General Assembly Resolution #609 “Limiting Animal Pathogens” (Category: Environmental; Industry Affected: Agriculture) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly,
Aware of the need for international measures to challenge the increasingly universal problem of zoonotic disease, including regulations on the import, export, and sale of live animals and animal carcasses,
Concerned that General Assembly Resolution #609 “Limiting Animal Pathogens, ” in seeking to accomplish this worthwhile goal, is unfortunately burdened with many substantial and quite frankly unacceptable oversights, in particular:
- Finding Clause 2d's requirement that "Any person who tests positive [for a zoonotic disease] under this paragraph may not work at any wet market until such person reliably tests negative for the same zoonotic disease" to be particularly imprudent, not only in that it does not necessarily require that the most reliable tests available be used, but also insofar as it could disbar wet market employees from such work indefinitely (if not permanently) in cases where they are unable to consistently test negative for zoonotic diseases, even when this would pose little to no risk to public health, such as:
- Scenarios in which the only available methods of testing have an unacceptable level of accuracy and where there is a high probability of potentially devastating false diagnosis. The issue is only broadened by the lack of any provision requiring that the most reliable tests be those used. Ultimately, all kinds of wet market workers may very well find themselves unable to "reliably [test] negative for the same zoonotic disease", thus preventing them from returning to work and putting their well-being at risk.
- Scenarios where a qualifying zoonotic infection (of which there are many) may be treated to the point of safety and nontransmissibility but remains persistent or latent in a host; infected wet market workers, despite posing no further danger to themselves or others, may find themselves unable to ever consistently receive negative test results, permanently preventing them from providing for themselves and their loved ones.
- Situations where, even though a disease can be cured and relevant tests may be broadly accurate, the only available testing (such as serology tests) can still return positive results in the weeks, months, and even years after an infection has been effectively cured, thereby preventing afflicted wet market employees from returning to their trades for a significant, or permanent, stretch of time.
- Appalled by Clause 4a.'s grossly unreasonable demand that "every animal" intended for import or export be tested (as opposed to the random testing required by Clause 2 in wet market contexts) for qualifying zoonotic illnesses, which could, and almost certainly would, cause member states undue financial and logistical stress, given that livestock and other animals are often transported in bulk and that many requisite tests require substantial time and effort for each sample taken, altogether potentially leading to delays, cost overruns, and economic disaster for WA member states;
- Baffled that, throughout Clauses 2 and 4, all rules and regulations fail to take into account the fact that many such zoonotic illnesses lack any adequate testing whatsoever. The resolution's provisions, in failing to carve out exceptions for these diseases, risk locking WA member states into narrow, restrictive, and potentially ineffective public health responses due to mandated misallocation of national resources;
Judging that the pantheon of issues enclosed within this resolution’s provisions more than justifies their immediate removal from extant international law,
Hereby repeals General Assembly Resolution #609 “Limiting Animal Pathogens”.
Co-authored by: Tinhampton
