Rapports, Archives: 33rd session - Appendix 10
Report on the Commission's activities during 1997-1998
General
Europe benefited from a period of peace in respect of FMD since the end of 1996. The last outbreak was reported in October 1996 in Bulgaria and no outbreak was reported since then in Europe. During the period 1997-1998, the activities of the Commission were oriented towards Turkey and the Community of Independent States (CIS) and particularly the Caucasian countries.
The situation in Turkey showed limited improvement in 1997 and 1998. (see in item 4). 54 and 75 FMD outbreaks have been reported in 1997 and in 1998 respectively. As in previous years, a bivalent vaccine locally produced by the FMD Institute in ankara, was used to vaccinate preventively in Anatolia and in Thrace. The level of vaccination cover in Anatolia - including the strategic vaccination zone of western Anatolia - was insufficient to ensure real protection. During 1997 a number of meetings were held concerning implementation of disease control measures in Turkey. By the autumn of 1997 the EU and Turkey had agreed upon a three year jointly sponsored programme. The measures proposed under the programme concerned animal identification, road checks, market disinfection. The programme could not be fully implemented. A successful seminar on cattle identification with the participation of EuFMD, EC and European countries was held in 1997. Limited progress was made in respect of control over the movement of animals between zones. Occasional incursions of the virus into Western Anatolia was observed but not in Thrace thanks to the preventive vaccination re-established since January in 1997.
This period was also characterised by the identification in Iran of new variants of FMD virus of type A which was not covered by the vaccine strains currently available. The WRL warned in 1996 of the potential danger caused by the new type A isolated then only in Iran. The virus propagated to the west and was isolated in central Anatolia, Turkey in early 1998. The EuFMD Commission immediately informed the member countries of this new potential threat. Several meetings were organised between Turkey and European experts to decide the measures to be taken in Turkey to prevent the spread of the virus to the west and reduce the risk of its introduction into Europe. It was decided to vaccinate in Thrace with the homologous vaccine. An expert visited Iran and Turkey to advise the National Veterinary Institutes in Ankara and in Teheran on a strategy to combat this new strain. During the six first months of 1998, the new type A virus spread to western Anatolia close to Istanbul but since July 1998, no FMD A type virus was isolated in Turkey.
On behalf of the CIS, the Russian Federation informed OIE, EC and EuFMD of the deterioration of the situation of FMD in Caucassia and of the risk that the virus would spread to Russia and to Europe. The three organisations established a Tripartite group to deal with this situation. This Group held three meetings in 1998 (see item 5).
Specific Activities
1. The Executive Committee held three regular sessions, the 60th in Prague, Czech Republic, on 30 31 October 1997, the 61st in Antalya, Turkey, on 4-5 May 1998 and the 62nd Session in Lysebu, Norway on 26-27 November 1998. The reports of the Session - in English and in French - were circulated to all the member countries. The English version is available on the Web site.
2. The Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee of the Commission held two sessions in the 1997 1998 period. One organised by the Pasteur Institute Bucharest and restricted to members of the group was held at Poiana-Brasov, Romania, on 23 27 September 1997, while the other organised by the Institute for Animal Health Pirbright, was open to observers and was held at Aldershot, United Kingdom on 14 18 September 1998. The reports of the two sessions have been distributed, to the participants and to the FMD Institutes in Europe and elsewhere. The reports of the Research Group have also been made available online on the EuFMD website. The chairman of the Research Group also participated actively in most of the activities of the Commission i.e. internal or external meetings, field missions, etc. (see item 6)
3. The EuFMD/EC/OIE Tripartite Group for Balkan countries met three times during the two years to discuss the FMD situation with representatives of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey: On 20 November 1997 in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 6 May 1998 in Istanbul and 11 November 1998 in Rome, Italy. The latter meetings were essentially devoted to reviewing the situation in Turkey following the introduction of the new type A virus.
4. A new OIE/FAO-EuFMD/EC Tripartite Group for CIS was created to cope with the new situation in this region on the same principles as the first tripartite group. The new group met four times in 1998/1999: in Prague on 21 September 1998, in Vladimir, Russia on 24 November 1998, in OIE Paris, on 19 January 1999 and in Brussels on 23 February . The latter meeting was essentially devoted to reviewing the organisation of the expert missions to the Caucasus and to Vladimir to assess the situation and to make proposals.
5. The Secretariat of the Commission kept in close touch with other international organisations ( EC, OIE), with the member and non member countries of the Commission, especially those infected or threatened by the disease ( North African countries in 1999).
Missions to the countries concerned were undertaken by the Secretary and experts. These missions and visits were usually carried out jointly with those of the EU (see the section on missions below).
Bulletins providing information on the situation were faxed or e-mailed to all member countries whenever judged necessary ( new type A in Turkey in 1998, epidemic in North Africa in 1999. These bulletins were in general, distributed in the two languages of the Commission.
Collaboration with the World Reference Laboratory and National Laboratories
The Commission’s activities were made possible by the scientific and technical support of the World Reference Laboratory (WRL) of the Animal Health Institute at Pirbright (see Item 7). WRL experts took part in several of the activities of the Commission. The WRL isolated and characterised the strains responsible for the outbreaks over the world. Comparison of strains through nucleotide sequencing provided vital information on the epidemiology of both type-A and type-O outbreaks.
The Commission contributed financially to the WRL’s co-ordination and research activities and to the phase XV in the standardisation of laboratory tests for serological diagnosis of FMD.
The WRL also made a major contribution to the Commission’s activities through its technical and scientific support and assistance in training staff of national FMD Laboratories. Other institutes in Europe also contributed to the FMD diagnosis training activities that were organised by EuFMD in conjunction with other organisations: the Zooprophylactic Institute of Brescia, Italy; the Centro de Investigation in Sanidad Animal (CISA), Madrid, Spain; and the National Veterinary Research Institute, Pulawy, Poland.
A special mention must made of the National Veterinary Service and the National FMD laboratory of Greece which took the initiative and sponsored the organisation of a regional workshop on FMD diagnosis in Athens with the participation of experts from Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and from the WRL.
Missions
During the period under consideration, the following missions were undertaken by experts and the Secretary in connection with the Commission’s activities, the costs being met from the Commission’s trust funds.
Experts
Research Group
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Dr Kris De Clerq, represented the Commission, at the Meeting on Quality Assurance in Veterinary Laboratories held in Vienna on 2-4 February 1998
IZS Brescia
Dr Massimo Amadori participated in the following meetings in relation to the situation in the CIS countries:
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Moscow, Vladimir, preliminary meeting with OIE Regional Reference Laboratory 17/19 August 1998
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Prague, First Tripartite group meeting on CIS, 21-22 September 1998
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Second Tripartite Group Meeting with the CVOs of CIS, 24 November 1998
Private Experts
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Dr Anthony Garland: assessment of the situation in the FMD institutes in Iran, Teheran Razi Institute and Turkey Ankara Sap Institute, and preparation of a technical co-operation project , 18 June 1 July 1998.
Secretariat
1997
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Teramo, Italy, 16-17 January, meeting of the multicountry EC Phare programme
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OIE, Paris, 17-26 January meeting of the OIE’s FMD and Other Epizootics Commission.
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Brno, Czech Republic Seminar on Veterinary Biotechnology, 24-26 April
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Hannover, Germany,EC training course for diseases emergency, 19-22 May
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OIE, Paris, 65th General Session of the OIE 24May 01 June
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Ankara, Turkey, Meeting on FMD control in Turkey 10 -13 June
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Warsaw, Poland, Workshop on modern diagnosis of viral diseases 20-25June (paid by FAO)
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Congress of ISVEE, Paris,08 11 July ( paid by the secretary)
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Dubendorf, Switzerland, International training course on Risk Analysis and Animal Health,13-18 July ( paid by FAO)
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Poiana. Brasov, Romania, Meeting of the Research Group, 23-28 September (Secretary and Adm. Assistant)
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Brussels, EC, Meeting with Turkey 31 September and 1 October
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Sofia , Bulgaria, Tripartite Group meeting ,15 October
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Prague, Czech Republic, 60 th Session of the Executive Committee, 30-31 October (Secretary and Adm. Assistant)
1998
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Paris OIE, Paris, 24Jan - 01-Feb, meeting of the OIE’s FMD and Other Epizootics Commission.
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Brussels, Belgium 17-February, FAO Press Conference on Animal Disease in Brussels
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Pulawy, Poland, organisation of the EuFMD/EMPRES/EC regional workshop on contingency planning and emergency preparedness.16-20 March
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Istanbul, Turkey Seminar on Vaccinology 29 March - 01 April 98
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Antalya, Turkey 61 st Session of the Executive Committee 04 - 06-May-98 (Secretary and Adm. Assistant)
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Paris OIE, 66th General Session of the OIE 23 May 28 May,
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Thrace and Ankara, Turkey, joint EC / EuFMD mission on surveillance of the vaccination campaign in Thrace 23-28 August,
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Athens, Greece participate in the regional workshop for FMD diagnosis 01-03 Sep
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Pirbright, Research Group meeting in Aldershot 13-20 September ( Secretary, APO and Adm. Assistant)
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Prague, OIE Regional Commission for Europe, First Tripartite Group meeting on CIS, 20-24 September
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Paris OIE, joint meeting with EC and OIE on CIS countries , 13 November
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Vladimir, Russia Second Tripartite Group Meeting with the CVOs of CIS, 24 November
- Oslo, Lysebu, Norway, Sixty second Session of the Executive Committee 26-27 November (Secretary, APO and Adm. Assistant)
New Member Countries
No new country joined the Commission. Contacts were established with the following countries and information supplied: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Slovakia.
Other Training and Information Activities of the Commission
A Workshop on Contingency Planning and Emergency preparedness in case of an FMD outbreak was organised jointly by the Commission, the FAO EMPRES Programme EC and OIE, in Pulawy, Poland 28 May 3 June 1998, aimed at the countries of Central Europe and CIS.
Website on the Commission’s activities and other activities connected with FMD control and prevention in Europe has been produced in English. The first version appeared in January 1997. It was last updated in December 1998 when the reports of the most recent statutory meetings were made available A new version of the site is under construction and a French version will follow. A questionnaire was circulated to the member countries on their requirements for the new version of the website.