Construction Plan for the FMD and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Immune Disease-Free Zone in Heilongjiang Province

To implement the "Guiding Opinions of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee and the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Government on Cultivating the Livestock Industry into a Strategic Industry for Revitalization and Development" (Heifa [2016] No. 25) and the "Opinions of the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Government on Accelerating the Development of Modern Animal Husbandry" (Heizhengfa [2015] No. 25), to comprehensively advance the construction of the immune disease-free zone (hereinafter referred to as the disease-free zone) for livestock foot-and-mouth disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza in our province, in accordance with the "Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China," the "National Medium- and Long-Term Animal Disease Prevention and Control Plan (2012—2020)" (Guobanfa [2012] No. 31), and the Ministry of Agriculture's "Measures for the Administration of the Assessment of Areas Free of Specified Animal Diseases" (Ministry of Agriculture Order No. 1 of 2007) and the "Technical Specifications for the Management of Areas Free of Specified Animal Diseases (Trial)" (Nongyifa [2007] No. 3), and in light of the actual conditions of our province, this implementation plan is hereby formulated.

I. Necessity of Building the Disease-Free Zone

Building a disease-free zone and implementing regionalized management of animal disease prevention and control is a common practice actively promoted by the World Organisation for Animal Health. It concerns national public health security and food safety, directly affects the national economy and people's livelihood as well as social stability, and is an important responsibility of governments at all levels in social management and public services. Earnestly implementing the strategic deployment of the provincial Party committee and provincial government on building the livestock industry into a strategic industry for our province's revitalization and development, and carrying out the construction of the disease-free zone, is of great significance for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the livestock industry, accelerating the adjustment of the agricultural structure, accelerating the achievement of the goal of building a high-quality livestock product production base, and building a major province of the green food industry.

First, it is conducive to safeguarding public health security. Today, 75% of emerging human infectious diseases originate from animals and animal-derived foods.  An effective measure for safeguarding public health security.

Second, it is conducive to ensuring the healthy development of modern animal husbandry. Through the construction of the disease-free zone, a comprehensive biosafety environment will be established, economic losses caused by animal diseases will be reduced, the efficiency of the livestock industry will be improved, the transformation of the mode of livestock production toward standardized large-scale breeding will be promoted, upstream and downstream related industries will be driven forward, and new advantages for Heilongjiang's economic development will be built.

Third, it is conducive to raising the quality and safety level of livestock products. Animal diseases are the fundamental factor affecting the safety of livestock products. Through the construction of the disease-free zone, animal diseases can be effectively controlled and eliminated, the use of veterinary drugs can be reduced, the foundation for the safe production of quality livestock products can be consolidated, and food safety risks caused by animal diseases can be reduced from the source.

Fourth, it is conducive to cultivating premium livestock product brands. To provide high-quality livestock products and achieve the fundamental transformation from “breeding well” to “selling well,” brand building must be upheld. Through the construction of the disease-free zone, the authority of the disease-free zone assessment and certification can be fully utilized to further enrich the connotation of our province's green, high-quality, safe, and trustworthy livestock product brands, amplify the brand effect, enhance market competitiveness, and advance the implementation of the “import substitution strategy.”

Fifth, it is conducive to promoting the export trade of livestock products. Through the construction of the disease-free zone, technical barriers to international trade in livestock products can be effectively broken down, promoting the export of our province's livestock products to Russia. At the same time, relying on the national “Belt and Road” initiative and our province's “Longjiang Silk Road Belt” construction, markets in Northeast Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe can be further expanded.

II. Objectives and Principles of Building the Disease-Free Zone

(1) Construction objectives. A complete system for compulsory animal disease immunization, animal epidemic monitoring and early warning, animal health supervision and regulation, emergency management, and animal epidemic prevention information management shall be established at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, and shall meet the standards set by the state and the World Organisation for Animal Health. By 2020, immune disease-free status for livestock foot-and-mouth disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza shall be achieved, and national assessment and certification shall be passed.

(2) Construction principles.

1. Government-led, society-participatory. Adhere to territorial management and government responsibility, mobilize broad participation of social forces, and form a construction mechanism in which the government, departments, enterprises, industry associations, and practitioners have clear divisions of labor, each fulfills its own duties, and all work in coordination.

2. Overall planning, orderly advancement. Adhere to unified provincial planning, strictly carry out work in accordance with the requirements set by the provincial plan regarding the types of animal diseases controlled in the disease-free zone, regional scope and type, construction standards, and time limits, and launch simultaneously and advance in an orderly manner.

3. Highlight key points, invest at different levels. Integrate various resources, follow the principle of matching authority with expenditure responsibility, and in accordance with the provincial disease-free zone construction plan, highlight key projects, key links, and key measures, and concentrate efforts to advance.

III. Scope and Implementation Steps of Building the Disease-Free Zone

(1) Construction scope. The disease-free zone is divided into a protection zone and a core zone. The protection zone consists of 59 townships, 1 forestry farm, and 16 farms of the agricultural reclamation system bordering Russia among the 18 border counties (cities), as well as 74 townships in the 15 counties (cities, districts) adjacent to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Jilin Province; the core zone is the entire territory of our province outside the protection zone.

(2) Implementation steps. In 2016, the province launched the construction of the disease-free zone and carried out all work in a coordinated manner. In 2018, the preparatory work of self-assessment, rectification, and application for assessment at the provincial, municipal, and county levels shall be completed, and efforts shall be made to pass national assessment and certification by 2020.

IV. Key Tasks of Building the Disease-Free Zone

In accordance with the overall requirements of “immunization achieving disease-free status, monitoring proving disease-free status, supervision maintaining disease-free status, assessment confirming disease-free status, and emergency response restoring disease-free status,” the key focus shall be on building the compulsory animal disease immunization system, the animal epidemic monitoring and early warning system, the animal health supervision and regulation system, the emergency management system, and the animal epidemic prevention information management system.

(1) Compulsory animal disease immunization system.

1. Vaccine storage and transportation system. Improve the vaccine cold-chain storage and transportation system at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, and adequately equip refrigerators, freezers, cold storage rooms, and refrigerated vehicles matching the vaccine storage and transportation volume. Townships and villages shall be equipped with sufficient refrigerators, freezers, transfer boxes, and cold storage bags to ensure cold-chain storage and transportation throughout the entire process.

2. Compulsory immunization system. Implement a compulsory immunization model featuring unified government leadership, guidance and supervision by animal husbandry and veterinary departments, breeding units and individuals as the main bodies responsible for epidemic prevention, and a combination of concentrated spring and autumn immunization and timely supplementary immunization, ensuring that all animals that should be immunized are immunized, with the immunization antibody qualification rate maintained above 70% year-round. Large-scale breeding farms shall implement independent immunization and proactively submit samples for testing to receive immunization effect testing and evaluation. Immunization of free-range livestock and poultry shall be carried out by government-organized village-level epidemic prevention workers or through the purchase of veterinary socialized services.

3. Epidemic prevention archive management. Improve disease-free zone construction archives including immunization records, vaccine management records, immunization effect evaluation records, and epidemic prevention personnel training records, and implement information-based management. All records and archives shall be linked from top to bottom, standardized and unified, and traceable.

(2) Animal epidemic monitoring and early warning system.

1. Veterinary laboratory construction. The facilities and equipment, technical strength, and biosafety level of veterinary laboratories at the provincial, municipal, and county levels shall all meet national standards. In 2017, all three levels of veterinary laboratories shall pass the veterinary system laboratory assessment. Provincial-level laboratories, provincial regional laboratories, municipal-level laboratories, and laboratories in major breeding counties shall pass metrological certification.

2. Monitoring and early warning capacity building. Provinces, cities, and counties shall be equipped with transport vehicles for animal epidemic monitoring and sampling and epidemiological investigation that comply with the "Overall Plan for the Reform of the Official Vehicle System of Heilongjiang Province" (Heichegai [2016] No. 1), and shall be fully equipped with information collection and data processing equipment. With township animal husbandry and veterinary stations, veterinary socialized service organizations, and village-level epidemic prevention workers as the foundation, with animal disease prevention and control institutions at all levels as the support, and with colleges and universities, research institutions, animal diagnosis and treatment institutions, breeding practitioners, practicing veterinarians, and rural veterinarians as auxiliary forces, form an animal epidemic monitoring and early warning network covering the entire province for information collection and processing, scientifically assess epidemic risks, and promptly discover hidden epidemic dangers.

3. Animal epidemic information management. Establish an animal epidemic prevention information database, standardize the reporting of monitoring data and epidemic information, strengthen epidemic report management, and improve the animal epidemic reporting and verification system.

(3) Animal health supervision and regulation system.

1. Artificial animal epidemic prevention barriers and mobile supervision.

(1) Animal health supervision and inspection stations. In accordance with the requirements of the "Notice of the Legislative Affairs Office of the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Government on Approving the Establishment of Road Inspection Stations" (Heizhengfafa [2015] No. 50), accelerate the completion of 6 inter-provincial road animal health supervision and inspection stations: the Lanling Station in Shuangcheng District of Harbin City, the Lalin River Second Station in Wuchang City, the Xingshan Station in Longjiang County, the Gannan Town Station in Gannan County, the Fuxing Station in Ning'an City, and the Zhaoyuan Station in Zhaoyuan County; and build 12 inter-provincial animal health supervision and inspection stations: the Lalin River First Station in Shuangcheng District of Harbin City, the Xingsheng Station in Wuchang City, the Shanhe Station in Wuchang City, the Xiangyang Station in Wuchang City, the Nianzishan Station in Qiqihar City, the Longxing Station in Longjiang County, the Erkeqian Station in Nehe City, the Taizhen Station in Tailai County, the Tazicheng Station in Tailai County, the Laosongling Station in Ning'an City, the Nancun Station in Dongning City, and the Jiagedaqi Station in the Daxing'anling Region. The main highways where the inter-provincial animal health supervision and inspection stations are located shall be selected as designated channels for external animals and animal products to enter our province.

The inspection stations shall newly build or renovate office premises, be fully equipped with equipment and facilities needed for office work and case investigation and evidence collection, be equipped with safety protection, disinfection, and rapid detection and diagnosis equipment, be connected to fiber optic or broadband networks, and have video surveillance systems and other facilities and equipment installed, meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture's "Construction Standards for Highway Animal Epidemic Prevention Supervision and Inspection Stations" (Nongbanyi [2006] No. 34). The inspection stations shall be staffed with law enforcement personnel matching the work tasks, establish and improve management systems, strictly implement supervision and inspection of transported animals and animal products, and diligently carry out verification of certificates and goods, registration and recording, information entry, and connection of landing supervision information.

(2) Warning signs. Fixed signs for warning, guidance, and publicity for entering the specified animal disease-free zone shall be set up at designated channel inspection stations. Warning signs prescribed by the state shall be set up at non-designated channel inspection stations.

(3) Animal isolation facilities. Build 1 provincial-level animal isolation facility in Gannan County, with site selection, layout, and construction carried out in accordance with the standards stipulated in Document Nongyifa [2007] No. 3, and fully equipped with facilities and equipment. The isolation facility shall improve various management systems and properly carry out management registration, clinical observation, disease testing, and exit information connection for isolated animals.

2. Animal health supervision and law enforcement.

(1) Animal health supervision institutions. The personnel teams, equipment, and facilities of animal health supervision institutions at all levels shall meet the requirements of Document Nongyifa [2007] No. 3. Municipal- and county-level animal health supervision offices shall possess the qualifications of administrative law enforcement subjects, and their staffing and budget funds shall match their supervision tasks.

(2) Equipment conditions for animal health supervision and law enforcement. In conjunction with the office space cleanup work in various localities, coordinate to resolve the office space needs of animal health supervision institutions at all levels, equip them with rapid testing, law enforcement case investigation and evidence collection, and training equipment and facilities that meet work needs, and official veterinarians shall be equipped with mobile law enforcement terminal devices.

(3) Animal quarantine declaration points. Set up animal quarantine declaration points according to the principles of overall planning, rational layout, and high efficiency and convenience for the people. In principle, each township shall have no fewer than 2 declaration points, and each slaughterhouse (plant, point) shall have 1. The office premises, electronic certificate issuance, printers, fax machines, telephones, and other facilities and equipment of the declaration points shall meet the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture's "Management Specifications for the Construction of Animal Quarantine Declaration Points" (Nongyifa [2010] No. 43).

(4) Supervision informatization. On the basis of the animal quarantine electronic certificate issuance management system, build a provincial animal health supervision information platform, fully equip relevant facilities and equipment, embed corresponding functional modules, and develop a mobile terminal system for animal health supervision and law enforcement; animal health supervision institutions in all cities and counties shall build video surveillance platforms, and slaughterhouses (plants), registered breeding farms, isolation facilities, and harmless treatment sites shall install video cameras and information connection equipment.

3. Harmless treatment of dead animals. Each city and county shall, based on local conditions of livestock and poultry breeding, disease occurrence, and livestock and poultry deaths, build at least 1 harmless treatment site, equipped with relevant facilities and equipment and enclosed transport vehicles, and each township shall establish at least 1 centralized collection point for dead livestock and poultry; in remote villages not covered by harmless treatment sites, harmless treatment pits shall be built with natural villages as units; large-scale breeding farms shall be encouraged to build and improve their own harmless treatment facilities and equipment, and social capital shall be supported in investing in the construction of harmless treatment sites. Promote the establishment of a linkage mechanism between harmless treatment of dead livestock and poultry and breeding industry insurance.

4. Veterinary drug supervision. Strengthen veterinary drug supervision, strictly enforce quality management standards for veterinary drug production and operation, and establish a traceable system for the production, operation, and use of veterinary drugs. Enhance the capacity for veterinary drug sampling and veterinary drug residue testing, and strengthen veterinary drug quality supervision and sampling as well as veterinary drug residue testing in livestock products.

5. Management measures.

(1) Management requirements. Registered breeding farms shall regularly log in to the Heilongjiang Province Animal Quarantine Electronic Certificate Issuance Management System every month and accurately and truthfully fill in basic information such as livestock and poultry inventory, immunization records, disinfection records, medication records, and harmless treatment records; village-level epidemic prevention workers shall be hired to collect and upload basic information such as livestock and poultry inventory and immunization status of free-range households within their areas; and the online reporting of breeding information shall be gradually linked with animal quarantine electronic certificate issuance.

(2) Management systems. During the construction of the disease-free zone and after its completion, the introduction of susceptible animals and their products from non-disease-free zones shall be strictly controlled. If introduction is truly necessary, in addition to attaching the "Animal Quarantine Certificate" issued by the animal health supervision institution of the place of origin, an application for quarantine shall also be submitted to the Heilongjiang Provincial Animal Health Supervision Institute, and an "Animal Quarantine Certificate" shall be obtained; implement the designated channel system for animals and animal products, whereby susceptible animals and their products introduced from outside must enter our province through designated channels; implement the isolation and quarantine system for introduced animals, whereby introduced susceptible animals must undergo isolation and quarantine at isolation facilities designated by animal health supervision institutions.

(4) Emergency management system.

1. Emergency material reserves. Formulate standards and lists for emergency material reserves at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. Governments at or above the county level shall reserve and promptly update emergency materials, be equipped with emergency response transport vehicles and necessary communication and epidemic response equipment that meet regulations, and guarantee the needs of emergency response to animal epidemics.

2. Emergency management mechanism. Strengthen the construction of emergency command institutions for sudden animal epidemics at the provincial, municipal, and county levels to ensure the effective operation of the emergency command system. Improve emergency response plans for sudden animal epidemics, establish emergency reserve teams, and regularly organize emergency training and drills. Publicize epidemic reporting and complaint telephone numbers, promptly verify epidemic information, and respond quickly and decisively.

3. Emergency culling subsidy mechanism. Establish a price subsidy mechanism for emergency culling of positive and same-group livestock and poultry that is compatible with market prices. Key animal diseases shall be included in the scope of livestock industry insurance coverage.

(5) Animal epidemic prevention information management system.

1. Animal epidemic prevention information management platform. Build a disease-free zone animal epidemic prevention information management platform, improve the animal epidemic prevention database, equip information collection and processing terminals (including mobile terminals), establish a video conferencing and emergency command system, and achieve network-based information management of breeding data, compulsory immunization, epidemic monitoring, animal health supervision, epidemic emergency response, and veterinary team building. Strengthen software research and development as well as the operation, maintenance, and security management of the information platform.

2. Traceable management of animal epidemic prevention work. Establish a unified and standardized management system across the province, standardize various work records and archives, establish dedicated archive rooms (cabinets), file them in accordance with the requirements of the "Technical Specifications," and implement traceable management and archival preservation of animal immunization, monitoring, quarantine, supervision, harmless treatment, veterinary drug residue control, and emergency response work.

V. Safeguard Measures for the Disease-Free Zone

(1) Organizational safeguards. The Provincial People's Government Leading Group for Accelerating the Development of the Modern Animal Husbandry Industry shall be responsible for coordinating the construction of the disease-free zone across the province, with daily work undertaken by the Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau. All relevant units shall each fulfill their own responsibilities, strengthen collaboration, and jointly promote the implementation of disease-free zone construction. The Provincial Institutional Organization Commission Office shall further advance the streamlining of administration and delegation of power, strengthen the territorial responsibility for animal epidemic prevention; further optimize the allocation of institutional staffing resources, improve the animal epidemic prevention supervision and management system, promote comprehensive law enforcement, and improve supervision and law enforcement effectiveness. The Provincial Legislative Affairs Office shall be responsible for reviewing, in accordance with regulations, draft local legislative projects involving disease-free zone content submitted by drafting departments. The Provincial Development and Reform Commission shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, be responsible for the project approval of disease-free zone construction projects. The Provincial Industry and Information Technology Commission shall be responsible for coordinating and promoting cross-industry and cross-departmental interconnection and the development, utilization, and sharing of important information resources. The Provincial Public Security Department shall be responsible for strengthening public security management in epidemic areas and assisting in emergency response to sudden epidemics. The Provincial Department of Finance shall be responsible for guaranteeing provincial-level disease-free zone construction funds. The Provincial Department of Land and Resources shall be responsible for guaranteeing disease-free zone construction land and approval work in accordance with the law. The Provincial Department of Environmental Protection shall be responsible for environmental impact assessment and approval of disease-free zone construction projects such as animal isolation facilities and harmless treatment sites for dead animals. The Provincial Department of Transport shall be responsible for assisting animal husbandry departments in setting up animal health supervision and inspection stations, warning signs, and directional signs on highways. The Provincial Department of Forestry shall be responsible for monitoring susceptible wild animals and epidemiological investigation. The Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission shall be responsible for strengthening the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases and promptly reporting epidemic situations and progress in zoonotic disease prevention and control. The Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce shall be responsible for industrial and commercial registration management of livestock industry enterprises, farmers' professional cooperatives, and individual businesses in accordance with the law, as well as supervision of livestock and poultry farmers' markets. The Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau shall be responsible for the formulation and organization of implementation of the province's technical plan, guiding the province in carrying out immunization, monitoring, supervision, and emergency work, and shall be responsible for the comprehensive coordination of disease-free zone construction assessment. The Heilongjiang Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau shall be responsible for epidemic prevention, quarantine, and supervision of entry-exit animals and their products. The Provincial Agricultural Reclamation General Bureau and the Provincial Forest Industry General Bureau shall be responsible for formulating and organizing the implementation of disease-free zone construction implementation plans for their respective systems.

(2) Institutional safeguards. Strengthen the construction of animal husbandry and veterinary administrative management, animal health supervision and law enforcement, and epidemic prevention technical service institutions, optimize the allocation of forces, and improve management and service efficiency; rationalize the relationship of responsibilities between government levels and promote the downward shift of management focus. Establish a new veterinary system with official veterinarians and practicing veterinarians as the main body. Stabilize the village-level epidemic prevention team, strengthen the team building of township animal husbandry and veterinary service institutions, and improve the level of grassroots epidemic prevention.

(3) Conditional safeguards. All localities shall integrate prevention and control resources, increase policy support, establish a stable funding input mechanism at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, and include construction and operation funds in the fiscal budget at the corresponding level. The provincial level shall be responsible for the operation and funding guarantees of provincial-level laboratories, regional laboratories, national border animal epidemic reporting stations, provincial-level vaccine storage and transportation equipment, provincial-level disease monitoring and purification, animal disease prevention and control information management platforms, supervision and inspection stations, isolation facilities, law enforcement supervision, and provincial-level emergency reserves; raise matching subsidy funds for compulsory immunization vaccines; and implement funding for provincial-level animal epidemic monitoring and sampling and epidemiological investigation transport vehicles and for fully equipping information collection and data processing equipment. Municipal and county levels shall bear the construction and operation funds for their respective veterinary laboratories, disease monitoring and purification, vaccine storage and transportation equipment, supervision and inspection stations, law enforcement supervision, harmless treatment facilities, and emergency reserves; implement matching subsidy funds for highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccines; and equip dedicated transport vehicles for animal epidemic monitoring and sampling and epidemiological investigation at their respective levels. Adopt a government-guided and appropriately subsidized approach to fully mobilize market-oriented investment entities and attract social capital investment through multiple channels to jointly build the harmless treatment system.

(4) Technical safeguards. The provincial, municipal, and county levels shall respectively establish technical expert groups for disease-free zone construction assessment, and formulate implementation plans and technical routes for disease-free zone construction at their respective levels in accordance with national standards. Fully leverage the technical support role of relevant national departments, construction assessment technical expert groups at all levels, and veterinary experts, and strengthen publicity, guidance, and training for disease-free zone construction through expert lectures, special training, and compilation of teaching materials. Strengthen the integration and fusion of veterinary research institutions, higher education institutions, and enterprise resources at all levels within the province, strengthen exchanges and collaboration among institutions and experts in veterinary, health and family planning, forestry, and other fields, and build an interdisciplinary cooperation platform to provide intellectual support for disease-free zone construction.