key: cord-0040471-7263qr9o
authors: Kaandorp, Jacques
title: The EAZWV and AAZV Infectious Diseases Notebooks
date: 2014-06-25
journal: Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8
DOI: 10.1016/b978-1-4557-7397-8.00068-2
sha: 82130256800e82fbd141b7f0902705e43011ae08
doc_id: 40471
cord_uid: 7263qr9o

nan

The EAZWV and AAZV Infectious Diseases Notebooks

At the 2000 European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV) Congress in Paris, the establishment of an Infectious Diseases Working Group (IDWG) within the EAZWV was proposed. In North America, the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) already had an Infectious Disease Committee since the early 1990s. In Europe, this idea for a similar committee emerged when the problems of diagnosing and handling paratuberculosis were discussed in a presentation. It was obvious that commonly agreed recommendations were urgently needed for improved control of the infectious diseases that threatened the European collections. Also, as Europe was becoming more unified, it was necessary to deal with European politics and legislation via international collaboration. The idea to produce a comprehensive document containing disease fact sheets, legislation, laboratories, identifiable diseases, and so on resulted in the IDWG, which led to the production of the first edition The foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Europe in 2001 clearly underlined the importance of this initiative and made agreement on European standards a matter of even greater urgency. During this outbreak, the difficulties in controlling diseases in domesticated animals was realized; public opinion, politics, money, limited knowledge of the disease, and lack of agreement on legislation all contributed to this situation. It became obvious that even more misunderstandings would arise when dealing with such diseases in lesser-studied animals, including nondomestic species. In 2006, the highly pathogenic avian influenza spread across Europe and threatened zoo collections. Outbreaks of classic swine fever also occurred. Additionally, blue tongue disease created serious problems in transporting hoof stock and thus jeopardized organized programs for breeding endangered species. 5 African swine fever, West Nile virus (WNV), African horse sickness, and monkeypox also threatened zoologic collections. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic (related to an animal coronavirus) confirmed these 

Measures to be taken in case of disease outbreak or positive laboratory findings

References points and led to the recognition of the importance of The Transmissible Diseases Handbook. The second edition of the Handbook was published in 2004, the third edition in 2006, and the fourth edition in 2010; these updates were necessary because of the changes in threatening diseases, the changes in legislation, and the needs and demands for information expressed by its readers. 2,3,4,6 European laws (e.g., the Balai Directive 1 ) are still under discussion and in development. Differing opinions (e.g., whether or not to vaccinate against FMD and avian influenza), various levels of veterinary faculties and laboratories, and thus differences in the rates of successful diagnoses, pose further problems for European zoo veterinarians.

Since The Transmissible Diseases Handbook is a living document and because of all these changes a fifth edition will be produced in 2014. The IDWG brings together experienced zoo veterinarians and specialists in infectious diseases from several European countries and from around the world. The idea of the Group is to combine knowledge to deal more effectively with future disease outbreaks that may threaten zoo collections. The effort to create a reference manual published under the umbrella of EAZWV was, and still is, an important step in the process of standardization for zoos in Europe, and it should provide a useful tool for zoo practitioners, zoo managers, and European legislative authorities dealing with wildlife and zoo animals.

The American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) Infectious Disease Committee (IDC) has been very active since its inception. This committee already has its own Infectious Disease Reviews Notebook published in the early 1990s. This Notebook contained loose leaf handouts, with descriptions of various diseases important for zoo veterinarians and fact sheets on the diagnostics of important diseases such as tuberculosis. After the second edition of the EAZWV-IDWG Transmissible Diseases Handbook was published in May 2004, Dr. Julie Napier, a member of the AAZV and the chair of the IDC at the time, proposed creating a handbook for infectious diseases affecting nondomestic species and wildlife in North America, using the European version as a template (see Figure 68 -1).

The difference between the European and American notebooks was that chapters on legislation, laboratories, web links, notifiable diseases, and so on were included in the European Transmissible Diseases Handbook, but not in the American equivalent. It was the intent of the IDC that the formatting of its manual would include more in-depth information, including etiologies, clinical signs, and treatment protocols for diseases relevant to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Following discussions on providing a similar tool for North American veterinarians, it was agreed that the IDC could use the European disease fact sheet as a template, which provided a standardized and unified format. Thanks to the hard work of many people under the leadership of Dr. Julie Napier and Dr. Kathryn Gamble, The first American edition was published in 2011, titled Infectious Disease Manual 2011, with the subtitle "Infectious Diseases of Concern to Captive and Free-Ranging Wildlife in North America" (Boxes 68-1 and 68-2 ). An update of the manual was released at the end of 2013.

The manuals on transmissible diseases, created by the EAZWV-IDWG and the AAZV-IDC, are not intended to provide extensive descriptions of all transmissible diseases that may occur in zoo collections but are meant as useful reference tools for zoo and wildlife veterinarians encountering such diseases. The handbooks help find answers to the question "What should I do" when an infectious disease is suspected. Furthermore, it is critical to standardize surveillance programs for infectious diseases in zoos, especially with regard to inter-zoo exchanges. Both the European and American handbooks assist in overcoming the differences and attaining the required standardization by legislation such as the Balai Directive (92/65/EC) in Europe. 1 Both manuals are designed to be overviews or reviews and are not scientific textbooks. For detailed information on all diseases, it is necessary to refer to textbooks. The handbooks summarize information related to various diseases: susceptible animals, zoonotic potential, clinical symptoms, pathology, diagnostic methods, qualified laboratories, treatment, prevention, experts who may be consulted, legislation, and relevant literature. The detailed table of contents and the standardized format of the fact sheets should help the reader find information quickly. Most of the fact sheets in both manuals were peer reviewed by two experts, which makes these notebooks accepted reference documents for zoo associations in the respective regions of the world. Both handbooks are intended to be "living" books, as the information presented becomes outdated if revisions are not made regularly. A continuous updating process is therefore maintained to make them reliable and useful tools.

For the third and fourth editions, the EAZWV-IDWG moved away from the printed format and chose to publish the material digitally on a CD-ROM (Figure 68 -2) or as downloadable material at www.eazwv.org and www.eaza.net. This significantly reduced the costs of production and distribution. Another advantage was the ability to increase the contents, without concerns about number of pages (the second edition was already 662 pages long!). Thus, the third and fourth editions contain more information on legislation and other new topics, thus a lot more pages. A printed version would have become too big and cost-prohibitive in terms of production and distribution. It was also hoped that this format would allow easier global access, which turned out to be the case. The fourth edition, like the previous editions, was distributed to all EAZWV members, all EAZA zoos, Central Veterinary Officers of the 27 EU Member States, the OIE, and the SANCO in Brussels. Another advantage of the book on a CD-ROM is the facility to search and have quick access to chapters and fact sheets (see Figure 68 -2).

The first American Infectious Disease Manual and its 2013 update may be accessed, free of charge, at the web site of the AAZV (www.aazv.org). Also the Infectious Disease Committee from the AAZV had these documents peer-reviewed by topic experts. It needs to be stressed again that these documents are not intended to be used as exclusive information sources. As in the case of the European documents, they provide quick access to information on specialists, diagnostics, laboratories, and treatment recommendations for the clinician, pathologist, or wildlife biologist who is facing an infectious disease situation and needs information and guidance.

Summarized state regulations for infectious disease concerns are provided, and reminders for reportable situations are also included. During the preparation of the documents, state veterinary authorities were encouraged to be reviewers for their geographic area. Additionally, as in Europe, CDs are provided to the state health authorities and to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Area Veterinarians in Charge (AVICs); it is hoped that this shared information gives a common point of communication among American zoo and wildlife veterinarians battling these infectious diseases on the frontlines. It is important to keep in mind that the fact sheets are not to replace state or federal regulations. As such, they are not legally enforceable documents or required standards of care.

Balai" Directive of the European Union: Difficult veterinary legislation

Transmissible diseases handbook, IDWG-EAZWV

Transmissible diseases handbook, IDWG-EAZWV

Transmissible diseases handbook

Fowler's zoo and wild animal medicine: Current therapy

Fernandèz Bellon H: Transmissible diseases handbook

FIGURE 68-2 Front page of the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians

From EAZWV (From EAZWV [European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians)-IDWG Transmissible Diseases Handbook CD-ROM

BOX 68-1