NVAP Reference Guide - WOAH and International Standards

The Office International des Epizooties (OIE) was established in Paris, France, in 1924 with the signing of an international agreement by 28 countries. In 2003 the Office became the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and as of May 2022, it will no longer be known as OIE but WOAH. As of 2011, the WOAH has 178 Member Countries and Territories, each of which is represented by a delegate who, in most cases, is the Chief Veterinary Officer of the country.

The WOAH is the intergovernmental organization responsible for improving animal health worldwide and has six primary missions:

1. to ensure transparency in the global animal disease situation; 
2. to collect, analyze, and disseminate scientific veterinary information; 
3. to encourage international solidarity in the control of animal diseases; 
4. to safeguard world trade by publishing health standards for international trade in animals and animal products (within its mandate under the World Trade Organization, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement); 
5. to improve the legal framework and resources of national veterinary services; and 
6. to provide a better guarantee of the safety of foods of animal origin and to promote animal welfare through a science-based approach.

One of WOAH’s important missions is to improve knowledge, as well as the transparency, of the world animal health situation. Members are obligated to report disease events of animal health significance. To achieve this, the WOAH developed and manages a web-based reporting system called the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS). Through the WAHIS Members must report to the WOAH all notifiable terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases detected within their respective territories. This information then becomes immediately available to the world so that countries can take any necessary preventive action. As an WOAH Member the United States takes its commitment to disease reporting seriously and responsibly. WOAH maintains a list of notifiable diseases that is updated annually.

The following diseases are currently included in the list.

Terrestrial Animal Diseases

Multiple Species Diseases

• Anthrax
• Aujeszky’s disease (pseudorabies)
• Bluetongue
• Brucellosis (Brucella abortus)
• Brucellosis (Brucella melitensis)
• Brucellosis (Brucella suis)
• Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever
• Echinococcosis/hydatidosis
• Epizootic haemorrhagic disease
• Equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern)
• Foot-and-mouth disease
• Heartwater
• Japanese encephalitis
• Leptospirosis
• New world screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax)
• Old world screwworm (Chrysomya bezziana)
• Paratuberculosis
• Q fever
• Rabies
• Rift Valley fever
• Rinderpest
• Surra (Trypanosoma evansi)
• Trichinellosis
• Tularemia
• Vesicular stomatitis
• West Nile fever

Cattle Diseases

• Bovine anaplasmosis
• Bovine babesiosis
• Bovine genital campylobacteriosis
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
• Bovine tuberculosis
• Bovine viral diarrhea
• Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
• Enzootic bovine leukosis
• Hemorrhagic septicemia
• Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis
• Lumpy skin disease
• Theileriosis
• Trichomonosis
• Trypanosomosis (tsetse–transmitted)

Sheep and Goat Diseases

• Caprine arthritis/encephalitis
• Contagious agalactia
• Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
• Enzootic abortion of ewes (ovine chlamydiosis)
• Maedi–Visna
• Nairobi sheep disease
• Ovine epididymitis (Brucella ovis)
• Peste des petits ruminants
• Salmonellosis (S. abortusovis)
• Scrapie
• Sheep pox and goat pox

Equine Diseases

• African horse sickness
• Contagious equine metritis
• Dourine
• Equine encephalomyelitis (Western)
• Equine infectious anemia
• Equine influenza
• Equine piroplasmosis
• Equine rhinopneumonitis
• Equine viral arteritis
• Glanders
• Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis 

Swine Diseases

• African swine fever
• Classical swine fever
• Nipah virus encephalitis
• Porcine cysticercosis
• Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
• Swine vesicular disease
• Teschovirus encephalomyelitis (under study)
• Transmissible gastroenteritis 

Avian Diseases

• Avian chlamydiosis
• Avian infectious bronchitis
• Avian infectious laryngotracheitis
• Avian mycoplasmosis (Mycoplasma gallisepticum)
• Avian mycoplasmosis (Mycoplasma synoviae)
• Duck virus hepatitis
• Fowl cholera
• Fowl typhoid
• Highly pathogenic avian influenza in birds
• Low pathogenicity notifiable avian influenza in poultry
• Infectious bursal disease (Gumboro disease)
• Marek’s disease
• Newcastle disease
• Pullorum disease
• Turkey rhinotracheitis

Lagomorph Diseases

• Myxomatosis
• Rabbit hemorrhagic disease

Bee Diseases

• Acarapisosis of honey bees
• American foulbrood of honey bees
• European foulbrood of honey bees
• Small hive beetle infestation (Aethina tumida)
• Tropilaelaps infestation of honey bees
• Varroosis of honey bees 

Other Diseases

• Camelpox
• Leishmaniosis

Aquatic Animal Diseases