Sept 29 2006: Warmwell has been asked by John Bashiruddin at Pirbright if we could post the following Disease Control Workshop Recommendations (below) on warmwell while the EU-funded FMD & CSF Coordination Action website is temporarily out of action. A covering message for people to go to warmwell for the latest CA information will be posted there.
"Disease Control Workshop: Stakeholders' Interests in the use of Science/Technology and Decision Making"
was held on 12 May 2006 by the EU-funded FMD & CSF Coordination Action ( see http://www.fmd-and-csf-action.org/ ) at the Institute of Animal Health - Pirbright.The participants included representatives from the
NFU, BVA, RCVS, RVC, VLA, Elm Farm Research Centre, COPA-COGECA, European Livestock Alliance, NBvH (Dutch Smallholders Association), European Livestock and Meat Trading Union, Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, Defra, SVS-Scotland, and the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture.
Discussion focused on(a) the use of diagnostic tests;
(b) control measures; and
(c) stakeholders' involvement in disease control.Specific (draft) recommendations:
1. Rapid portable diagnostic tests that are currently available should be used as part of a surveillance programme, especially at sites where there is a greater risk of exposure/spread such as markets and shows, and should be included in contingency plans to avoid slaughter of uninfected animals and to facilitate rapid and appropriate movement restrictions.
Comments are welcome on the CA Forum and information pages will soon be available.2. Consideration should be given to removing the monopoly of reference labs on the deployment of diagnostic tests. Other entities, such as regional veterinary services, veterinary practices, quarantine facilities, and ports of entry, should be accredited by the reference labs to use approved diagnostic devices according to standards and quality control subject to agreed inspection regimes. Confirmation of an initial positive and identification of serotype and sequencing for vaccine production should remain under the sole jurisdiction of the reference labs.
3. To overcome potential problems of the disinfection of portable diagnostic devices when used on-farm, samples can be taken by one person and the device be operated at the farm gate by another person. Such procedures should be incorporated in contingency plans and refined through emergency exercises.
4. Greater use should be made of multiple surveillance tools, including the use of sentinels. Such tools should be incorporated in contingency plans and refined through emergency exercises. Conversely, no one tool should be excluded because it is considered insufficient on its own or not as good as other tools that are being developed.
5. Vaccination to live is a strategy that must be prepared for in advance and requires availability of vaccine and reagent banks. To overcome problems of limited shelf-life, consideration should be given to rotate such banks so that, in a timely manner, vaccines and reagents could be made available to developing countries where disease is endemic.
6. Government should be more transparent and inclusive in its consultations and responses to diverse needs of stakeholders. The goals of disease control are fundamental to specific strategies. Mass slaughter, as a response to disease, can be avoided if the goal is optimisation of animal health and food production. The international Animal Health Foresight Project, to which we believe the UK was a participant, is an example (see www.usaha.org/committees/aem/presentations2005/CarolTuszynski_AnimalHealthForesightProject.ppt ). Obstacles can be overcome, given the will.
7. New mechanisms for disease control that include cost sharing with the livestock industry and other industries involved in disease should be examined. The paper by Roger Breeze makes useful and important points (see http://www.fmd-and-csf-action.org/forums/fmdv/). Small-scale livestock units must also be represented. Possible mechanisms include national animal health associations, a European Animal Health Association, and/or certified production standards which would be determined and monitored democratically by a Livestock Stewardship Council.
Expressions of interest in participating in the CA's large stakeholders meeting to be held next year should be sent to mary.marshall@bbsrc.ac.uk and/or john.bashiruddin@bbsrc.ac.uk.
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