Validity of data
Information from OIE and non-OIE data sources is combined and offered at the same time on this database.
Each OIE member country submits annual returns on aquatic animal disease occurrences in their territory for publication in the OIE World Animal Health reports for the indicated years. Member countries are therefore responsible for the accuracy of this data.
This data is supplemented by information contained in the 4th (2003) and 5th (2006) editions of the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals as prepared by its Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission. The Standards Commission is assisted by the designated expert(s) at the OIE Reference Laboratory for the disease(s) in question. The Commission takes into account comments from member countries about the information contained in the different disease chapters.
Further information is provided from the OIE's on-line "Disease Information" weekly bulletins, which include new occurences of OIE listed aquatic animals diseases in various territories as notified by national delegates to the OIE's central bureau.
The "non-OIE data" category contains information published in the scientific literature for which a reference and, in most cases, an abstract is provided. This literature is mostly peer-reviewed journals. For the most part, this information is mostly compatible with the OIE data.
In some cases, however, discrepancies in this information can exist - for the occurence of a particular disease in a specific country, say - when set alongside OIE data. But the information is included in the database until such time it is officially refuted. This can be done when supportive evidence is supplied by the national delegate of that country or by subsequent publication of peer-reviewed corrective evidence in the scientific literature.
Should you consider the data for a particular country or host species to be incorrect or incomplete, please inform Dr. Stephen Feist, the database manager, at the OIE Collaborating Centre for Information on Aquatic Animal Diseases.