Zambo forms panel for animal disease prevention

THE LOCAL government has formed a multi-agency committee to prevent and control the entry of transboundary animal diseases which can affect local economy and public health.

Mayor Beng Climaco signed Executive Order 738-2022 creating a multi-agency committee on the prevention and control of zoonotic and non-zoonotic transboundary animal diseases. 

Zoonotic disease or animal-borne diseases are those that exist in animals, but can be transmitted to humans. These include, but are not limited to, rabies, avian influenza, mad cow disease, nipah virus, Ebola, and foodborne diseases. 

Non-zoonotic diseases are those that infect only animals and are non-transmissible to humans. These include African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, rinderpest, also known as cattle plague, rift valley fever, and others. 

Transboundary animal diseases are epidemic diseases which are highly contagious or transmissible and have the potential for very rapid spread and the potential to cause serious socio-economic and public health consequences.

The mayor sits as the Committee chairperson with the City Veterinarian and City Health Officer as vice chairpersons, and local government offices and national agencies as its members. 

The Committee is tasked with functions to formulate policies and regulations on zoonotic and non-zoonotic transboundary animal diseases, formulate and issue zoning and movement plans for the prevention and control of the same, implement public awareness campaigns, develop programs to aid affected sectors, and enhance contingency plans for emergency disease control. 

The Executive Order also constituted task groups which will mobilize during a declared animal outbreak or emergency - the Surveillance Team, the Rapid Action Team, the Quarantine Team, the Census team, and the Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) Teams. 

The Surveillance, Rapid Action, Quarantine, and Census team are led by veterinarians under the Office of the City Veterinarian, while the IEC team will be under the Public Information Division. (Jasmine Mohammadsali, Zamboanga Post)