AHI supports its members in their on-going research, production, and distribution of animal health products — from biologicals to pharmaceuticals, vaccines to pesticides — we know that keeping animals healthy translates to better health and quality of life for humans.

Avian Influenza (AI) is the most recent global health worry, but certainly not the first. Throughout time viruses and other illnesses have been passed from animals to humans and back again. Increases in human population, and demographic and societal changes have brought humans and animals into closer proximity with one another, making the control and containment of animal disease even more important to human health.

The threat of a virus such as avian flu turning into a human pandemic further demonstrates the need to control and eradicate disease in animals first to protect human health. Rabies, West Nile, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) all place human health at risk through our contact with infected animals.

Tools for Control & Eradication of Zoonotic Disease
Vaccines are one of the first lines of defense for disease prevention in animals. Several vaccines have been developed to control the spread of avian flu. Rabies vaccines have been used effectively for decades to control the disease in domestic animals and the Centers for Disease Control operates a bait drop program to control rabies in wild animal populations. Pest control products used routinely for household pets make it possible for those pets to safety live indoors with people.

AHI members in the biologics industry continue to invest millions of dollars in the development of effective vaccines to advance the control and eradication of zoonotic disease in animals. Working closely with the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) these vaccines are licensed and made available to the animal health industry.

Diseases such as West Nile virus are controlled primarily through the use of pesticides, along with problems more common to household pets such as fleas and intestinal parasites. AHI members work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to license safe and effective chemical agents to combat the spread of these problems to the human population and to keep animals healthy.

Safety and Oversight
Animal pharmaceuticals, biologics, and pesticides are highly regulated by the U.S. government. Navigating the regulatory pathways for new products takes an average of five to seven years and the research and development process requires the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. The results are products the animal health industry and the American public can count on to be pure, safe, potent, and effective.

• The USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) evaluates the purity, safety, potency, and effectiveness of all vaccines and biological products prior to licensing. From the time a new product is discovered, through challenge studies, safety trials, and manufacture testing, the process can take three to five years.

• The FDA tests, approves, licenses, and regulates all pharmaceutical products. When a new drug is discovered the pharmaceutical company begins working closely with the FDA to review development plans and to set up testing    protocols. Reviews of studies and testing continue throughout the process, which can take as long as seven to ten years before approval is granted.

• The EPA evaluates the safety and effectiveness of pesticides, developing safety guidelines and closely overseeing their use. Manufacturers must provide scientific evidence demonstrating with reasonable certainty, that their product will cause no harm to humans, the environment, and non-target species. The process from discovery through long-term toxicology studies and EPA review takes an average of five to seven years.

AHI members are committed to investing in the ongoing research and development of innovative animal health products and we support a science-driven, research-based approval and regulatory process for animal health products as a risk management tool for the control and eradication of zoonotic disease.

For more information on the regulatory process, or on the innovative new products being developed by our members for the animal health industry, click on the related articles below: