Quality assurance applied to animal disease surveillance systems.

Monitoring and surveillance systems (MOSS) are essential activities for official Veterinary Services. In addition, the increased trade in animals and animal products over recent years has increased the importance of international disease reporting. A reliable surveillance system is the key to early warning of a change in the health status of any animal population. Such a system is also essential for providing evidence about the absence of diseases or in determining the extent of a disease which is known to be present. The authors discuss a set of methods and approaches for evaluating the quality of surveillance and survey systems. Certain steps are required when assessing the quality of a service or product. Various approaches for quality assessment are available and the suitability of each method depends on the objective of the evaluation. An essential basic requirement is, however, to use an objective, transparent and systematic approach. The evidence collected and the analyses used to reach conclusions must be of such high quality that the results are acceptable to both the management of the MOSS and the assessor. Repeated discussions and negotiations may be necessary to reach consensus, particularly if the judgement affects activities between trading partners. Well-documented MOSS with specified objectives and integrated quality assurance mechanisms are likely to be easier to evaluate.