On behalf of the International Brucellosis Society, the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise (IZS-Teramo) organized the “Brucellosis 2022 International Conference,” including the 74th Annual Brucellosis Research Conference, which will be held in Giulianova, Teramo, Italy from September 16th to 19th, 2022. The IZS-Teramo is the WOAH Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis and National Reference Centre for Brucellosis. Proceedings and a set of short videos focusing on Brucellosis are available on the conference website.  

The EURL team prepared a set of videos describing the different phenotypical tests applied in bacteriology. These short videos present essential steps and tests, from treatment of samples to Brucella identification. These new pedagogical tools have been prepared within the EURL workprogramme and have been presented during our last training sessions. They may be helpful for NRLs to train new staff or to illustrate training sessions. Don't hesitate to contact us for additional details.

[relayed from Vet Record News, https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.00200006] A WOMAN has reportedly become the first person in the UK to contract Brucella canis, prompting vets to call for the introduction of mandatory pre-import testing of dogs for the disease.  Having contracted the disease from a Belarusian rescue dog she was fostering, the dog owner was also forced to euthanase all her family dogs following dog-dog transmission of the infection.  

Following the successful 13th edition of the Workshop for rabies in Warsaw, a satisfaction survey was sent to all attendees. The aim of this survey is to inquire about the level of satisfaction regarding the workshop, as well as other EURL activities. Preliminary results indicates a positive feedback of the National Reference Laboratories as ninety eight percent of their responses indicated “satisfactory“ and “quite satisfactory“ evaluations on the EURL activities. As we are always trying to improve our quality of service and because your opinion is important to us, do not hesitate to contact us for suggestions, ideas or comments about the EURL activities. To contact us, please write at rabies.eu-rl@anses.fr.   The full report is available for download in the restricted part of the website following this link : sitesv2.anses.fr/en/minisite/rabies/former-workshops-documents    

A call for registration to the inter-laboratory test for tetracycline determination will be send in September 2022 to NRLs from European Union and bordering countries implicated in oral vaccination programmes. The Panel will have to be tested in October 2022. Tetracycline is widely used as biomarker for rabies vaccine bait uptake evaluation. After its consumption, the antibiotic is incorporated into bones and teeth in vaccinated fox population. The goal of the ILT is to evaluate the laboratories capacities to detect the tetracycline in red fox teeth’s as well as the age category of foxes. A report on this trial should be issued in the end of 2022

The Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the United Kingdom are proud to announce that the first International Plant Health Conference (IPHC) will take place from 21 to 23 September 2022 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, United Kingdom.  As one of the main legacies of the International Year of Plant Health 2020, the Conference was originally planned to take place in 2020 and hosted by Finland, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   The Conference will convene countries from around the world to discuss global scientific, technical and regulatory issues related to plant health aiming to contribute to a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, amongst other objectives. This three-day event will take place in a hybrid mode. All IPHC sessions and side events are going to be streamed online but participants are also encouraged to take part to the event in person. The UK and DEFRA welcome and encourage the participation of the global plant health community to come together and discuss future challenges, including climate change, transboundary pests and the development and use of international standards and guidance   More information and application

GFRA Meeting will be in Kampala, Uganda from 8-10 November 2023. For more information, here is the link.

During two half days, the beautiful city of Warsaw welcomed the participants of the annual meeting organized by the EURL for rabies on 15 and 16 June 2022. This year’s edition was marked by the absolute pleasure of meeting back again and was home to very constructive exchanges on various rabies topics, as well as future collaborative works and exchanges. Additionally to the representative of the European Commission, Thierry Chalus, and representatives from  the World Organisation for Animal Health, (WOAH) (previously known as “OIE”) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EURL team was pleased to welcome Laurent Dacheux from the Pasteur institute of Paris. Presentations showcased during the workshop can be found on the EURL website via this link (for network members only). On a final note, The EURL team would like to warmly thank all the participants as well as all the individuals who contributed in way or another to the organization of this wonderful moment. See you next year for the 14th edition of the workshop for rabies.

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its second scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2020 and 2021. This study aimed at investigating the pertinence of different animal-based indicators (ABIs) for the assessment of broiler’s state of consciousness after waterbath stunning (WBS) before and during bleeding. This article named "Inter-Observer Repeatability of Indicators of Consciousness after Waterbath Stunning in Broiler Chickens" is available here.

Julien Parinet presented the work done in the framework of the ANR AlimOmic during the ALEXS Exposome Summer School, 2022 in Rennes from the 8th to 10th of June. It was a great opportunity to connect with the research community, to discuss various subjects and also strat new collaborations. https://www.irset.org/fr/evenements/alexs-2022-atlantic-exposome-summer-school