Quarterly news, views and activities from the European animal health industry I January 2008
 


Message from the Managing Director

News from IFAH-Europe

Latest EU News & Developments


Animal Health Explained

Calendar of events
 

Dear Reader,

At a time when concerns are growing in the European Union about bluetongue, our federation is more than ever committed to ensuring the health and welfare of animals for the good of society at large. IFAH-Europe has closed the year bringing the importance of animal health centre stage on the European scene through various events and initiatives.

First, IFAH-Europe presented the Action Plan of the European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health to European Commissioner for Research Janez Potočnik in mid-November. The ETPGAH Action Plan is providing a better framework within which we can develop solutions for existing diseases and can prepare more effectively for new ones. Commissioner Potočnik praised the animal health sector for fostering the necessary cooperation between key stakeholders in animal health on the EU as well as the national level.

Another opportunity for IFAH-Europe to reaffirm its attention to the health and welfare of companion animals was the European Pet Night. Those of you who were able to attend told us how much you valued this event dedicated to the role of pets in society. We are delighted to announce that European Pet night will become an annual feature, and look forward to broadening our audience for the next Brussels pet event.

IFAH-Europe also welcomes the publication of the new community animal health strategy by DG SANCO, an initiative which recognises the key importance of integrating animal health into the broader European policy framework.

May I thank you all for the fruitful collaboration in 2007 and, in the name of the IFAH-Europe team, wish you a prosperous New Year.

Best regards,

Declan O' Brien
Managing Director
IFAH-Europe

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Commissioner Potocnik

European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik welcomed the launch of the Action Plan as the third phase of the European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health (ETPGAH) on 14 November 2007. After the “Vision 2015” and the “Strategic Research Agenda”, the Action Plan marks the point in time where the ETPGAH enters into its implementation phase to develop medicines for current and emerging animal diseases.

With increasing trade, movement of people and the influence of climate change new diseases are arriving in Europe. Avian influenza and bluetongue are recent examples of this development. The European Union needs to develop a stronger framework for animal health research to be able to respond rapidly to the threat of these new animal diseases.
 
The Action Plan reflects the views of a wide range of stakeholders including the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), national governments, academia, veterinarians, farmers and the animal health industry. It sets out a list of measures to ease and speed the development of tools to control major animal diseases. It also proposes key areas for EU funding for animal health research in the next ten years to help prevent and treat diseases for which no product is currently available.

European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: “The European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health constitutes an excellent forum for discussion of research in this field. The Action Plan will be a very valuable document for setting priorities not only for European research programmes but also for national authorities and industry.”

Please visit the ETPGAH website for further information:
http://www.ifaheurope.org/EUPlatform/Platform.htm

Several pictures of the presentation have also been published on the personal web page of Commissioner Potocnik:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/potocnik/pict_gallery/pict_gallery_en.htm

European Pet Night 2007 to become an annual event

A broad variety of organisations representing the animal welfare and animal health sectors gathered in Brussels on 21 November for European Pet Night 2007. MEPs Neil Parish (UK) and Paulo Casaca (PT), as current and former chair of the Parliamentary Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals, were the hosts of this unique reception that gathered policy-makers, civil society and companion animals.

The success of European Pet Night 2007 highlighted the keen interest of politicians, interest groups and citizens in the animal cause. It also highlighted the need for the Brussels European quarter to establish a regular event to heighten public awareness of animal welfare and on the important role animals play in society while allowing politicians to have a genuine exchange of views with the animal health stakeholders.

All attendees expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the event and wished to see it being resumed in the future. Declan O'Brien, Managing Director of IFAH-Europe, has announced that European Pet Night will become a regular feature of the Brussels calendar and should take place again in early 2009 with the support of its host MEPs.

More information and pictures of the event can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.ifaheurope.org/events/european_pet_night_2007.htm

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DG SANCO “Future Challenges” document: foreseeing the needs of European consumers

The European Commission Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection (“SANCO”) published its 'Future Challenges paper: 2009-2014' in September 2007. The document is conceived as a draft vision of the main challenges that DG SANCO will be facing during the lifespan of the next Commission.

DG SANCO is adopting a pro-active approach to the environment in which it operates by seeking to identify how it will evolve in the coming 10 to 20 years (consumers’ attitude, new technologies). The Directorate General wants to prepare itself by analysing the impact of different future scenarios on its activities and policy.

The result of this analysis is the “Future Challenges” paper that gathers the views of many SANCO officials and a number of external experts. It is now being widely circulated to external parties to comment on, improve and finally develop a common understanding of DG SANCO's vision for the future.

A consultation has remained open until the end of December 2007 to which IFAH-Europe has replied. Many of the challenges described in the paper are indeed related to animal health. IFAH-Europe wants to work with the European Commission to ensure that animal health is taken into consideration when preparing for future challenges. It is important, in new context of globalisation, intensified trade and emerging diseases, to develop policies that can respond to the threat of animal diseases. IFAH-Europe is therefore looking forward to providing its input to this debate and welcomes this opportunity to share its views with the European Commission. By helping to fight animal diseases, our federation is proud to contribute to a greater level of safety for European consumers.

Read more about the Future Challenges Paper: 2009-2014 on DG SANCO website:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/events/future_challenges_en.htm

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Bluetongue

Bluetongue (or “catarrhal fever”) is a viral disease that strikes ruminants, mostly sheep or cattle. Bluetongue is not transmitted to humans and cannot be transmitted directly between animals. It is a so-called “insect-borne disease”, spread by tiny blood-eating flies called midges.

Bluetongue has been observed in areas where its transmitting midges live: Africa, the US, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. However, the occurrence of bluetongue in the European Union has considerably evolved in the last years, with incursions of serotype 8 (one of the types of the virus) into areas of the EU which were not considered at risk of the disease and serotype 1 (another type of the virus) striking the south of Europe, where other serotypes are already established. Vaccination is one of the veterinary measures that can be implemented in an infected territory to limit the effects of bluetongue. Vaccination is at this point not available against all bluetongue serotypes and new vaccines must be developed to respond to the new epidemics.

Bluetongue outbreaks may cause severe illness and suffering with up to 35% of affected sheep dying. Cattle productivity may be severely affected.

DG SANCO resource page on bluetongue offers updated information on the management of the epidemic across the European Union.
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/bluetongue_en.htm

The World Animal Health Organisation, OIE, also has a page dedicated to the scientific aspects of the disease: http://www.oie.int/eng/maladies/fiches/a_A090.htm

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