[relayed from USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service] The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is conducting its biennial review of the select agents and toxins registration list.  The Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 requires the evaluation every two years of all potential animal or plant select agents based on their effects on health, production and marketability of the animals or plants,...

During last weeks, the EURL team prepared actively a large-scale multicentric comparison of porcine ELISA kits involving 25 participating laboratories and 5 different kits. Shipments have been performed this week, with following key figures: - 1030 mL of porcine sera ; - 3432 aliquots prepared, labeled and sorted before shipment ;  - 4 panels of 20 aliquots per lab. Homogeneity of panels as well as stability conditions will be tested by the EURL team....

During the last week of February, the OIE-EU-FAO Reference Laboratory for brucellosis welcomed at ANSES two trainees from the Central Veterinary Laboratory of Conakry (LCVD, Guinea) for one-week training in brucellosis serology and molecular biology. Our administrative (MF. Devaux), technical (M. Ribeiro, F. Petot-Bottin, L. Perrot) and scientific (A. Ferreira-Vicente, L. Freddi; G. Girault, C. Ponsart) team is mobilized for the success of this 2-year twinning project supported by OIE....

Save the date : Italy, 27 September -3 October 2021 2020, back to Chicago ? The planned dates for CRWAD this year are the first weekend of December, so the meeting 2020 may be organised in Chicago, 5-6 December.  We will keep you informed !

[relayed from EFSA & ECDC]  In 2018, 358 confirmed brucellosis cases in humans were reported in the EU. The EU notification rate was 0.08 cases per 100,000 population, which was the lowest notification rate reported since the beginning of the EU‐level surveillance. Compared with 2017, the total number of Brucella‐positive or ‐infected cattle herds, sheep flocks and goat herds in the not officially free regions further decreased by 13% and by 12%, respectively. During...

[relayed from Animals, 9(11), 922]  Even if it is an important achievement from a biodiversity conservation perspective, the documented increase in abundance of the four native European wild Caprinae (Rupicapra rupicapra, R. pyrenaica, Capra ibex, C. pyrenaica) can also be a matter of concern, since tighter and more frequent contact with sympatric livestock implies a greater risk of transmission of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.   This article reviews the...

From the 12th to th 14th of November, the EURL Brucellosis team went to the National Veterinary Laboratory in Malta to provide a practical training session. This lab is nominated NRL for Brucellosis for Malta and is ISO 17025 accredited. The NRL aims to include the main serological methods for Brucellosis diagnosis in their accreditation scope by the end of 2019.   Acacia Ferreira Vicente (Project manager- EURL Brucellosis team) and...

The International Brucellosis Society organized its annual 2-day conference  in Chicago on November 2 and 3, 2019, bringing together 120 participants from 27 countries and including 18 students. In total, the conference counted 33 oral communications and 21 posters. The European and French teams were well represented with 12 oral presentations and 2 posters. The program scanned the different aspects of the research, including cellular interactions between Brucella and host cells (...

[relayed from @OIE Animal Health] #OIEInternationalStandrads are at disposal of #OIE Member Countries to build resilient animal health systems and support them in the challenges faced in terms of on #animalhealth and #animalwelfare.   The OIE develops and revises OIE International Standards which contribute to: - improving animal health and welfare, as well as human health - improving the economic and social well-being of populations - ensuring fair and balanced trade These...

The EURL team organised the second 2019 training session on the 3rd and 4th of October at ANSES. This 2-day training session focused on control of ELISAs and Rose Bengale (RB) antigens and regrouped eight participants from Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands.    During the practical training, a successful control was performed for one serum ELISA kit and two Rose Bengale antigens. It was a good opportunity to...