African horse sickness sign post zoning
The OIE Regional Representative, in a statement to the OIE Delegates in Africa, reiterated the importance of considering the submission of a dossier for the recognition of freedom from African horse sickness (AHS) on historical grounds. The deadline for submission was extended by one year at the General Session in May 2013 and the deadline is now set to March 1st, 2014.
A country or zone may be recognised as free from infection if AHS is a notifiable disease, notifiable in the whole country, that routine vaccination against this disease is prohibited, imports of horses, as well as their semen and oocytes or embryos are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the OIE and that there has never been occurrence of disease, or eradication has been achieved or the disease or infection has ceased to occur for at least 25 years,, that is to say, since at least 1988. To date, 60 countries have been declared free of African horse sickness in this manner, of which only two in Africa: Algeria and Tunisia
Visit the OIE AHS portal…
