Presentation by Dr Jan Slingenbergh, independent One Health policy adviser, at the One Health for the Real World: zoonoses, ecosystems and wellbeing symposium, London 17-18 March 2016

1. One Health Symposium 17-18 March 2016
ZSL, London Zoo
Session III
Jan Slingenbergh
“The FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite: an institutional void?”

2. WHO/FAO/OIE Tripartite
Jointly operating at the human-animal health interface:
- WHO, FAO, and OIE seek to build the capacity of member countries to detect, assess,
notify and respond to the nexus of public health, food safety and animal health threats.
- WHO international health regulations are designed to protect public health
- FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius develops harmonised international food standards to
protect the health of consumers
- FAO undertakes animal disease control campaigns, and addresses biosafety concerns in
the food chain
- OIE, the World Animal Health Organisation, sets animal health standards in support of
safe and fair livestock trade practices
- OIE and Codex both address food safety and other veterinary public health issues

3. World Health Organization, brief history Main disease concerns
1851 - first International Sanitary Conference cholera
1892 – International Sanitary Convention cholera
1897 – International Sanitary Convention plague
1902 – International Sanitary Bureau
(forerunner of PAHO)
1907 – L’Office International d’Hygiene Publique
1919 – Health Organisation of the League of Nations
1926 – International Sanitary Convention smallpox, typhus
1946 – Constitution of the World Health Organization
1948 – World Health Organization First Assembly malaria, tuberculosis,
(budget of US$ 5 million) veneral diseases,
maternal and child health
- 1960s - campaigns against
yaws, endemic syphilus, leprosy,
and trachoma
- 1970s - smallpox eradication
- 1980s - polio eradication launch
- river blindness
Ref. THE LANCET Vol 360, October 12, 2002 www.thelancet.com

4. Late 20th century shifting from existing to new diseases:
- HIV/aids
- SARS
- Bird flu
- Pandemic flu
- MERS
- Ebola
- Zika
New era:
Animal viruses newly
showing up in humans and
posing pandemic threats

5. Food and Agriculture Organization, brief history Main concerns
- 1904 David Lubin traveled from the US to Italy agricultural research
to meet King Vittorio Emanuele III intergovernmental body
- 1905 International Institute of Agriculture founded support to farmers
- 1906 forty states signed up
IIA
forerunner
of
FAO

6. Food and Agriculture Organization, brief history
President Theodore Roosevelt
June 1906
transmitted to the Senate, message on
International Institute of Agriculture
referring to the Convention signed
June 1906 at Rome

7. Sir John Boyd Orr, First FAO Director General, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
In the years preceding the Second World War, one third of the population of the United
Kingdom suffered from poverty-induced malnutrition, with poor health caused by
insufficient consumption.

8. 16 October, 1945
Representatives of 34 nations signed the constitution of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
May 1946, World Food Board
FAO convened a special Meeting on Urgent Food problems,
upon request by Sir John Boyd Orr, Director General.
The Food Board would end hunger through a three pronged system
- credits
- price regulation & buffer stocks
- distribute famine relief

9. Failure of the World Food Board
The Conference did not follow up on any Boyd Orr’s Substantive recommendations
Boyd Orr was acutely disappointed
He resigned the post of FAO Director General
cold war?

10. Instead, the preamble to the FAO constitution:
- Raising levels of nutrition
- Efficient production and distribution food and agricultural products
- Bettering conditions rural populations
- Still, 20 years later,
- Freedom from hunger for all mankind was (re-)inserted

11. Freedom from Hunger
remained the ultimate objective

12. Short history of the OIE Ref. http://web.oie.int/eng/OIE/en_histoire.htm
1920 – rinderpest occurred unexpectedly in Belgium, Antwerp port
1924 – International agreement obtained by 28 states on Office International des Epizooties
1927 – Agreement had been ratified by 24 countries and first General Session held in Geneva,
Prof. Leclainche appointed first Director
1928 – First General Session, Geneva, 8 experts established basis for international sanitary police
The United Nations established FAO in 1946 and WHO in 1948.
“Their aims partially covered those of the Office. The presence of these two Agencies called the existence
of the OIE into question and the possibility of simply dissolving the organisation was envisaged in 1946,
and again in 1951. Thanks to the opposition of numerous OIE Member Countries and Delegates, the
functions of the Office were kept alive. “
1952 - OIE / FAO Agreement
1960 – OIE / WHO Agreement

13. On the issue of Animal Health and FAO vs OIE
Excerpts from FAO/55/6/3897 Report of Meeting of an ad hoc Committee on Animal Health
Notes on FAO Veterinary Meeting held in London 13-15 August 1946
“Important point stressed:
The Paris Bureau of Epizootics came under serious discussion.
1. Leclainche thinks it should remain free from FAO control but have the support and assistance
of that body. He suggests that an effort be made to have as many other countries as possible
brought into the Bureau ranks and so strengthen the Bureau. (USA and Canada are at present
not included). Several members feel it would be advisable to have the Bureau placed under the
direct jurisdiction of FAO or under a Standing Committee to be formed by FAO. They hesitate to
hurt LeClainche who has for so long headed the Bureau.
2. A permanent Standing Committee which would control all animal health matters was
recommended. This committee would probably take charge of the Bureau….
…..
4. Rinderpest was discussed as an example of a serious disease requiring worldwide control.”

14. Major disease campaigns supported by FAO:
1954 – European Commission for the control of foot-and-mouth disease, vested in FAO HQs in Rome,
one of FAO’s oldest Commissions, continues till today, operating globally;
1960s – Field programme support for rinderpest prevention and control in Africa and Asia;
1970s – Tsetse and trypanosomiasis control in Africa;
1980s – Ticks and tick borne diseases in East and Southern Africa;
control of CBPP, brucellosis, helminths
1992 - launch progressive control rinderpest;
1994 - Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP)

15. Some of the inter-continental scale novel disease dynamics:
1980s – BSE, new prion disease in cattle
1980s - first introduction Old World Screewworm myiasis in Gulf countries
1988 – 1992 Screwworm Emergency Campaign North Africa (SECNA),
first introduction New World Screwworm myiasis in the Old World
1990S - introduction of Rift Valley Fever into arabian peninsula
1999 – first flare up West Nile Virus in USA, to assume subcontinental scale proportions
2004 – first major epizootic H5N1 avian influenza South-East Asia
2005 – first H5N1 avian influenza panzootic wave
2000s – Bluetongue viruses newly encroaching Mediterranean basin and Europe
rabies newly spreading with wild carnivores across eastern Europe
first outbreaks Henipah viruses Asia and Oceania
2007 – African Swine Fever starting to spread across Caucasian countries,
Russian Federation and eastern parts of Europe
2009 – new, pH1N1 re-assortment of avian, swine and seasonal flu genes
2011 – Schmallenberg virus first encroaching Europe
2014 – new MERS-CoV found to be widespread in camels in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
New geographic invasions, species and virulence jumpers

16. OIE adapting to the emergence of novel diseases…
FAO/OIE (WHO) Animal Health Year Book 1955 – 1995 series
Containing information on the occurrence of major, classical livestock and zoonotic
infections and diseases as reported by countries from around the world to FAO and OIE
By mid 1990s the AHYB had turned obsolete and OIE undertook to revise the system and,
eventually, create a novel, World Animal Health Information Database (WAHIS) Interface
for realtime reporting of old and new diseases.

17. Human
living
environment
Food
and
agriculture
Natural
ecosystems
Three “animal” type
host domains
with species jumps
and microbial
exchanges going
into 6 directions
4620 mammal spp
17 main livestock spp
Medical and veterinary
health protection bias

18. Changing Disease Landscapes
World Livestock 2013

21. Forested
areas
converted
into
pasture
and
cropland
from
2005 – 2050

22. Viruses out of African forests
Yellow fever
Dengue
HIV
Chikungunya
Ebola
Zika
inner-body viruses
infected carriers
arbo transmission
endemicity
no livestock
Unlike Asia…..
Virus life
history
Disease
drivers
infection – transmission
dynamics

26. Disease emergence out of Asia…..food & agriculture / livestock
Avian influenza
Swine influenza
Pandemic influenza
SARS CoV
MERS CoV
Nipah
Hendra
epithelial viruses
horiz. transmission
erratic epidemics
livestock involvement
Virus life
history
Disease
drivers
infection – transmission
dynamics

27. Major strengthening? Yes
Broadening up? Yes
More focus? Yes
Still, more is needed at the animal – human interface
In order to stop pandemics from happening.
Drivers are currently not considered; mitigation is not even on the table!
Nobel prize winning institution: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Conclusion

28. Drivers
- nrm, land use and ecohealth (Africa)
- safer pig and poultry production (Asia)
- address food, health and income as nexus (developing world)
- safer trade and travel (global)
- less global warming (global)
- ……
DRIVERS
Afford shift to the left,
progressively reducing
both endemic diseases
prevalence in resource
poor settings and
pandemic threats.
The IPCC 2 degrees Celsius equivalent

29. Intergovernmental Panel on Pandemic Threats
IPPT Plenary
IPPT Bureau
IPPT Executive Committee
IPPT Secretariat
Task Force
on
National
Animal
Virus
Inventories
Working
Group I
The Life and
Social Science
Basis
Working
Group III
Mitigation of
Pandemic
Threats
Working
Group II
Pandemic
Impact and
Preparedness
40% 30% 1% 5%
= estimated current coverage of what may be required globally