Ontario Animal Health Surveillance Network

Good health among animals is not only good for the animals, it also supports economic, public and environmental health. The current Ontario Animal Health System consists of provincial and federal government programs and measures, a number of private sector resources and initiatives, as well as animal health expertise and academic research to support the system. In addition, government expertise and resources in the public health system help to protect people from the negative impacts of animal health issues.

Animal health surveillance provides critical information to assist in the management of risks to these systems. Ontario has a network of skilled people, facilities and evolving systems that can be thought of as the Ontario Animal Health Surveillance Network (OAHSN). This OAHSN integrates information from many sources and serves as a cornerstone of the larger Ontario Animal Health System and related public health. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the University of Guelph provide core members to the OAHSN. This core OAHSN group has specialists in veterinary diagnostics, disease investigation, epidemiology, meat inspection, technology transfer and policy development. These specialists maintain links to other disease surveillance sources in other provinces, as well as at national and international levels.

A more detailed description of the OAHSN may be found at:
http://www.labservices.uoguelph.ca/labserv/units/ahl/files/OAHSN-2009-v3-3b-%20FINAL.pdf including its vision, mission, activities and outcomes, within the context of a broader, evolving animal health system. Also described are OAHSN objectives, scope, infrastructure, skill-sets, sources of information, definitions, contacts, guidelines for follow-up investigations, some past accomplishments, current and future projects, and next steps for continuous improvement. Since 1998, this is the fifth edition of this document, describing the Ontario Animal Health Surveillance Network. The network is by no means perfect, but it is believed to be moving in the right direction.

Key contacts for the OAHSN are listed in the following table.

* primary contact within OMAFRA for OAHSN
** primary contact within AHL for OAHSN