WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/289
29 October 2001
(01-5312)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
MONITORING/REVISION OF AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD:
AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS
Request by South Africa
In accordance with the provisions made by the SPS Committee of the WTO, South Africa
wishes to request the monitoring/revision of the international standard in the OIE International
Animal Health Code  for African Horse Sickness (Chapter 2.1.11 of the Code ).
The main reasons for this request are the following:
1. The current Chapter in the Code  is outdated in terms of the epidemiology of the disease –
especially related to vectors responsible and risk mitigation procedures;
2. The required radius of 100 km around an outbreak for a protection zone and 50 km around the
protection zone for the creation of a surveillance zone, need to be re-evaluated in view of
more recent information on the epidemiology of the disease;
3. The same applies for the scientific justification of a period of 2 years before an infected zone
can be declared free from disease;
4. The principles currently established by the OIE Code Commission for the revision of the
Code  chapter on Bluetongue need to be taken into consideration to determine a more updated
approach on the Code  chapter for African Horse Sickness;
5. The Code  should make provision for low and high seasonal incidence or freedom from
disease to coincide with the approach in other seasonal vector borne diseases such as
Bluetongue;  and
6. The outdated scientific justification for the international standard set by Chapter 2.1.11 of the
Code  could be perceived as an impediment to the international trade in equines.
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