Forests are often seen as the lungs of our planet, but they have been suffocating for several years now. The advent of the industrial era, along with a growing consumerist society, has created an increasing demand on natural forest resources, required going deeper and deeper into forests which were not used to human activities before, destroying thousands of hectares forested land and creating new pathways for the unsustainable exploitation of plants, wildlife and bushmeat trade. In addition, climate change, combined with an increasing human mobility has contributed to the spread of diseases and parasites destroying thousands of hectares of forest. These perturbations are increasing the interactions between wildlife and humans, leading more frequently to disease emergence that can affect humans and their domestic animals but also wild animals, sometimes with important health and socio-economic consequences.

Picture (c) S. Muset (—) 2019

In light of this situation, the OIE developed a Wildlife Health Management Framework to protect wildlife health and therefore global health to benefit humans, animals and the environment. This framework will help the OIE, in collaboration with international partners to 1) fully integrate wildlife into its core activities, 2) enable a scientific, political and 3) foster a strategic environment for the Veterinary Services to better address these issues.

Funded by the European Union and managed by the OIE, the EBO-SURSY project aims to strengthen surveillance capacities for haemorrhagic fevers in wildlife. To this end CIRAD, the Institut Pasteur and the IRD, are conducting scientific studies but also socio-economic, anthropological and ecological studies to better understand the dynamic of the virus, and also better comprehend cultural believes, relationships and interactions between people, wildlife and their environment. These studies support the development of a sustainable disease surveillance system where local communities can play an active role in identifying diseases and informing local authorities, as well as take action to better prevent and control spillover events.

World animal health information system (WAHIS)

The World Animal Health Information System, better known as OIE-WAHIS, is an internet-based computer system that collects, processes and shares with the international community data on the occurrence of OIE-listed diseases in both domestic animals and wildlife. The system consists of two components:

• an early warning system to inform the international community, by means of “alert messages”, of important epidemiological events that occurred in OIE Member Countries. The Immediate Notification (IN) and weekly follow-up reports sent to the OIE allow the monitoring of the situation until it is considered resolved or sufficiently stable.
• a monitoring system to monitor OIE Listed diseases (presence or absence) over time and additional complementary information relating to Veterinary Services capabilities and animal production received through six-monthly and annual reports.

The data and information provided by Member Countries, verified and validated by the OIE, are publicly accessible via the OIE-WAHIS interface and accessed through the OIE Web site. These data aim to inform the international trade of animals or animal products.

Currently there is on an ongoing project to renew the system, and the new platform, called OIE-WAHIS will be launched later this March 2021. For more information: https://www.oie.int/en/animal-health-in-the-world/the-oie-wahis-project/

The OIE Worldwide Monitoring System for Wild Animal Disease

This interface describes the global situation for animal diseases in wildlife that are not OIE-listed. The OIE Worldwide Monitoring System for Wild Animal Disease is based on voluntary reports received by OIE from Member Countries. The fact that a country reports wildlife disease should provide confidence that a country has effective surveillance and reporting systems in place, that the country is transparent; and that the whole ecosystem is considered important in the context of animal health.

Although these non-OIE listed diseases have not met the OIE’s criteria to be listed, the OIE Working Group on Wildlife have selected them to be monitored, both because of their importance for wild animals and for early warning purposes, in order to protect human and livestock health. The interface is intended to help monitor disease threats to wildlife, including those of potential public health and conservation concern, without impacting international trade of animals or animal products. The  list of non OIE-listed diseases affecting wild animals is periodically revised by the Working Group on Wildlife.