Abstract:
The Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) are reported to be free of the most serious infectious
livestock diseases which are prevalent in other parts of the globe, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza, Foot and Mouth Disease or Rabies. Yet there is a lack of scientifically based evidence to confirm
this animal health status. This paper reviews what has been published on diseases of domestic animals
in the Pacific Islands region with a particular focus on data from the last 20 years (1992–2012). Relevant
published papers were identified by a computerized literature search of two electronic databases
(PubMed and Web of Knowledge). The latest reports on the animal health situation submitted by the
PICTs to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) were accessed on the World Animal Health
Information Database (WAHID) interface and included in this review. Additionally, paper searches of
resources were undertaken at the library of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Fiji to
retrieve any relevant grey literature for this review. The study eligibility criteria included qualitative or
quantitative information on any disease (bacterial, viral, parasitic and other health disorders) affecting
domestic terrestrial animals (mammals, reptiles, birds and bees) in any of the 22 PICTs members of the
SPC. A total of 158 eligible references were retrieved of which only 77 (48.7%) were published since 1992
and analysed in more details. One hundred and one diseases and pathogens were reported on for bee,
bird, carabao, cat, cattle, crocodile, deer, dog, donkey, goat, horse, pig, pigeon, poultry and sheep in the
Oceania region and in 17 PICTs in particular. The paper gives information about known animal diseases,
their reported prevalence and diseases not reported within the Pacific Islands region. The study found
retrieved literature on animal diseases in PICTs was scarce and no longer up to date. There is a need to
improve the published knowledge on the current animal disease status in the region.
