Essential veterinary education in infectious diseases of livestock and related scientific disciplines.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (commonly referred to bythe acronym of its original French name Office International des Epizooties [OIE]) was created in 1924 with the aim of controlling the international spread of infectious animal diseases. The OIE mandate has broadened since then, but the prevention and control of infectious and parasitic diseases are still at the heart of OIE activities. To plan and implement effective disease control strategies the Veterinary Services of OIE Member Countries need well-educated veterinarians who have extensive knowledge of how and why outbreaks of infectious animal diseases occur and spread and how they can be prevented and controlled. The teaching of fundamental scientific disciplines - virology, bacteriology, parasitology, epidemiology, risk analysis, immunology and vaccinology--is therefore a vital component of all veterinary education programmes.