EC approves €188 m to fight animal diseases
The European Commission has approved a financial package to fight animal diseases in the EU. The EU budget for 2005 will tackle transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), a family of diseases of humans and animals characterised by the spongy degeneration of the brain with severe and fatal neurological signs and symptoms, and a range of other animal infections that impact on animal and human health. Eighty-two programmes have been submitted to tackle 10 major animal diseases, with the EU contributing over €55 million.
A total of €188 million will be available of which €98,100,000 will be spent on the monitoring of BSE. All cattle for human consumption older than 30 months, all dead-on-farm cattle and emergency slaughtered cattle over 24 months and all suspect animals independent of their age have to be tested for BSE.
Another €34,775,000 will be spent on the eradication of brucellosis, which causes
Bovine tuberculosis is also known to be transmissible to humans, so significant sums will also be used to combat the remaining cases of this disease (€12,555,000). €4,080,000 will be spent to fight rabies, a highly fatal viral infection of the nervous system.
Scrapie eradication measures are in place, requiring the culling and genotyping of animals in infected flocks. This year, €32,775,000 is being dedicated to scrapie eradication programmes in sheep.
Each year the Commission adopts a list of programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases and for the control of zoonoses - diseases such as salmonella that are transmissible between animals and humans, particularly through food.
