Perspectives on aquatic animal disease contingency planning in the Asia-Pacific region

The movement of live aquatic animals is one of the principal reasons for the rising number of disease emergencies in Asia and the Pacific. Contingency planning is crucial in the effective management of such emergencies. Within Asia, the Asia Regional Technical Guidelines on Health Management and the Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals provide the basic framework for national and regional efforts to reduce the risk of introducing disease across borders. However, in following these guidelines, the progress made by countries on contingency planning has, to date, been rather limited. In this paper, the authors broadly examine the implementation of health management programmes, highlight some regional initiatives that support contingency planning and describe the present status of contingency planning in the Asia-Pacific region.