A new Animal Health Surveillance Strategy aims to develop public/private partnerships to access surveillance data from private veterinary laboratories and veterinary practitioners, and farmers.
The production of guidelines to ensure all surveillance activities comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements is also among the goals set out in the strategy.
This new strategy builds on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) work on the previous Animal Health Surveillance Strategy (2016–2021).
The new strategy also seeks to detail how artificial intelligence/machine learning can be applied to surveillance data from existing DAFM data flows to enhance surveillance activities.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said the strategy reaffirms the DAFM’s commitment to animal health surveillance for the future.
“Animal health surveillance data are an invaluable resource which help to optimise the monitoring and control of diseases known to be present throughout the country’s animal populations.
“Furthermore, such data help us prepare for, and thus minimise the impact of, any exotic, new or previously unknown disease outbreak were it to occur. It helps to safeguard not only animal health and welfare, but also public health and food safety.”
Animal Health Surveillance Strategy
“On the international stage, Ireland continues to build on its excellent reputation as a country that actively promotes and safeguards animal health,” Minister McConalogue said.
Surveillance data are collected for several reasons, including:
- To achieve early detection of the incursion of an exotic disease;
- To achieve early detection of newly emerging or re-emerging diseases;
- To monitor endemic diseases and establish baseline prevalence;
- To demonstrate freedom from a disease with a population;
- To detect chemical hazards that may arise due to exposure in the environment, feed chain or other routes;
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a control or an eradication programme.
Ireland is committed to building a “world-class” animal health surveillance system to support farmers, producers, and industry which will protect and enhance Ireland’s superior animal health status.
Ireland’s credibility with international trading partners is “strengthened” by the reliable animal health surveillance systems we have in place, he added.
“Since the global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the importance of a One Health approach to achieving optimal health outcomes by recognising the interconnections amongst humans, animals, and the environment has never been more pertinent.
“We will continue to review and enhance our passive and active surveillance systems – not only for farmed animals, including equines, but extending to include companion animals and wildlife also.
“This new strategy is underpinned by the principles of robust governance, science and evidence-led policy making and consistent adaptation to emerging disease threats and trends,” the minister said.