THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued a memorandum order that calls for enhancing animal disease reporting and control amid the emerging and reemerging local diseases that could strike the country’s livestock and poultry industry. In Memorandum Order 32 signed by Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Dec. 2, 2019, the DA said some emerging and reemerging animal diseases are not listed in the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as OIE-listed diseases. This prompted the agency to declare the list of notifiable animal diseases by incorporating swine diseases and infections in the lists of notifiable animal diseases and the OIE-listed diseases. The DA underscored the importance of prompt reporting of diseases of suspected cases for an efficient, well-coordinated response and immediate implementation of control measures. “There is a need to streamline and further rationalize the systematic process of diseases reporting in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency, and checks and balances,” it said.

Source: Manila Times December 08, 2019 16:18 UTC