A qualitative risk assessment methodology for scientific expert panels

Area of Science:

• Veterinary epidemiology
• Risk assessment methodologies
• Animal health surveillance

Background:

• The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) utilizes qualitative risk assessment for animal health.
• Previous qualitative methods faced limitations, including insufficient descriptors for low probabilities and inadequate consequence assessment.
• Expert feedback highlighted the need for methodological improvements in animal health risk evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the enhanced qualitative risk assessment method developed by the ANSES Animal Health Scientific Panel (AH-SP).
• To address the identified limitations of the previous qualitative risk assessment approach.
• To refine the evaluation of both animal and human health consequences in risk assessments.

Main Methods:

• Development of an improved qualitative risk assessment framework by the AH-SP.
• Introduction of a refined set of probability levels for risk characterization.
• Establishment of specific criteria for evaluating health consequences.

Main Results:

• A new, more comprehensive set of probability descriptors has been implemented.
• The revised method incorporates a structured approach to assessing potential health consequences.
• The enhanced method aims to provide a more robust qualitative evaluation of animal health risks.

Conclusions:

• The updated qualitative risk assessment method by AH-SP provides a more nuanced evaluation of animal health risks.
• The improvements enhance the ability to assess risks under data limitations and tight timelines.
• This refined methodology supports more informed decision-making in animal health crisis management.