The application of risk assessment methods in making veterinary public health and animal health decisions

The newly emerging discipline of quantitative risk assessment has wide application in the field of veterinary public health and animal health. Regulatory authorities are increasingly faced with public policy decisions that must assess the risks of new technology or practices relative to the potential benefits, thereby establishing a level of acceptable risk. The elements of risk are a choice of action, a probability of loss and a magnitude of loss. Perceived risk and actual risk are seldom equivalent; adoption of the methodologies used in technological and human health risk assessments will allow veterinary regulators to make better decisions. Determination of levels of acceptable risk are increasingly dependent on quantitative models, and examples are presented for evaluation of different post-mortem meat inspection systems, estimating disease risks associated with animal embryo transfer and formulating national border protection strategies. All models have some degree of subjectivity, and the decisions made by regulators and risk managers should incorporate a wide knowledge of the risk assessment process, as well as the conditions of use that will occur in the real world.