all needed actions, requirements and resources are provided in order to eradicate or bring under control outbreaks of specified diseases of aquatic animals.
means determination of the nature of a disease.
means clinical or non clinical infection with one or more of the aetiological agents of the diseases referred to in the Aquatic Code.
means an organism that causes or contributes to the development of a disease referred to in the Aquatic Code.
means chemical compounds capable of destroying pathogenic microorganisms or inhibiting their growth or survival ability.
means the application, after thorough cleansing, of procedures intended to destroy the infectious or parasitic agents of diseases of aquatic animals, including zoonoses; this applies to aquaculture establishments (i.e. hatcheries, fish farms, oyster farms, shrimp farms, nurseries, etc.), vehicles, and different equipment/objects that may have been directly or indirectly contaminated.
means an efficient system for ensuring the rapid recognition of signs that are suspicious of a listed disease, or an emerging disease situation, or unexplained mortality, in aquatic animals in an aquaculture establishment or in the wild, and the rapid communication of the event to the Competent Authority, with the aim of activating diagnostic investigation with minimal delay. Such a system will include the following characteristics:
broad awareness, e.g. among the personnel employed at aquaculture establishments or involved in processing, of the characteristic signs of the listed diseases and emerging diseases;
veterinarians or aquatic animal health specialists trained in recognising and reporting suspicious disease occurrence;
ability of the Competent Authority to undertake rapid and effective disease investigation;
access by the Competent Authority to laboratories with the facilities for diagnosing and differentiating listed diseases and emerging diseases.
means a viable fertilised ovum of an aquatic animal. ‘Green eggs’ means newly fertilised ova of fish. ‘Eyed eggs’ means eggs of fish where the eyes of the embryo are visible and that the eggs may be transported.
means a newly recognised serious disease, the cause of which may or may not yet be established, that has the potential to be spread within and between populations, for example by way of trade in aquatic animals and/or aquatic animal products.
means a group of animals that share approximately the same risk of exposure to a disease agent with a defined location. This may be because they share a common aquatic environment (e.g. fish in a pond, caged fish in a lake), or because management practices make it likely that a disease agent in one group of animals would quickly spread to other animals (e.g. all the ponds on a farm, all the ponds in a village system).
means fish from which internal organs, excluding the brain and gills, have been removed.
means a country from which aquatic animals or aquatic animal products, biological products or pathological material are sent to a destination in another country.
means, for disease management purposes, an operation where an aquaculture establishment is emptied of aquatic animals susceptible to a disease of concern or known to be capable of transferring the disease agent, and, where feasible, of the carrying water. For aquatic animals of unknown susceptibility and those agreed not to be capable of acting as carriers of a disease of concern, decisions on fallowing should be based on a risk assessment.
means any material (single or multiple), whether processed, semi-processed or raw that is intended to be fed directly to aquatic animals.
means any ingredient intentionally added in micro-amounts not normally consumed as feed by itself, whether or not it has nutritional value, which affects the characteristics of feed or animal products. Micro-organisms, enzymes, acidity regulators, trace elements, vitamins, substances used to attract aquatic animals to feed and promote feed intake, pigments, synthetic binders, synthetic amino acids, antioxidants and other products fall within the scope of this definition, depending on the purpose of use and method of administration. This excludes veterinary drugs.
means a component, part or constituent of any combination or mixture making up a feed, including feed additives, whether or not it has a nutritional value in the animal’s diet. Ingredients may be of terrestrial or aquatic, plant or animal origin and may be organic or inorganic substances.
means a compartment that fulfils the requirements for self-declaration of freedom from disease with respect to the disease(s) under consideration, according to the relevant chapter(s) in the Aquatic Code.
means a country that fulfils the requirements for self-declaration of freedom from disease with respect to the disease(s) under consideration according to the relevant chapter(s) in the Aquatic Code.
means a zone that fulfils the requirements for self-declaration of freedom from disease with respect to the disease(s) under consideration according to the relevant chapter(s) in the Aquatic Code.
means any international airport or any port, railway station or road post open to international trade.
means the sperm or unfertilised eggs of aquatic animals that are held or transported separately prior to fertilisation.
means any pathogen that could produce adverse consequences on the importation of a commodity.
means the process of identifying the pathogenic agents that could potentially be introduced in the commodity considered for importation.
means a country that is the final destination to which aquatic animals, aquatic animal products, biological products or pathological material are sent.
means the number of new outbreaks of disease within a specified period of time in a defined aquatic animal population.
means a zone in which a disease has been diagnosed. The infected zone must be clearly defined by the Competent Authority(ies) concerned and may be separated from the rest of the country by a buffer zone.
means the presence of a multiplying or otherwise developing or latent disease agent in a host. This term is understood to include infestation where the disease agent is a parasite in or on a host.
means the longest period during which an affected aquatic animal can be a source of infection.
International aquatic animal health certificate
means a certificate issued by a member of the personnel of the Competent Authority of the exporting country, certifying the state of health of the aquatic animals, and a declaration that the aquatic animals originate from a source subjected to official health surveillance according to the procedures described in the Aquatic Manual.
means import, export or transit of aquatic animals, aquatic animal products, biological products and pathological material.
means live farmed or wild caught animals and algae used as feed for aquatic animals. Live feed is often fed to aquatic animal species at an early life-stage and to aquatic animal species that have been cultured for a relatively short time.
means a product derived from an aquatic animal that has been ground and heat processed to reduce the moisture content to less than 10%.
means the procedure by which:
the Veterinary Authority informs the Central Bureau,
the Central Bureau informs Veterinary Authorities of Members
of the confirmation of a disease outbreak, according to the provisions of Section 1. of the Aquatic Code.
means diseases that are referred to in Chapter 1.3. of the Aquatic Code. (Synonym: diseases listed by the OIE.)
means an occurrence of one or more cases in an epidemiological unit.
means tissues, organs, fluids, etc., from aquatic animals, or strains of infectious organisms (which could be identified as an isolate or biovar) to be sent to an aquatic animal disease laboratory or to a reference laboratory recognised by the OIE, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Union (EU), etc.
Personnel of the Competent Authority
means any competent personnel working within the body of, or designated by, the Competent Authority.
means the total number of infected aquatic animals expressed as a percentage of the total number of aquatic animals in a given aquatic animal population at one specific time.
means a sampling strategy in which every unit has a known non-zero probability of inclusion in the sample.
means maintaining a group of aquatic animals in isolation with no direct or indirect contact with other aquatic animals, in order to undergo observation for a specified length of time and, if appropriate, testing and treatment, including proper treatment of the effluent waters.
means the likelihood of the occurrence and the likely magnitude of the biological and economic consequences of an adverse event or effect to animal or human health.
means the complete process composed of hazard identification, risk assessment, risk management and risk communication.
means the evaluation of the likelihood and the biological and economic consequences of entry, establishment and spread of a hazard within the territory of an importing country.
is the interactive exchange of information and opinions throughout the risk analysis process concerning risk, risk-related factors and risk perceptions among risk assessors, risk managers, risk communicators, the general public and other interested parties.
means the process of identifying, selecting and implementing measures that can be applied to reduce the level of risk.
means a measure, such as those described in various Chapters of the Aquatic Code, destined to protect aquatic animal or human health or life within the territory of the OIE Member from risks arising from the entry, establishment and/or spread of a hazard.
Self-declaration of freedom from disease
means declaration by the Competent Authority of the country concerned that the country, zone or compartment is free from a listed disease based on implementation of the provisions of the Aquatic Code and the Aquatic Manual. The country may wish to transmit this information to the OIE Central Bureau, which may publish the information.
means the proportion of true positive tests given in a diagnostic test, i.e. the number of true positive results divided by the number of true positive and false negative results.
means the killing and bleeding of fish.
means the probability that absence of infection will be correctly identified by a diagnostic test, i.e. the number of true negative results divided by the number of true negative and false positive results.
means the carrying out under the authority of the Competent Authority, on confirmation of a disease, of preventive aquatic animal health measures, consisting of killing the aquatic animals that are affected, those suspected of being affected in the population and those in other populations that have been exposed to infection by direct or indirect contact of a kind likely to cause the transmission of the disease agent. All these aquatic animals, vaccinated or unvaccinated, on an infected site should be killed and the carcasses destroyed by burning or burial, or by any other method that will eliminate the spread of infection through the carcasses or products of the aquatic animals destroyed.
This policy should be accompanied by cleansing and disinfection procedures as defined in the Aquatic Code. Fallowing should be for an appropriate period determined by risk assessment.
means the population from which surveillance data are derived. This may be the same as the target population or a subset of it.
means a distinct part of a population identifiable according to specific common aquatic animal health characteristics.
means a systematic series of investigations of a given population of aquatic animals to detect the occurrence of disease for control purposes, and which may involve testing samples of a population.
means a species of aquatic animal in which infection has been demonstrated by natural cases or by experimental exposures to the disease agent that mimics the natural pathways for infection. Each disease chapter in the Aquatic Manual contains a list of currently known susceptible species.
means, for the purposes of demonstrating freedom from infection, the population of interest, usually made up of all aquatic animals of species susceptible to a specified disease agent in a defined country, zone or aquaculture establishment.
means surveillance targeted at a specific disease or infection.
means land and water under jurisdiction of a country.
means a country through which aquatic animals, aquatic animal products, biological products or pathological material destined for an importing country, are transported or in which a stopover is made at a frontier post.
means individually identifiable elements. This is a generic concept used to describe, for example, the members of a population, or the elements selected when sampling. In these contexts, examples of units include individual animals, ponds, nets, cages, farms, villages, districts, etc.
means any method of transport by land, air or water.
means a person registered or licensed by the relevant veterinary statutory body of a country to practise veterinary medicine/science in that country.
means the Governmental Authority of an OIE Member, comprising veterinarians, other professionals and para-professionals, having the responsibility and competence for ensuring or supervising the implementation of aquatic animal health and welfare measures, international aquatic animal health certification and other standards and recommendations in the Aquatic Code in the whole territory.
means the Veterinary Administration, all the Veterinary Authorities, and all persons authorised, registered or licensed by the veterinary statutory body.
means an autonomous authority regulating veterinarians and veterinary para-professionals.
means an area or basin of land bounded by natural features such as hills or mountains, into which all run-off water flows.
means a portion of one or more countries comprising:
an entire water catchment from the source of a waterway to the estuary or lake, or
more than one water catchment, or
part of a water catchment from the source of a waterway to a barrier that prevents the introduction of a specific disease or diseases, or
part of a coastal area with a precise geographical delimitation, or
an estuary with a precise geographical delimitation,
that consists of a contiguous hydrological system with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease or diseases. The zones must be clearly documented (e.g. by a map or other precise locators such as GPS co-ordinates) by the Competent Authority(ies).
2009 ©OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code |
