Workshop on vector-borne disease management held in the European Parliament
Together with Belgian MEP Benoît Cassart, our federation organised a workshop on vector-borne disease management on 11 December 2024. The sharp rise in BTV throughout the European Union, particularly serotypes 3 and 8, and the continuing advance of EHD in France are very worrying and demonstrate the need for better coordination at European level.
A difficult and heterogeneous context
The European regulatory framework adapted by the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council) has ‘downgraded’ BTV to a disease subject to voluntary eradication. Prior to these changes, the regulations provided for the application of emergency measures against this disease in the same way as for foot-and-mouth disease. This new classification is above all pragmatic. In a way, it is an admission of powerlessness in the face of diseases transmitted by vectors, culicoides, which are very present in large parts of the European Union. Henceforth, the main aim of the regulations is to reduce the risk of these diseases spreading by banning the movement of live animals from contaminated areas to disease-free Member States. However, certain derogations are possible, based in particular on vaccination if a vaccine is available. In practical terms, the objectives of disease control and management are therefore a matter for each Member State’s own choices, depending also on the orientation of its livestock sector.
These regulatory provisions, the climatic and geographical differences between Member States and the profile of these diseases have led to very different strategies within the EU in terms of:
- vector and disease surveillance
- vaccination (compulsory or not, subsidised or not),
- animal movements, both national and intra-Community,
- solidarity and compensation.
Faced with this situation, aggravated by the lack of availability of vaccines, FESASS has decided to work with its members, the competent authorities and stakeholders concerned, to prepare for future campaigns, particularly 2025. This will necessarily involve technical exchanges and seeking adaptations from both national authorities and European and international institutions (WHO).
The need for greater coordination for a long-term strategy
The aim of the workshop held at Parliament was therefore to take stock of three key issues: the health management of these vector-borne Culicoides diseases, the management of intra-Community movements of live animals in this epizootic context, and the availability of vaccines. After outlining the concerns and needs for coordination in the face of these two epizootics, Benoît Cassart gave the floor to Dr Francisco Reviriego Gordejo, Head of the European Commission’s Animal Health Unit. He outlined the epidemiological situation, the regulations in force and the work carried out by the Commission in a spirit of transparency and progress (see presentation).
Didier Delmotte, President of FESASS, and Stéphane Jeanne, First Vice-President of FESASS, then presented our federation’s vision of the health management of these diseases. They stressed the need for cooperation and coordination at European level between the competent authorities and stakeholders. They then detailed the FESASS proposals for more effective management of the disease, based on reinforced and targeted surveillance, mass vaccination and appropriate regionalisation (see presentation).
Dr Lianne van Dongen, Veterinary Director and representative of the UECBV, emphasised the scale and geographical extent of the deterioration in the epidemiological situation in 2024. She then detailed the consequences of these developments for the functioning of the Single Market in relation to the application of the requirements of the Animal Health Law. She then called for rapid changes to the regulations, with efforts to harmonise them in order to facilitate trade (see presentation).
Finally, Roxane Feller, Secretary General of AnimalhealthEurope, outlined the main vector-borne diseases present or threatening the EU, stressing that some of them can have serious zoonotic consequences. She showed that vaccination is an effective remedy against this type of disease, but that unfortunately we do not have vaccines for many of them or for some of their serotypes. She pointed out that the development of the vaccine against the BTV serotype 3 virus in just 8 months is an exception, as the usual process takes 10 to 15 years. She therefore made a number of proposals to enable new vaccines to be made available more quickly in the event of an outbreak (see presentation).
In the light of these presentations and the ensuing discussions, Benoît Cassart MEP concluded the workshop by stressing the need for effective Europe-wide harmonisation of strategies and requirements to deal with these diseases. He stressed the importance of vaccination, with the aim of restoring smoother intra-Community trade and proportionate health guarantees. He invited the participants to continue their efforts in this direction.