- Email: [email protected]
Deeper system reforms are urgently needed to ensure functional anti-animal disease epidemic personnel in China
International Journal of Infectious Diseases 16 (2012) e640
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Infectious Diseases journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijid
Letter to the Editor Deeper system reforms are urgently needed to ensure functional anti-animal disease epidemic personnel in China In China, the close ecological interaction of people with animals favors the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases.1,2 Since the majority of human infectious diseases have animal origins,3 the prevention and control of disease in animals should be the primary line of defense to protect public health and the economy. In 1998 the Chinese government implemented a proactive fiscal policy to accelerate the development of the Prevention and Control System of Animal Epidemic Diseases (PCSAED). In 2011, in the newly released 12th five-year plan (FYP) (2011–2015) for China, the PCSAED was included as a key project to be built across six levels: national, provincial, city, county, town, and village. However the development of the PCSAED has met great challenges as a result of the lack of highly qualified personnel in the field of epidemic disease control in animals (anti-animal epidemic personnel, AAEP), a high turnover of personnel, and the lack of a functional veterinary administration system. The following measures are proposed to ensure functional AAEPs through deepening overall system reforms in China, which may also have important implications for other parts of the world. (1) In 2010 China recorded 51 official notifiable diseases in animals and the reemergence of eight zoonoses in humans.4 The village-level AAEPs, who are the foundation of China’s PCSAED, are currently unable to meet the requirements for the prevention and control of major animal infectious diseases.5 For a fundamental change, it must be realized that high-quality technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is essential to veterinary education, as opposed to today’s mainstream general higher education. The recent implementation of veterinary license test is a first step, but vigorously strengthening veterinary TVET through education reform will be key to cultivating qualified AAEPs. (2) The monthly salaries of village-level AAEPs range from 80 Yuan to 1000 Yuan across China, and are far lower than the earnings of a migrant laborer, as noted in the National Training Course for Bureau Chiefs from Large Counties in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery in April 2011.6 Improving the income of AAEPs through income distribution reform during China’s 12th FYP period is essential to ensure a lower turnover of personnel. (3) Vertical jurisdiction is generally adopted and is a highly efficient personnel management approach in PCSAEDs worldwide. An official veterinarian system of vertical jurisdiction – one of the
development goals of the Veterinary Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture in the 12th FYP period – needs to be realized in order to provide an effective PCSAED and prevent local protectionism. China’s current economic strength gives it an unprecedented chance to change the landscape through education, income distribution, and veterinary administration systems innovations. Conflict of interest: No conflict of interest to declare. References 1. Wang L, Wang Y, Jin S, Wu Z, Chin DP, Koplan JP, et al. Emergence and control of infectious diseases in China. Lancet 2008;372:1598–605. 2. Feldmann H. Truly emerging—a new disease caused by a novel virus. N Engl J Med 2011;364:1561–3. 3. Wolfe ND, Dunavan CP, Diamond J. Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature 2007;447:279–83. 4. World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Country information. Zoonoses in humans and the animal health situation. World Organisation for Animal Health; 2009. Available at: http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=country (accessed on September 7, 2011). 5. Ministry of Agriculture. [Advice on strengthening the construction of villagelevel anti-epidemic personnel] (in Chinese). April 21, 2008. Available at: http:// www.gov.cn/zwgk/2008-04/24/content_953311.htm (accessed on September 15, 2011). 6. Farmers’ Daily. [Disease prevention and control in animals: accelerate propelling the construction of grass-root level veterinarian team] (in Chinese). April 13, 2011 Available at: http://szb.farmer.com.cn/nmrb/html/2011-04/13/nw. D110000nmrb_20110413_4-02.htm?div=-1 (accessed on October 2, 2011).
Xiaodong Zhanga,b,c,* Department of Public Health, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, No.5333 Xi’an Street, Changchun 130062, China b Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, Jilin University, Changchun, China c National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China a
*Tel.: +86 431 84533422; fax: +86 431 84533431 E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Zhang). Corresponding Editor: William Cameron, Ottawa, Canada
1201-9712/$36.00 – see front matter ß 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2012.04.007
3 March 2012
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Infectious Diseases journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijid
Letter to the Editor Deeper system reforms are urgently needed to ensure functional anti-animal disease epidemic personnel in China In China, the close ecological interaction of people with animals favors the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases.1,2 Since the majority of human infectious diseases have animal origins,3 the prevention and control of disease in animals should be the primary line of defense to protect public health and the economy. In 1998 the Chinese government implemented a proactive fiscal policy to accelerate the development of the Prevention and Control System of Animal Epidemic Diseases (PCSAED). In 2011, in the newly released 12th five-year plan (FYP) (2011–2015) for China, the PCSAED was included as a key project to be built across six levels: national, provincial, city, county, town, and village. However the development of the PCSAED has met great challenges as a result of the lack of highly qualified personnel in the field of epidemic disease control in animals (anti-animal epidemic personnel, AAEP), a high turnover of personnel, and the lack of a functional veterinary administration system. The following measures are proposed to ensure functional AAEPs through deepening overall system reforms in China, which may also have important implications for other parts of the world. (1) In 2010 China recorded 51 official notifiable diseases in animals and the reemergence of eight zoonoses in humans.4 The village-level AAEPs, who are the foundation of China’s PCSAED, are currently unable to meet the requirements for the prevention and control of major animal infectious diseases.5 For a fundamental change, it must be realized that high-quality technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is essential to veterinary education, as opposed to today’s mainstream general higher education. The recent implementation of veterinary license test is a first step, but vigorously strengthening veterinary TVET through education reform will be key to cultivating qualified AAEPs. (2) The monthly salaries of village-level AAEPs range from 80 Yuan to 1000 Yuan across China, and are far lower than the earnings of a migrant laborer, as noted in the National Training Course for Bureau Chiefs from Large Counties in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery in April 2011.6 Improving the income of AAEPs through income distribution reform during China’s 12th FYP period is essential to ensure a lower turnover of personnel. (3) Vertical jurisdiction is generally adopted and is a highly efficient personnel management approach in PCSAEDs worldwide. An official veterinarian system of vertical jurisdiction – one of the
development goals of the Veterinary Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture in the 12th FYP period – needs to be realized in order to provide an effective PCSAED and prevent local protectionism. China’s current economic strength gives it an unprecedented chance to change the landscape through education, income distribution, and veterinary administration systems innovations. Conflict of interest: No conflict of interest to declare. References 1. Wang L, Wang Y, Jin S, Wu Z, Chin DP, Koplan JP, et al. Emergence and control of infectious diseases in China. Lancet 2008;372:1598–605. 2. Feldmann H. Truly emerging—a new disease caused by a novel virus. N Engl J Med 2011;364:1561–3. 3. Wolfe ND, Dunavan CP, Diamond J. Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature 2007;447:279–83. 4. World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Country information. Zoonoses in humans and the animal health situation. World Organisation for Animal Health; 2009. Available at: http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=country (accessed on September 7, 2011). 5. Ministry of Agriculture. [Advice on strengthening the construction of villagelevel anti-epidemic personnel] (in Chinese). April 21, 2008. Available at: http:// www.gov.cn/zwgk/2008-04/24/content_953311.htm (accessed on September 15, 2011). 6. Farmers’ Daily. [Disease prevention and control in animals: accelerate propelling the construction of grass-root level veterinarian team] (in Chinese). April 13, 2011 Available at: http://szb.farmer.com.cn/nmrb/html/2011-04/13/nw. D110000nmrb_20110413_4-02.htm?div=-1 (accessed on October 2, 2011).
Xiaodong Zhanga,b,c,* Department of Public Health, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, No.5333 Xi’an Street, Changchun 130062, China b Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, Jilin University, Changchun, China c National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China a
*Tel.: +86 431 84533422; fax: +86 431 84533431 E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Zhang). Corresponding Editor: William Cameron, Ottawa, Canada
1201-9712/$36.00 – see front matter ß 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2012.04.007
3 March 2012