OIE Website Assessment

Amanda Jezek Martinot

July 15, 2002

CONTENTSPage

1. Objectives for Website Assessment……………………………………………32. General Recommendations…………………………………………………….4

2.1 OIE Website Search Option2.2 Search of OIE Publications2.3 Example searches

2.3.1 Foot-and-Mouth Disease2.3.2 Avian Influenza

3. Data Listed by Disease………………………………………………………….63.1 System for cataloguing links…………………………………………….63.2 Evaluation of links………………………………………………………10

3.2.1 Code and Manual3.2.2 Reagents3.2.3 Handistatus3.2.4 Disease Information Weekly

4. Disease Cards…………………………………………………………………...124.1 System for evaluating the disease cards…………………………………124.2 General content and areas of improvement……………………………...13

Appendix I: Keys for Excel sheets…………………………………………………...16Appendix II: Diseases that currently have disease cards on the web………………19Excel files

Data by DiseaseDisease Cards

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1. Objectives for Website Assessment

Due to the current restructuring of the OIE website, OIE requested that an “outsider’s”

assessment of the general set up of the web be performed. As a fourth year student in the

veterinary degree program at the University of Florida, I have approached this task from

the viewpoint of a student searching for information for a class presentation or research

paper. This should offer adequate insight into the perspective of others such as

journalists, lawyers, and other public officials searching for information. Individuals such

as these will often be researching a topic, or a disease, that is completely unfamiliar to

them. Although the OIE has traditionally catered exclusively to the scientific community,

The OIE staff would like the website to provide a service to the general public as well as

the scientific community. The general public is becoming more aware that the OIE is an

organization exclusively committed to animal health and zoonoses. As it becomes more

widely recognized that the OIE is the standard-setting organization for international

animal health and trade, the OIE website will often be the first resource encountered by

those searching for more information on the organization itself. In addition, students of

varying disciplines and many other individuals will look to the OIE as a reliable resource

for up-to-date information regarding animal diseases.

The main objectives for this assessment were to determine the following:

how user-friendly is the OIE website for those unfamiliar with it

does the website adequately portray and explain the missions of

the OIE to the general public

do the links work properly and do they make sense

what information is available on the website regarding

particular diseases such as the disease cards

how up to date is the information on the website

is there enough information regarding diseases of general public

concern either on the website or through links to other sites

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In reviewing the website content, three approaches for assessing the user-friendliness of

the website were used: 1) searching for information on a particular disease, 2) searching

for information on the OIE itself, and 3) searching for information about the animal

health status of a particular country.

2. General Recommendations

2.1 Website search option

This is an extremely important tool for first time users of the website. It is also extremely

important that every single document on the OIE web page have key words associated

with it. When searching for main topics such as food safety, there are OIE documents

that are not linked in the search results due to the lack of keys words entered. This is also

true for many of the individual diseases. If a person were to not scroll down and find the

link on the site map for data by disease (for foot-and-mouth disease for instance) they

would not find the links to the resources in the Code and Manual. Prioritizing search

results for the most accurate match or for the most recent documentation would be an

attractive option for narrowing the number of search results down. For instance, on a

search engine such as Yahoo, the best matches (the ones that are closest to the keywords

entered by the user) are listed first within the search results. This is indicated on the

search results by a percentage or by highlighting the keywords found. Reworking the

search option in such a way would be the ideal way for searching the OIE website and

would definitely improve its user-friendliness.

2.2 Search of OIE publications

The OIE has an invaluable resource in scientific and technical reviews as well as thematic

publications. The link to publications on the main page is an excellent link, especially

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the descriptions of the content of the different periodicals. It would advantageous to

advertise the link to search OIE’s publications better from the main page.

2.3 OIE example searches

In order to determine how well the website is working as a whole, a few diseases

examples were used to test the system. The commentary below may help outline areas

that need improvement.

2.3.1 Foot-and-Mouth Disease

general search does not take you directly to data listed by disease

section where the disease card is found; in order to find the

disease card from the main search you have to sift through 10

pages of links—it is not a high priority search

There is a specific Revue Scientifique et Technique (RST) 1996

15 (3) that there is not a good link for

There is also no mention of the upcoming publication 2002 in

RST that is devoted to this topic

There are nine links from the data by disease site; these are

redundant and please note comments in Excel File 1 (data by

disease)

There is a very good infectious disease card [(see comments

Excel file 2 (disease cards)], but should be more links to

resources such as journal articles dealing with the infectivity of

the agent as well as the latest science on testing (telling

vaccinated from unvaccinated animals).

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2.3.2 Avian Influenza

the sight for highly pathogenic influenza is very good, but in the

data listed by disease you can find avian influenza with no links

to the more pertinent info on HPAI

more importantly should OIE start tracking low path outbreaks

with Handistatus II?

If mutation is a real concern, then CVO’s or other public health

officials may be interested for trade purposes in the occurrence

of low path outbreaks in birds and even influenza in pigs

There is a very good article in Update on Zoononses in RST that

should be linked to, preferably in the reference section of the

high path card

3. Data by Disease

3.1 System for cataloguing links

Cataloguing the website content will become more important as the website continues to

grow in order to continually update the content and ensure its accuracy. The lack of such

a system in the past makes it difficult to revise the website content now, especially in

regards to the information on each disease. It is difficult to determine what needs

updating due to the fact that no one knows exactly what is on the web for each disease.

Although cataloguing the content in the data by diseases is an enormous job it will be

essential to develop a method for keeping track of such information. This information

will serve as baseline data for what is on the web. In this way, as new and pertinent

information on each disease arises, or as OIE becomes more involved with particular

emerging diseases, these sites may be updated appropriately and it will easy to identify

information that is out of date.

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The following is a proposal for a method of cataloguing the information on diseases as

listed under the link data by disease in a systematic manner. Please refer to the Excel

sheets (T drive, folder AM, Amanda’s documents) that have been created as a

preliminary tool for cataloguing this information. A similar system may be created for

other pages on the web so that there will always be a permanent record of what has been

on the OIE website in the past. A website is a living and changing document, but these

changes need to recorded and catalogued for historical purposes, for the same reason that

previous editions of a text need to be saved and filed in a library. This is especially true

for an official website of an intergovernmental organization.

A. Disease

a. This column constitutes a comprehensive of list of all the diseases on the

OIE website at the present time

b. If there is an emerging disease that has not yet been addressed officially

by the OIE, a note and link can be made to the webpage and noted in the

Excel file. As information is updated, it will be easy to see what needs to

be changed on the website to ensure the most accurate information is

available.

c. If disease cards have not been made for diseases, it would be appropriate

to link to other reliable sources on the web, if verified, until this is done.

It is essential that the public has an information resource of OIE’s

choosing that is accurate.

B. Agent

a. Identifying the scientific name or agent is important as names change

frequently, especially for certain bacterial diseases. It will be easier to

identify and change this information as appropriate on the web.

b. For diseases such as BSE where the causative agent is still under debate,

this will allow web information to be updated as new scientific

information emerges

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C. Priority

a. This option of assigning a priority number provides a way to sort the

information in the excel file. The Excel file sort option will have limited

use in sorting, but if a few key words are entered properly, this will be a

good way to start organizing information until a better system is

developed. For instance, if information on the web only pertaining to

diseases transmissible in milk is to be updated, the current information

present on the web regarding these diseases may be easily pulled out of a

larger data base if a column with the key word milk was entered for each

appropriate disease.

b. Cross-referencing with keywords should be done regardless so that

keywords will be easier to enter.

D. Card

a. Having an accurate record of which diseases have disease cards on the

web will help identify diseases that need to have cards made as a priority.

b. For instance, I was informed that the Fish Disease Commission has

disease cards written, but none of these are on the web as of yet.

E. Card Info

a. Notes regarding card info could be made as necessary when someone

works on a particular disease card, such as the date it was last reviewed

and updated. If manual or code is written in this section it means info

from these sources needs to be added.

b. If link is written here then info at another site on the web is related and

should be linked to.

c. This will also serve as a quick way to see which cards are in need of

review at a first glance.

F. List

a. OIE is currently revising its listing system and changing to a single list;

for historical purposes it will be useful to know what diseases were listed

as before.

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b. This section in the data base can also contain information regarding

urgency of reporting (in the new system…i.e. it may be noted here

whether a disease should notified within 24 hours or not).

G. Experts

a. Notes as to whether an expert has been identified for a certain disease, and

whether that expert’s contact information is current should be noted here.

b. This may be done by recording “YES, 7/11/02” for experts and the most

recent date the information for that expert was reviewed on the web.

c. It is very important that a person seeking the most accurate information

has a direct source (preferably links to articles written by that person); in

this way OIE can be assured they will not resort to other less accurate

sources if our site is not quite complete, yet.

H. Code

a. For the time being, I have set this column up to signal to those individuals

(or future webmaster) how the links are working for a particular disease.

b. This will be most useful for the person who will make the necessary

adjustments on the web as to what needs to be fixed and how urgent it is.

Please see the key for understanding how data was entered here in the

excel sheet.

c. Indicating whether information is in the Land or Marine Code will also

make the web easier to remodel at a later date.

d. See also general comments on links in Section 3.2 of this report

I. Manual- see comments for Code

J. Reagents

a. Some of the diseases have links to reagents on this site, again, keeping this

information up to date is extremely important

b. Noting in this column as with others the date when last reviewed or

revised will constitute good record keeping

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K. Handistatus

a. General Notes

b. If data system changes this will need to be revised

c. May also serve as future link to map sites and this should be noted

L. Weekly- note presence or absence of link

M. Cases- note presence or absence of link

N. Free- note presence or absence of link

O. Notes

a. This column is the probably one of the most important to review on a

regular basis and note for date last revised, because doing so will ensure

that OIE is up to speed with other international organizations.

b. Each time an interesting reference source that may be useful is found

elsewhere this should be noted (i.e. FAO has a better site for this and list,

or great review for this topic found in a particular journal—maybe we

should reference this in disease reference list or provided links to these

sources, etc.)

c. If OIE has added something important recently in terms of a disease or

topic relating to a disease it should be noted.

3.2 Evaluation of Links on Data by Disease Page

Some general observations were made regarding the links on this site (as catalogued in

Excel files as well). Once again, these are observations from an outsider’s point of view

and do not necessarily indicate that they are bad links, just an alternative way of viewing

the web site design. It has been my experience that too many links becomes confusing

and when searching on a website, you start running into the same pages over and over

again. I also realize that redundancy in this sense also helps assure that a person will

eventually find useful information.

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3.2.1 Code and Manual

Please note that although there are links to the Code for all the diseases,

these links do not take you directly to the information pertaining to a

particular disease in the Code, but rather to an index. This can be quite

confusing and really makes the search less effective and redundant. Another

suggestion for simplification of the site is to make the only available link to

the Code from the disease card in the Reference Section. This also applies to

the links to the Manual. Until disease cards are made for all diseases this will

not be an option.

3.2.2 Reagents

The usefulness of this site seems limited as it is currently set up. It would be best

to rename this link as something else that would better portray the content.

Although this may be very useful to someone looking for this specific

information, this is an extremely confusing link to the average web surfer looking

for information. If this link is to remain, an explanation page will need to be

created explaining sample testing in general and the OIE’s role in creating

standards regarding testing and why this is important in the international trade of

animals. A description of OIE reference laboratories would fit in here nicely as

well.

3.2.3 Handistatus 2

This is a very nice link, but it needs a lot more explanation for the average

web user. The OIE has the sole source for information gathering directly

from member countries, but many other organizations are getting involved

in the business of tracking disease outbreaks. OIE needs an excellent page

explaining what Handistatus is and how it works. There are very nice pages

already made up regarding how OIE receives information. There should be

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a link from the Handistatus main page to this as well. The Handistatus

status link may be improved in the following ways:

Explaining how often the information is updated and the OIE

delegates’ role in reporting disease to the OIE?

Explaining who is in charge of updating this information. A nice

explanation page and link to Dr. Jebara’s department should fit

into here. There should also be a link to an email account and

someone responsible for answering journalist inquiries if they do

not understand the data, etc.

It should emphasized that OIE is the sole source for official

disease information and that other sources assimilate this

information, etc. (A link to EMPRES could be negotiated- or

a least an explanation of how the OIE’s system and data

translates into the information users find with EMPRES).

3.2.4 Disease Information Weekly

This is very raw and intimidating information if you do not know what you are

looking for. If OIE intends to serve as a resource for only CVO’s then this

information does not need to be presented in any more desirable of a way to the

general public. If it is OIE’s desire to make this section more user friendly to the

public, it would nice to have short “stories” written explaining the significance of

these updates as they occur once a month. The raw information could continue to

be presented in the same format, but it might suffice for this information to be

made available in this way only to the delegates.

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4. Disease Cards

4.1 System for evaluating the disease cards

Similar to the set up on the Excel sheet for the data by disease a similar file has been

creating for the disease cards with columns entitled: Disease, Priority, List, Aetiology,

Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Prevention and Control, Reference, Experts, and Notes. How

to evaluate the content of the disease card will be a difficult task. It may just suffice to

note when the information was last reviewed and updated. In my opinion this information

will be difficult to digest for anyone without extensive science background, but that the

cards are already as trimmed as they can be while being complete. How easy the card is

to read and understand may also be another important consideration when reviewing the

cards (for those in non-veterinary fields). The addition of pictures of lesions within the

disease card may be an interesting addition that would be useful for presentations and for

understanding the significance of the disease impact in certain circumstances. If nothing

else it would be a demonstration of why they are often difficult to distinguish from one

another clinically (i.e. vesicular diseases).

4.2 General content and areas of improvement

A thorough assessment of the information contained in the disease card would take much

cross-referencing and research into the latest scientific research which would be very

time-consuming; on a first impression basis, the information appears accurate, but may be

lacking in the latest updates and scientific findings regarding these diseases. For

updating the content of the cards, they should be forwarded to an OIE expert who at a

glance will be able to see what is out of date. This should be fairly easy to do when these

experts meet to update the code and manual. The manual has proven to be the most up-to-

date (as it should be) and any future creation of disease cards can in most instances be

directly transposed from this document.

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The reference section on the disease cards would be the best place to make

improvements. Providing a more complete reference section will lead those

interested in finding more detailed information to those sources that OIE approves

of and finds to be the most accurate. This is a crucial element in assuring that the

public is getting quality information. OIE has a plethora of valuable information in

the form of the many expert publications produced on thematic schemes; anytime

where such a publication has been created it should be cross-referenced in the

disease cards. Please review the following suggestions for the reference section on

the disease cards:

The search engine for OIE publications should be made

accessible from the disease card site to find all sources that

relate to the disease that the disease card focuses on,

preferably in the reference section. This is an invaluable

source of information, especially for veterinary students.

Linking to the publications search engine will evade the need

for writing all the OIE references down on each disease card.

This resource is fundamental for those trying to use the OIE

website and will also probably increase revenue since more

people will order this way!!

The experts listed for each disease should have references

listed for their work and research regarding the topic or

disease, and even links to their articles.

It would be a nice resource to include links or make mention

of other government websites (of delegates’ choosing or

OIE’s choosing) that they feel is a reliable and accurate

source of information on the latest issues pertaining to the

disease. For example: 1) trade issues 2) countries with

eradication programs 3) epidemiological surveys and

outbreak simulation sites 4) well-written commentaries and

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or reviews 5) other disease tracking systems OIE is

collaborating with (i.e. EMPRES)

Another area of improvement for the non-veterinary user would be the Prevention

and Control section. This section may be improved in the following ways:

references to information on the infectivity of diseases and

how they are spread in the commodities listed by the OIE

have a generic statement that for traveler information please

refer to the appropriate governmental websites

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Appendix I: Keys for Excel Sheet Data

Excel Worksheet 1- Data listed by disease

Good= information is satisfactory at first glance

Code= need to transfer info from code to the card if indicated in

note

Manual= need to transfer info from manual to the card if there is

a note indicating

No= means no disease card exists

Yes= there is an existing disease card or there are experts listed

(depending on which heading)

A= the disease is currently listed on A (using the list system)

B= the disease is currently listed on B(using the list system)

n/a= the disease has not been assigned to list A or B using the

list system and will not be (because this system is going to be

changed)

remove= this link appears redundant and probably should be

removed

?= this link does not make sense, may not directly take you to

disease information (i.e. takes you to an index of the code or

manual)

1= this disease should be first priority for the public having

accurate and useful information (especially in regards to having a

disease card made up…Rabies)

2,3,…= numbering priorities in this way will help the user sort

diseases in terms of their priority as far as the website is

concerned (a user friendly method of plowing through the data

entered in these files)

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link= need to link to another disease card or site on the web for

more information, or related information.

marine= link to marine code exists (not necessarily to specific

disease)

land= link to land code exists (not necessarily to specific

disease)

/= no link exists

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Excel Worksheet 2- Disease card assessment

1) Aetiology

2) Epidemiology

3) Diagnosis

4) Prevention and Control- will see specific notes written here

5) References (two parts)

1. name reference in reference section [code,manual,expert, status,

list]

and (indicated by /)

2. ? = the link to reference noted does not make sense (if

nothing noted assume yes it makes sense)

or

3. bad= the link to reference is inaccurate and out of date

more= more useful links for journalists, students, politicians, etc.

to find the most recent and up-to-date commentary and research

in regards to this disease are needed (scientific journals,

newspaper articles, OIE press releases, etc.)

OIEpub= there has been OIE publications in regards to this

disease that should have a reference listed

RST= articles in Revue Scientifique et Technique exist that

should be listed and list year

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Appendix II: Diseases that have disease cards on the web

1. African Swine Fever

2. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

3. Foot and Mouth Disease

4. Rift Valley Fever

5. Rinderpest

6. Bluetongue

7. Classical Swine Fever

8. Vesicular Stomatitis

9. African Horse Sickness

10. Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia

11. Highly pathogenic Avian Influenza

12. Lumpy skin disease

13. Newcastle disease

14. Peste des petits Ruminants

15. Sheep pox and Goat pox

16. Swine vesicular disease

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