Assessment of national systems for the surveillance and monitoring of animal health.

Continued growth in international trade and the developing concepts of zoning and risk assessment demand effective assessment of national surveillance and monitoring systems for animal health. The ideal national epidemiological delivery system incorporates surveillance for disease agents, host monitoring and environmental assessment. An extensive veterinary infrastructure is necessary to support the ideal epidemiological delivery system. While the full spectrum of epidemiological services is represented worldwide, a standardized approach to assessing national surveillance and monitoring systems is proposed, in order to meet the emerging demand for scientifically-based import regulations.