The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) just published an article in One Health Outlook summarizing the Surveillance Evaluation Tool (SET) Biothreat Detection Module to help assess national capacities to detect agro-terrorism and agro-crime. This effort was an international collaboration between FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPO), and a group of subject matter experts. The module will be piloted in early 2021 and used by beneficiary countries of the joint OIE-FAO-INTERPOL project. Results from evaluations using SET and its Biothreat Detection Module are expected to provide a baseline from which countries can build targeted capacity for animal disease surveillance including early detection and investigation of potential terrorist or criminal events involving zoonotic and non-zoonotic animal pathogens. I am very proud to have been part of the panel of experts gathered to support the development of this project.
