1. Zero Disease Concept and Seven Sins
Dr. Bhoj R Singh, Principal Scientist (VM)
I/C Epidemiology; Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243122, Bareilly, UP, India.
TeleFax +91-581-2302188

2. What is zero disease concept?
• Absence of disease in animal population or a flock mean zero
disease. The base situation of no disease.
• Why needed: To estimate the losses caused by a disease. It is
necessary for initiating the research or measures to develop
vaccine/ drug to control or eradicate a disease. However, there is
hardly any estimate about potential cost of reaching the zero
disease status once the disease is there. Moreover, there is hardly
any flock, free of all diseases.
• Alternate method to zero disease concept: Productivity estimates
associated with disease control/ elimination from a specific flock
can be applied to estimate the cost of control/ eradication.
• Productivity= Total value of output per unit of time/ total value of
input per unit of time.
• It have several limits as no knowledge of diseases, no control
programme ever initiated, no estimates have been made, requires
too many parameters to be recorded.

3. Absolute Zero and Near Zero
• Absolute zero: Imaginary
• Near Zero: Possible in restricted territory i.e.,
in Compartments.
• Compartmentalization: means one or more
establishments under a common biosecurity
management system containing an animal sub-
population with a distinct health status with respect
to a specific disease for which required surveillance,
control and biosecurity measures have been applied
for the purpose of international trade..

4. Compartmentalization
• The main criterion for a compartment is that the
animals contained in it are clearly recognizable as part
of a unique subpopulation with limited or no
epidemiological links to other populations of risk.
• The measures taken to ensure the identification of the
sub-population and the recognition and maintenance
of its health status should be documented in detail.
• For the purpose of international trade, compartments
should be under the direct control and responsibility of
the official Veterinary Administration in the country.

5. General considerations of compartmental
biosecurity
• Endemic compartments: No interactions with endemic compartments.
• Wild populations: provides adequate separation from other wild
populations
• Employees: Policy prohibiting employees’ contact with high risk animals.
• Service sectors (e.g. Catching/vaccination/cleaning crews/feed
delivery/service personnel)
• Congregation of sick/dead animals from multiple sources
(e.g., rendering, Compost, incinerate, or bury)
• Vehicle traffic: Park away from animal housing, preferably outside farm
perimeter
• Visitors: Prohibit visitors in animal area
• Wild animals: No attractants such as garbage Fencing
• Equipment: Do not share equipment with other farm sites, dedicated racks
and flats (e.g., colour coded) – thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between
uses.
• Downtime: Minimum downtime between flocks or litters. Cleaning and
disinfection, change litter for every lock.

6. Zero basic reproductive Ratio
• Reducing R0 can be done at any point in the
transmission cycle by through:
– Reducing or eliminating the shedding of the agent by the
infected host.
– Reducing the duration of environmental survival of the
agent.
– Reducing or eliminating vehicle contamination and fomite
transmission.
– For vector-borne infections reducing the vector population
or preventing exposure of susceptible animals to it.
– Reducing the exposure of susceptible hosts.
– Increasing the resistance of the susceptible hosts.

7. Seven sins associated with zero
disease concept
• Sin 1: biology is the battlefield of health. It
contradicts medicines theory of relativity: h =
b (c + p)t,p,
Our system focuses on factor b —
biological, chemical and physical hazards to
our health , factor C- culture and P-politics are
largely ignored. t-time, p-place.

8. • Sin-2
– It is often assumed that by improving the parts, you
serve the whole. But so it is not. It neglects that
m > ≠ p. An individual is mysteriously different from
the aggregate of the parts. It is greater than the sum
of the molecules, cells and organs.
• Sin-3
– All are created equal, all are equally susceptible even
M ≠F
• Sin-4
• Substituting the question mark with an
exclamation mark. Our system oversells certainty
and suppresses doubt.

9. • Sin-5
– Health educators work on the dark side of life. They are obsessed by anomalies,
failures, disabilities and risks. They conceal that health first and foremost is joie
de vivre.
• Sin-6
– Health is stuck in a top–down communication model. We are the superior
expert system. We know what is best for the animals. Our tradition does not
recognize health as a personal property.
• Sin-7
– The last sin is an old one, called niemietas by the Romans. In wealthy Rome
they experienced that individuals living in excess demand more with no limits.
They claim more money, more adventures, more safety, more health–and no
risk, no sickness, no death. People and cultures infected with this attitude
become, according to Roman wisdom, distressed, dangerous and sick. The
Zero-vision can purify from this sin. The Zero-vision springs from a firm
conviction: If we invest sufficient money and brain cells, man can design life,
format society, manage nature — so why should we accept risk, accident, pain,
disease, aging, death? Health system promises too much, demands too much,
suffers from an
U¨ bermensch neurosis that they try to communicate to the all.

10. What the medicine people
want?
• Healthy souls and sound bodies i.e., to force people
into the postmodern prison of health perfection and
body fetishism.
• However, freedom of health should be our
vision, medical tolerance our trademark.
• Nietzsche -Only men who are knights of the
dangerous chance, do have good health.
• John Stuart Mill - Wellbeing of man depends on his
freedom to do experiments in life.
• Dostoevsky- Hero cannot find satisfaction in the
order and comfort of the crystal palace world.