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Dear reader,

Our conference on 28^th June 2006 attracted a wide ranging audience who heard presentations on the benefits of Innovation, Alliance Building and the Regulatory Framework. We were very pleased that Commissioner Kyprianou addressed our conference. Our key message was to highlight the important role that the animal health industry plays in society as exemplified by the need to control Avian Influenza in birds and so help to prevent the possible development of a human pandemic. More details follow below.

The European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health (ETPGAH) continues to develop. We are currently engaged in establishing four Co-ordination Groups to develop an Implementation Plan scheduled for completion by the end of November. The Plan will provide the detailed research or information gathering activities that need to be undertaken in order to deliver the recommendations contained in the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The current outbreak of bluetongue in the EU reinforces the value of the Technology Platform as bluetongue has already been identified as a priority disease where research is needed to develop a wider range of effective vaccines. The 61 recommendations in the SRA identify many other issues of equal importance where action is needed and where the potential benefits to animal welfare and society at large are very considerable.

Best regards,

Declan O’Brien
IFAH-Europe Managing Director

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IFAH-Europe’s annual conference: Innovation is vital for the animal health industry and good for society

IFAH-Europe’s annual conference "The Animal Health industry - an essential partner for Global Health", took place on Wednesday 28 June 2006 in Brussels. The conference stressed the benefits to society of innovation and animal health.

Over 130 participants from a wide range of animal health stakeholders such as the animal health industry, national, EU and international institutions, regulators, academia, the agricultural sector, the veterinary profession and the media attended the conference, which was opened by European Commissioner for Health & Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou.

The one-day event had a packed agenda and participants heard expert speakers from the industry, the EU institutions, international organisations and NGOs address different aspects of innovation in animal health. Presentations touched on the need for new medicines to fight zoonotic diseases, animal health in developing countries, ways of increasing regulatory efficiency and the work of the European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health (ETPGAH). Speakers mentioned the importance of constructive (“win win”) collaboration between different animal health stakeholders as essential to improving innovation in animal health, something that was strongly backed by IFAH-Europe President Brian Clark. Mr Clark also said that pushing animal health issues further up the political agenda should be the number one priority for all those involved in animal health.

A full report of the conference can be obtained from the Secretariat and is also available on the IFAH-Europe website :
http://www.ifaheurope.org/events/conference.htm

Innovation and development in animal health

At the IFAH-Europe annual conference, Dr Nimaya Mogga, a veterinarian working for the NGO “Vétérinaires sans frontières” (VSF) in southern Sudan spoke on the importance of innovation in helping to deliver vital animal health services on the ground in developing countries.

Dr Mogga presented the example of Rinderpest eradication in southern Sudan. Rinderpest is a viral disease affecting cattle which results in high mortality. Most cattle owners in southern Sudan are agropastoralists who live in remote areas with poor infrastructure and a harsh climate, and depend on their livestock for survival. In the past, many of them lost their entire herds in Rinderpest outbreaks, leading to serious hardship.

Rinderpest eradication is now close to being achieved in Southern Sudan thanks to a thermostable vaccine, which is able to be used in the prevailing conditions in which the agropastoralists live. The heat stable vaccine was developed as a joint effort between Tufts University (Massachusetts, USA) and the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) with funding provided by USAID. VSF and other NGOs were involved in the application of the vaccine in the field. Dr Mogga called for more investment in research and development to develop animal health products that can be used in challenging conditions and are affordable for developing countries.

For more information on the work of VSF, please see
http://www.vsf-belgium.org/home_2.html

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Northern Europe gets its first bluetongue outbreak

During the last few weeks, the viral disease bluetongue, which is transmitted through biting insects, was confirmed first in the Southern Netherlands (18 August), then in the North Rhein Westphalia region of Germany and the Belgian province of Liège (21 August) and subsequently in Brognon, in the French Ardennes (31 August). The variant of bluetongue identified in these outbreaks is a serotype 8, believed to be of sub-Saharan origin.

Until now, bluetongue has only been found in Southern Europe, for example in Spain and Italy. There is no treatment for bluetongue and no authorised vaccine for the serotype 8 variant exists in Europe.

For more information see:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/dyna/press_rel/press_rel_ah_diseases_en.cfm?searchstring=bluetongue

Commission releases final report on CAHP evaluation

The European Commission published the final report on the evaluation of the Community Animal Health Policy (CAHP) in late July. The evaluation, which was carried out by external consultants, is the precursor for a new CAHP.

The key findings of the evaluation were:

• Previous policy improvements were mainly as a result of responding to crises, future policy should therefore focus on effective risk management and disease prevention actions;
• As past activities consisted of interrelated actions rather than an overall strategy, it is necessary to develop a clear and transparent strategy accompanied by a communications strategy which improves stakeholder involvement;
• Future policy should ensure better consistency between animal health and welfare and international competitiveness;
• It is necessary to create a stronger culture of bio-security and the introduction of a harmonised framework for cost and responsibility sharing would help to achieve this.

To see the final report in full, please go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/strategy/final_report_en.htm

EU citizens unsure of the risks of on avian influenza

To find out what EU citizens know about avian influenza, the European Commission undertook a Eurobarometer survey of 25,000 people. The survey also looked at changes in consumer behaviour as a result of outbreaks. The study reveals that most EU citizens are well informed about avian influenza and have confidence in the ability of national authorities to deal with outbreaks. However, some of those questioned were unsure about the risks the disease poses e.g. they were not aware that properly cooked poultry meat and eggs pose no health risk.

To see the survey go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/com/Influenza/flu_specialeurobarometer.pdf

EU survey reveals European doubts about agricultural biotech

A Eurobarometer survey on attitudes towards life sciences and biotechnology shows that EU citizens are increasingly better informed about biotech, and have growing trust in it. However, there is a sharp contrast between opinion on industrial ("white") and medical ("red") biotechnology (nanotechnology, gene therapy and pharmaco-genetics), where strong support is expressed, and agricultural ("green") biotech, about which many people are still unsure, particularly on the issue of genetically modified food.

Interestingly, the report also compares EU and US public opinion, where it found striking differences; Europeans oppose GM food and in general support advances in medical biotech, while Americans accept green biotechnology but are wary of certain applications of medical biotechnology, like stem cell research.

To see the survey, please go to: http://www.ec.europa.eu/research/press/2006/pdf/pr1906_eb_64_3_final_report-may2006_en.pdf

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DEFRA announces tender for avian influenza vaccines

The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued tenders for 10 million doses of avian influenza vaccines on 11 July 2006. The vaccines are for use in poultry and other captive birds. The UK’s organisation for organic farming, the Soil association is very pleased with the announcement of this tender, as it has been asking the government to consider strategic use of avian influenza vaccination since December 2005.

For more information, please see:
http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/librarytitles/20CE2.HTMl
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2006/060711d.htm

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European approval for two new AI vaccines

In July 2006, the EMEA approved two new avian influenza (AI) vaccines. The vaccines, which are both for administration by injection are Intervet’s Nobilis Influenza H5N2 and Fort Dodge Animal Health’s Poulvac FluFend H5N3 RG. The Intervet vaccine is for use in chickens and the Fort Dodge vaccine for use in chickens and Peking ducks. The vaccines are authorised for immediate use in order to prepare for possible outbreaks of the virus during in autumn and winter 2006.

For more information, please see: :
http://www.emea.eu.int/pdfs/vet/press/pr/28184206en.pdf

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What is the OIE?

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE - Office Internationale des Epizooties) is an intergovernmental organisation founded by an international agreement in 1924. OIE Membership has grown over the years from the 28 countries that signed the original agreement to 167 member countries today. The organisation is headquartered in Paris and has a number of regional and sub-regional offices.

The OIE’s mandate is to “improve animal health worldwide” and its key objectives are:

1. To provide world zoosanitary information ;
2. To ensure international solidarity in control of animal diseases ;
3. To establish health standards for international trade ;
4. To provide a better guarantee of the safety of food of animal origin.

In order to achieve its objectives, the OIE carries out a wide range of activities including:

• Collecting and disseminating animal disease information received from Member countries to all other Member countries ;
• Collecting, analysing and disseminating important veterinary information ;
• Providing expertise and encouraging international solidarity in animal disease control ;
• Improving the legal framework and resources of national veterinary services ;
• Developing OIE standards and guidelines e.g. vaccination guidelines, the terrestrial animal health code.

The OIE consults relevant stakeholders in the elaboration of its policies and actions. These stakeholders include the governments of member countries, other international organisations such as the FAO and the WHO, academia, the animal health industry, and relevant NGOs. IFAH-Europe’s international sister association IFAH Global is an active OIE stakeholder.

For more information, please see:
http://www.oie.int/eng/en_index.htm

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• 18 September 2006, Agriculture Council, Brussels, Belgium
• 24-26 September 2006, Informal Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, Oulu, Finland
• 25 September 2006, Competitiveness Council, Brussels, Belgium
• 25-29 September 2006, 22nd conference of the OIE Regional Commission for Europe, Strasbourg, France
• 3 October 2006, TOPRA Annual Symposium “European veterinary Medicines - impact of new legislation”, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 26-27 October 2006, CIAA Annual Congress “Food for life – meeting consumer needs”, Brussels, Belgium
  

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