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Animal disease surveillance: Prospects for development in Pakistan

Article  in  Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics) · January 2004

DOI: 10.20506/rst.22.3.1449 · Source: PubMed

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 Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 2003, 22 (3), 977-987

Animal disease surveillance: prospects for

development in Pakistan
S. Akhtar (1) & F. White (2)
(1) Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Community
Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
(2) Professor and Chair, Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road,
Karachi 74800, Pakistan

Submitted for publication: 11 February 2002

Accepted for publication: 30 January 2003

Summary
Surveillance is a continuous and systematic process of collection, consolidation,
analysis, interpretation and dissemination of relevant information on the
occurrence of health problems. Data from surveillance can be used to calculate
the incidence and prevalence of events, to categorise disease distribution by
relevant characteristics, to guide investigations into the occurrence of epidemic
and endemic disease, and to contribute essential information for the design and
evaluation of effective disease prevention and control programmes.
Disease surveillance systems should also respond to the information needs of
government agencies, agribusiness, academia, producers and consumers.
However, in most developing countries, including Pakistan, animal disease
surveillance systems are not well developed, and do not produce a desirable
quality of information on disease status and trends. In this paper, the authors
describe various facets of a generic surveillance system and propose a structure
for a surveillance system at district level. Such systems have been designed and
implemented for public health surveillance in a number of countries, and may be
developed to meet the needs of veterinary public health.

Keywords
Approach – Attribute – Disease surveillance system – Livestock – Objective – Pakistan –
Ruminant – Surveillance design.

Introduction be adequately determined from the data collected through

existing types of investigations. Data which merely list cases
(numerator data), without including information about their
Dependable statistics on the morbidity and mortality of animals
are required for successful disease prevention and control (14). population base (denominator data), are of little use. Therefore,
In many developed countries, such as Japan (12), disease there is a fundamental need to define the animals at risk of
surveillance systems are relatively well developed and can developing a disease (denominator) during a specified time
realistically be viewed as ‘early warning systems’. In most period, relative to the number of animals that actually
developing countries, however, surveillance systems are not so developed the disease (numerator) during the same interval.
well developed, and do not produce the desired quality of There is a need to establish a more capable country-wide
information. In the area of human health, progress has been surveillance system, which includes a national centre and other
made in some countries, such as the People’s Republic of China provincial centres for collecting, compiling, analysing and
and Thailand (9, 10). In Pakistan however, both human and disseminating such information. These centres should become
animal health surveillance are in need of attention. centres of reference for epidemiological and related economic
assessments, as well as field services.
In relation to animal health, although traditional reporting
systems have been augmented by laboratory monitoring, meat In Pakistan, since the Ministry of Agriculture and the Pakistan
inspection findings and other sources of information, these Agricultural Research Council work at federal level throughout
approaches often lead to invalid conclusions and limited the country, they are in an ideal position to develop a
information of little practical value. Generally, the prevalence, nationwide surveillance system which produces timely and
incidence, trends or economic significance of a disease cannot valid information on animal health and productivity. Such a

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system will require properly designed methods of collecting animal health problems. This information should be
data to facilitate epidemiological and economic analyses. If the disseminated to all who have contributed to its gathering, as
surveillance system is properly designed and implemented, well as all those who require it for disease prevention and
analysing the resulting surveillance data will provide descriptive control (15). Surveillance systems require the formation of
statistics on health and productivity which will be useful to the networks of people, the free-flow of information, and well-
agricultural industry. Data at farm level can be extrapolated to designed procedures for disease prevention activities, control
construct regional and national estimates, so that trends can be measures and epidemiological investigations. This process
identified. Potential risk factors associated with disease and requires constant attention to maintenance and quality
sub-optimal productivity can be explored in more detail, so that improvement, and may function at many levels, from the local
alternative disease prevention measures and control strategies to the international.
can be evaluated. The surveillance system should be able to
respond to the information needs of the following sectors: The most common primary objective of surveillance is to
– government agencies monitor the occurrence of a disease over time within a specific
population. When a surveillance system needs to identify all
– agribusiness the occurrences of a specific health event within a defined
– academia population, data from the surveillance system can be used to
calculate the incidence and prevalence of that specific health
– producers event. Surveillance systems can also characterise the human or
– consumers. animal populations which are affected by these health problems
and help to identify the groups at highest risk. Data from a
In this paper, the authors describe the various facets of a generic surveillance system can also be used to describe these health
surveillance system (8, 22) and propose a structure for a problems, including their manifestations and severity, the
surveillance system at district level. Such systems have been nature of aetiological agents, and the use of treatments.
designed and implemented for public health surveillance in a Populations under surveillance may also be narrowly defined to
number of countries, and may be adapted for the needs of meet a particular purpose. For example, an international
veterinary public health. network of diagnostic laboratories collaborates with the World
Health Organization (WHO) to track the emergence, spread
To take the example of an animal disease now under active and impact of new influenza virus strains. Equally, there are
surveillance, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) laboratories which collaborate with the OIE (World
(20), in co-operation with national Ministries of Agriculture organisation for animal health) and the Food and Agriculture
throughout the Americas, co-ordinates a foot and mouth Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to address the
disease (FMD) surveillance programme with the goal of epidemiological dimensions of FMD and rinderpest (RP).
eventual eradication. Among the many benefits of the
elimination of FMD from various areas in Latin America is the
decision of the United States to open its markets to meat
exports from Argentina and Uruguay. Objectives of surveillance
In fact, as South American countries have begun to The objectives of a surveillance system can be described as
acknowledge their animal disease and epidemiological status follows:
more openly, their image has improved, which has helped to
– monitoring trends in health events
consolidate regional markets and promote improvements in
local management. Various social and commercial sectors have – triggering links to services
recognised this success, as well as the need to work alongside
– providing starting points for research
official Veterinary Services in the common goals of improving
animal health and protecting the food supply (20). In other – evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
words, surveillance (linked to disease prevention and control)
– estimating future trends or ‘disease forecasting’
is the key to improving animal health. It serves as a good
management practice (a form of ‘continuous quality – promoting education, good practices and informed policies.
improvement’), and can result in beneficial economic impacts.
Descriptive epidemiology of health problems
Surveillance Monitoring trends is a key function of most surveillance
systems. The detection of an increase in adverse health events
Surveillance is a continuous and systematic process of can alert health agencies to the need for further investigation
the collection, consolidation, analysis, interpretation and when outbreaks or disease clusters are suspected (7, 11). Such
dissemination of relevant information on the occurrence of surveillance can also provide an historical perspective in

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assessing the importance of perceived or documented changes used to estimate the future trends in specific diseases. Various
in disease incidence, perhaps in relation to changing mathematical models and specialised statistical software
environmental conditions (e.g., the impact of floods or programs have been developed for this purpose, for example,
drought). Alternatively, trends identified through surveillance epidemic models for RP (18) and human immunodeficiency
can provide an indication of the success (or otherwise) of virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
specific interventions. In the context of animal health, (19).
information on the demographic characteristics of flocks/herds
with health problems can help to identify groups at risk of
disease and provide insights into aetiology or modes of spread. Education and policy
As surveillance data are important for veterinary public health,
Providing links to services any information which comes from these data should be widely
and effectively disseminated, not only to those who helped to
At herd level, surveillance is often an integral part of the
collect the data but also to anyone who can use them, including
delivery of preventive and therapeutic services by a veterinary
services department in each province. This role is particularly public media and local leaders. Thus, surveillance can promote
true for infectious diseases, where: evidence-based farmer education and livestock health, thereby
contributing to improved awareness and knowledge of animal
– interventions are based on known modes of disease health problems, and good herd health practices.
transmission
– therapeutic interventions or disease prevention measures are
valuable Elements of a surveillance
– receiving a case report may trigger a specific response. system
The notification of a case may lead to an investigation and the A well-designed surveillance system comprises the following
establishment of disease control measures to avert more steps:
widespread disease. For example, the notification of cases of RP
and FMD in livestock may lead to investigation and appropriate – defining the case
veterinary public health action. – placing the population under surveillance
– applying the cycle of surveillance
Providing links to research
– ensuring confidentiality
Surveillance data can be valuable in characterising the basic
epidemiology of health problems. These data, however, seldom – providing incentives for participation.
provide sufficient detail for in-depth epidemiological
hypotheses. Nevertheless, surveillance can provide an
important bridge to researchers by generating clues (or Case definition
hypotheses) for further investigation, using more rigorous Defining a case is a basic step in the development of a
study designs. surveillance system and requires an assessment of the
veterinary public health objectives and related logistics.
Evaluating interventions Surveillance definitions must balance competing needs for
sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and feasibility. As there is
The planners of Veterinary Services need information about the a general need for simplicity (usually linked to feasibility or ease
effectiveness of interventions, yet full-scale evaluations may not
of use), surveillance case definitions are typically brief and
always be possible. A well-designed surveillance system enables
generally combine reasonable laboratory criteria and common
trends to be charted by numbers, rates of events or the
clinical manifestations.
characteristics of affected individuals, by focusing on the
requirement of ‘minimum essential data’. Trained
epidemiologists can then identify possible interventions and Placing the population under surveillance
estimate their impacts by analysing these essential data.
Some surveillance systems may attempt to identify all the
occurrences of a specific health event which occur within the
Projections or ‘disease forecasting’ population of a defined geographic area (2). Other systems may
Planners must anticipate future demands for health services. focus on a representative sample of such events (a population-
Observed trends in disease incidence, combined with other based system), as proposed and adapted for the health and
information about the population at risk and underlying production surveillance of California dairy herds (3, 21). A
environmental conditions, in addition to economic data, can be further development of the latter approach is to target sites

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within a broader geographic area. These sites are selected Ensuring confidentiality
because of the following:
Detailed information which uniquely identifies a specific event
– their convenience for conducting surveillance-based studies is necessary for the following reasons:
– their status as being ‘typical’ (although not necessarily – to identify duplicate reports
statistically representative)
– to obtain subsequent or ‘follow-up’ information, when
– the willingness of individuals at the sites to participate. necessary
– to provide services to identified individuals
Such a system is often termed ‘sentinel surveillance’ and has
been applied equally to human and animal health. In Canada, – to use surveillance as the basis for more detailed
for example, for many years, doctors have participated in investigations.
sentinel surveillance for influenza, while sentinel chicken flocks
are used in surveillance for Western equine encephalomyelitis Nonetheless, protecting the physical security and
(21). The principles of sentinel surveillance have been confidentiality of surveillance records is both an ethical
employed in pilot studies of selected health problems in small responsibility and a requirement for maintaining the trust of
ruminants (5) and in cattle (4). Sentinel surveillance has also participants.
been adopted by many countries in Central America, e.g., Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and
Panama (16), and the resulting data were used to establish new Providing incentives for participation
priorities for animal health programmes in the region. Providing useful information to those who contribute to the
system is the best incentive for participation. This feedback may
be in the form of reports, seminars and perhaps, for the
Cycle of surveillance participating farmers, monetary benefits to maintain their
Surveillance systems can be described as information ‘loops’ or interest in the surveillance system.
cycles, with information flowing into the organisations which
collect it and being returned to those who need it. In effect, this
is simply another application of the self-correcting management
information cycle (derived, in turn, from general systems
theory). This cycle is illustrated in Figure 1. The loop is
Approaches to surveillance
complete when the information is applied and action is taken. Possible approaches to surveillance include the following:

The elements of a typical surveillance loop begin with the – active and passive surveillance
occurrence of a health event, its detection by a health-care – notifiable disease reporting
provider, notification of the event to a health agency (with the
successive transfer of information from local to central – laboratory-based surveillance
agencies), analysis and interpretation of the aggregate data and – volunteer providers.
dissemination of the results, followed by subsequent action,
including disease prevention and control measures.
Active and passive surveillance
The terms ‘active’ and ‘passive’ surveillance are used to describe
two alternative approaches to surveillance. An active approach
means that the organisation conducting the surveillance
initiates procedures to obtain reports, such as regular telephone
calls or visits to health-care providers, animal-holding facilities
and farms.

A passive approach to surveillance means that the organisation

conducting the surveillance does not contact potential reporters
of adverse health events but rather leaves the responsibility for
reporting any such events to others, such as veterinarians,
farmers, etc.

While the terms ‘active’ and ‘passive’ are conceptually useful,

Fig. 1 they are insufficient for describing a surveillance method. For
A conceptual basis for disease surveillance – the animal health example, it may not be feasible to contact all potential reporters.
system as a self-correcting cycle Thus, in taking an active approach to surveillance, a health

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agency may decide to contact only large reporting centres is likely to be higher among those with the greatest interest in
routinely. In addition, special investigations may be conducted the success of a surveillance programme. Thus, an effort should
periodically to identify cases which have not been reported be made to identify a mix of volunteers, based on geography or
through routine procedures. It is more important to describe on the characteristics of their client and/or patient populations.
the following:
– how the surveillance is conducted Other approaches for surveillance may include the following:

– who is contacted – the use of existing registries

– how often the contacts are made – periodic and/or continuing surveys

– what, if any, supporting or ‘back-up’ procedures are in place – information systems, such as birth and death records
to identify missing cases. – sentinel events
– linking records from various sources.
Notifiable disease reporting
Veterinary health agencies have the authority to designate Finally, appropriate analyses, interpretations and presentations
certain diseases as ‘notifiable’, i.e., by law, their occurrence must of surveillance data, in the form of summary reports, are
be reported. Traditionally, this approach has been used for integral components of a surveillance system. These reports
infectious diseases. The regulations which control disease must be made available to the appropriate decision-makers,
reporting have varying time requirements and assign varying including politicians, administrators, veterinary officials,
levels of reporting responsibility to different authorities i.e., veterinary practitioners and participating farmers, so that they
farmers, government veterinary officials. can assign priorities to disease control measures and deal more
effectively with a disease situation.
However, the problem with notification systems throughout the
world (with relatively few exceptions) is that, once established, Ultimately, if the information produced by a surveillance system
they are often poorly maintained and not well used. While is not used to guide disease prevention and control measures,
these systems can be improved, it is even more appropriate to then, of course, there is no purpose in making the investment.
see notification as simply one important component of a
scientifically designed approach to surveillance.

Laboratory-based surveillance Attributes of an effective

Using diagnostic laboratories as the basis for surveillance can be
effective, especially when diagnostic testing for a particular surveillance system
condition is centralised. Laboratory records, however, usually
lack information on epidemiologically important The following list of attributes can be used to evaluate an
characteristics. Moreover, subjects which are undergoing existing system or to design a new system. As some of the
laboratory tests may not be representative examples of all cases attributes are conflicting, it is necessary to determine which are
of this disease. Nonetheless, as with notification, laboratory the most important for a given surveillance system. Effort
monitoring has an important role to play in surveillance. At the should be invested into strengthening those aspects of the
very least, laboratory information generally offers a high level of system which address the most important attributes, while
specificity. accepting that others cannot be fully achieved. These attributes
are as follows:
The relatively recent development of computerised laboratory
information systems offers additional potential for – sensitivity
epidemiological applications, including contributions to – specificity
surveillance. Laboratories which use the same software for
internal specimen tracking and recording may be connected for – timeliness
this purpose, if there are appropriate safeguards for maintaining – representativeness
confidentiality.
– positive predictive value

Volunteer providers – accuracy and completeness of descriptive information

The participation of private veterinary practitioners in such a – simplicity
surveillance system requires a commitment of their resources,
– flexibility
particularly time. Thus, while selecting a random sample of
sites or health-care providers is desirable, the participation rate – acceptability.

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Sensitivity Can the system adapt to evolving standards of diagnosis or

Sensitivity poses the question: ‘to what extent does the veterinary medical care?’
surveillance system identify all relevant events in the target
population?’ When monitoring trends, low sensitivity may be Acceptability
acceptable if such sensitivity is consistent over time and
detected events are representative. However, high sensitivity is Acceptability involves measuring the extent to which the
required for assessing the impact of a health problem. participants in a surveillance system (those who report cases,
welcome staff into their hospitals or offices, complete forms,
etc.) are enthusiastic about the system. What is their
Specificity participation rate? Do the participants believe that the efforts
Specificity addresses the question: ‘to what extent does the they invest yield useful information?
surveillance system correctly exclude events which are not
related to the disease under surveillance?’
Proposed design of an animal
Timeliness
This attribute refers to the speed of the entire cycle of
disease surveillance system
information flow, ranging from information collection to All the provinces of Pakistan have a network of veterinary
dissemination. The need for timeliness depends on the animal hospitals in which staff are supposed to collect and report data
health urgency of a problem, the infectivity of the disease agent on disease occurrences to their district, their province and then
involved and the types of interventions required. to the Federal Office. However, it was found, at least in Punjab
and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) (1), that veterinary
staff were not reporting any cases of infectious diseases,
Representativeness including FMD, haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) and RP.
Representativeness involves the question: ‘to what extent do Perhaps this was caused by fear of the consequences of
events detected through the surveillance system represent the reporting outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, which
majority of relevant cases in the target population?’ A lack of would have indicated the failure of these staff to achieve
representativeness may lead to the mis-allocation of health immunisation targets. For any surveillance system to be truly
resources. effective, it is essential to overcome these hurdles, which are
essentially due to human behaviour and the need to create a
Positive predictive value new management culture within animal health organisations.
The value of the system for predicting future disease trends Two pilot studies on the design and implementation of a system
depends on its capability to answer the following questions: ‘to for monitoring health problems through convenience samples
what extent are reported cases really cases? To what extent are from herds/flocks of large and small ruminants (3, 4) have been
measured changes in trends truly reflective of events in the conducted in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. This particular
larger population?’
system, however, does not allow the collection of information
on all adverse health events occurring in the livestock
Accuracy and completeness of descriptive population of a defined geographical area. In addition, ad hoc
information surveys based on cross-sectional design did not yield the rates
of various morbid conditions in livestock in four districts of
Forms for reporting health events often include descriptive
Punjab (6).
information, such as demographic characteristics, the clinical
pattern of disease and potential exposures. To what extent are
An approach to the development of human health surveillance
these sections of the forms completed? Is this information
sufficiently reliable? at district level for developing countries has recently been
outlined, based on a system developed in the Tamil Nadu
region of India (13). The success and sustainability of this
Simplicity particular system have been attributed to the following
Are the forms easy to complete? Is the software easy to use, i.e., elements:
‘user-friendly’? Is the collection of data kept to a necessary
minimum? – the simplicity of the reporting procedure
– low costs
Flexibility
– the participation of the private sector
The attribute of flexibility involves the questions: ‘to what
extent can the system be changed to address new questions? – the personal rapport between the people in the network

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– the regular distribution of information and feedback through that they will do this quickly and efficiently and, in turn, timely
a monthly bulletin action can be taken by the relevant authorities.

– the visible disease control and prevention measures The Punjab and NWFP provinces have veterinary disease
undertaken after reporting. diagnostic laboratories at district level, and all four provinces
have either Veterinary Research Institutes or Central Veterinary
There is no good reason why the equivalent development of Laboratories. There is also a newly established National
animal health surveillance at district level should not prove Veterinary Laboratory at the federal level. These public
equally successful. In the remaining part of the paper, the institutions should serve as the centre or ‘hub’ of diagnostic
authors outline a prototype animal disease surveillance system activities, as well as maintaining databases on the type, size and
at district level. This proposed system could be replicated in all geographical location of flocks/herds. Data on the samples
administrative units throughout the country. The authors have submitted in control programmes for highly infectious diseases
attempted to identify the main objectives of this animal disease can play a significant role in the study of the spatial and
surveillance system, the potential approaches which could be temporal epidemiology of selected diseases. The animal disease
adopted, and some of the attributes and elements of the data from these laboratories should be highly specific and thus
proposed model, all in the context of the animal health will have great potential for epidemiological applications,
situation in Pakistan. including contributions to surveillance. Furthermore,
surveillance data generated through the combination of both
As noted above, the specific objective of any disease active and passive surveillance, substantiated with laboratory
surveillance system should be based on the political, socio- confirmation, will aid in ensuring representativeness and
economic and cultural constraints of the area (17). In the completeness of the resulting data.
context of Pakistan, disease surveillance data must concisely list
the occurrences of specific diseases, specifying the times of such Depending on the size of the livestock population in each
occurrences, the locations, the characteristics of the affected district, a surveillance team should be established. This team
animals, and the animal population at risk. should include a district epidemiologist and supporting field
workers, who are provided with motorcycles for transport. The
Such a surveillance system should be flexible enough to include office of the district epidemiologist should be equipped with
the subsequent collection of productivity data, to assess the microcomputers and staffed with a data entry technician and
economic impact of the disease. clerical support.

A surveillance system in Pakistan should perhaps be based on As proposed elsewhere in this article, a list of the priority
case definition, including the clinical signs and symptoms of diseases for surveillance should be developed. When setting the
selected diseases. These specific diseases would include both priorities for these diseases, the following elements should be
infectious diseases, such as FMD, HS, RP, blackleg and taken into account:
contagious caprine pleuropneumonia; and non-infectious – the impact of the disease (both in health and economic terms)
diseases, for example haemoglobinurea, as all of these diseases
– the availability of cost-effective prevention and control
are reported to have high frequencies in Pakistan (6).
measures, as well as possible resource considerations
Furthermore, standardised, literature-based definitions of such – the diseases which farmers and veterinarians consider
diseases should be agreed upon and developed by the important in their particular areas.
veterinary regulatory authorities. In terms of Pakistan, buffalo,
cattle, sheep and goats are the species which play a pivotal role A case definition for each listed disease should be established
in the livestock economy, and so these animals should be and provided to veterinary hospitals and other appropriate
considered as livestock populations for surveillance. people and organisations, including private veterinary
practitioners. Education and awareness campaigns will also be
With regard to surveillance approaches, the authors propose required in launching such a system. A simple system of
that both active and passive surveillance should be adopted. record-keeping should be developed at farm level, and farmers
The resources which are available would determine the sample should be educated in recording disease events. Farmers
size of the herds/flocks to be included in the surveillance should also be given printed material to support their record-
programme, as well as the design of the sampling method. keeping and assist with related educational needs. The staff of
veterinary hospitals should visit enrolled (if not all) commercial
Highly contagious diseases such as FMD and RP are already livestock producers within their area every week, to collect
notifiable in Pakistan. However, the mechanism for this information on disease occurrence. The field staff of the district
notification must be greatly strengthened, perhaps by offering epidemiologist should receive disease-occurrence data from
some incentive to the veterinarians who notify the diseases, so veterinary hospitals every month.

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All enlisted veterinary hospitals should be supplied with As any disease surveillance database is constructed over time,
printed, self-addressed, pre-paid postcards, to be mailed as and each district and province can conduct its own retrospective
when an outbreak of a listed disease occurs. The postcard analysis to discern trends concerning a disease problem of
should have space for the identification and address of the interest to them. Livestock regulatory authorities at the federal
livestock farm, the size of the herd, and the number of animals level can also request frequent updates on surveillance
affected by a particular disease. If a vaccine-preventable disease activities, without increasing the administrative burden on the
is reported, the vaccination status of the herd should be staff of provincial livestock directorates. The following factors
included on the card. will be crucial in the success of this model:
– continuing commitment and support from management
Operational plans and logistic support should be established so
that laboratory confirmation of the field diagnosis is readily – regular monthly summary feedback reports from the
available whenever the need arises. Thorough epidemiological provincial centre
investigation of any outbreak should be conducted with – regular morale-boosting visits from senior staff from the
laboratory support for clinical diagnosis. The knowledge provincial centre to the field staff who collect the data
gained from such investigations may be used to guide the
development of future educational and other prevention and – staff motivation
control measures. – staff commitment to care and accuracy
– continuing development of the process.
The number of reported cases, together with other crucial
characteristics of the disease outbreak, should be summarised
by geographical location by the district epidemiologist, and
transmitted to the chief epidemiologist at provincial
headquarters. Disease summaries (data plus informative
Conclusion
interpretations) should be prepared and printed on a monthly The authors have attempted to provide an overview of the
basis. These disease summaries should then be distributed to development of disease surveillance programmes, in both
participating veterinary hospitals, provincial and national developed and developing countries, to demonstrate how such
administrations and to the international organisations of the systems contribute to successful disease prevention and
FAO and the OIE. The staff and any others involved in control. Furthermore, the authors have outlined the generic
reporting cases should receive continuing education on the principles underlying the design of a surveillance system, and
situation at district meetings, as well as copies of the proposed an approach to animal disease surveillance which
summaries. In addition to continuing education, private should be feasible in Pakistan at district level. Such an approach
practitioners should receive supplies of vaccine, in recognition could be highly cost-effective and may contribute many
of their co-operation. economic benefits through improved animal health. The details
of this conceptual outline could be further developed by
The authors envisage that this model of animal disease professional discussion groups.
surveillance will provide improved morbidity and mortality
statistics, as well as more credible estimates of the economic
impact of a particular disease. Furthermore, individual disease
records in each district will be more detailed than previously,
and generating reports will become simpler. In addition, the
reports themselves will become increasingly complete and
professional. ■

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La surveillance des maladies animales : les perspectives de

développement au Pakistan
S. Akhtar & F. White

Résumé
La surveillance est un processus continu et systématique de collecte, de
compilation, d’analyse, d’interprétation et de diffusion des informations
pertinentes sur l’apparition de problèmes sanitaires. Les données issues de la
surveillance permettent de calculer l’incidence et la prévalence des événements,
de caractériser la répartition des maladies en fonction de caractéristiques
spécifiques, d’orienter les recherches sur l’apparition de maladies épizootiques
et enzootiques et de fournir des informations capitales pour la mise au point et
l’évaluation de programmes efficaces de prévention et de prophylaxie des
maladies.
Les systèmes de surveillance des maladies doivent également répondre aux
besoins en informations des pouvoirs publics, de l’industrie agroalimentaire, des
universités, des producteurs et des consommateurs. Toutefois, la plupart des
pays en développement, et le Pakistan en particulier, ne disposent pas de
systèmes évolués de surveillance des maladies animales capables de fournir les
informations de qualité voulue sur le statut et l’évolution des maladies. Dans cet
article, les auteurs décrivent les différentes facettes d’un système de
surveillance générique et proposent une structure adaptée à la mise en place
d’un système de surveillance au niveau des districts. Ces systèmes, qui ont été
élaborés et mis en œuvre à des fins de surveillance de la santé humaine dans un
certain nombre de pays, pourraient être développés pour satisfaire les besoins de
santé publique vétérinaire.

Mots-clés
Approche – Attribut – Bétail – Conception de la surveillance – Objectif – Pakistan –
Ruminant – Système de surveillance des maladies.
■

Perspectivas de desarrollo de la vigilancia zoosanitaria en

Pakistán
S. Akhtar & F. White

Resumen
La vigilancia es un proceso permanente y sistemático de obtención, síntesis,
análisis, interpretación y difusión de informaciones útiles sobre la aparición de
problemas sanitarios. Los datos obtenidos pueden utilizarse para calcular la
incidencia y prevalencia de determinados episodios sanitarios, caracterizar la
distribución de enfermedades en función de los parámetros adecuados, orientar
las investigaciones sobre el advenimiento de epidemias y enfermedades
endémicas y aportar información esencial para la concepción y evaluación de
programas eficaces de prevención y control de enfermedades.
Los sistemas de vigilancia sanitaria deben atender además a las necesidades de
información de organismos oficiales, empresas del sector agroindustrial,
universidades, productores y consumidores. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de los

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países en desarrollo, Pakistán entre ellos, los sistemas de vigilancia zoosanitaria

dejan que desear y no generan información de calidad suficiente sobre la
situación y las tendencias sanitarias. En este artículo, tras examinar en abstracto
las diversas características de un sistema de vigilancia, los autores proponen la
estructura de uno de tales sistemas que funcionara a la escala de un distrito. En
muchos países donde se han concebido y puesto en marcha sistemas de esa
índole con fines de control de la salud pública pueden aplicarse dispositivos del
mismo género al sector de la salud pública veterinaria.

Palabras clave
Atributo – Concepción de sistemas de vigilancia – Ganado – Objetivo – Pakistán –
Planteamiento – Rumiante – Sistema de vigilancia sanitaria.
■

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