With the aim of prioritizing and strengthening the animal health sector, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched last week a new global animal disease information system: EMPRES-i +.
“Strong international and national animal health systems are key to prevent diseases, ensure safe and nutritious food, and protect farmers’ interests,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.
The new system will support countries in the rapid identification and mitigation of serious animal disease threats, given that today’s globalized world allows for the rapid spread of diseases across borders.
EMPRES-i + replaces EMPREs-i, a previous version released in 2004 and widely used until then. The new version promises to be more efficient in capturing big data, more sensitive in detecting unusual events, on top of being able to share important information more quickly.