[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, their ability to cause disease, and whether countermeasures or treatments are available. As outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill, the agency will also evaluate potential select agents based on whether inclusion on the list would have a substantial negative impact on the research and development of solutions for the animal or plant disease caused by the agent or toxin. Agents on the select agents list and are subject to strong regulations on use and movement in order to protect the American public and agriculture.  APHIS is seeking public feedback on the current list, and whether any updates are appropriate.  Specifically, APHIS would like input on the following select agents, which we are considering removing from the list: Peronosclerospora philippinensis (Peronosclerospora sacchari) African horse sickness virus Bacillus anthracis (Pasteur strain) Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, and Brucella melitensis; and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus.  In the Federal Register posting, APHIS provides background on each of these select agents and the reason(s) they might be appropriate to remove from the list. To view this information and provide comment, visit http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2019-0018.  After a 60-day public comment period, all feedback will be shared with APHIS’s working groups to consider during the review process. After completing the review, APHIS will either republish the list or propose changes through the rulemaking process.

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. Work is ongoing !

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. This training session followed a first mission carried out by C. Ponsart and G. Girault, in January 2020 at LCVD. This kick-off meeting aimed at making an inventory of diagnostic skills, as well as quality and biosafety management systems. Other activities are planned for 2020 in this context (participation to PTs, continued transfer of skills). The exemplary implication of the whole ANSES team for this ongoing project must be underlined. The collaboration with LCVD will give our EURL team the opportunity to better understand other epidemiological contexts, thus strengthening our training experience and skills.

At the beginning of the 2020 academic year (October and November) 2 PhD students were recruited. Yassine Makni and Yoann Devriendt-Renault from the Master Omic of the Université Paris-Est Créteil have been recruited for the AlimOmic and Food-Processing&Chlordecone Ph.D thesis, respectively.

The first EURL workshop scheduled on the 19th of March 2020 has been postponed to the second half of the year due to the coronavirus. The workshop has been rescheduled on the 20th of October 2020.  In order to assure all participants' safety and avoid any travel risks, the EURL workshop will be celebrated by videoconference.   We hope to see you all behind the screen! 

Message from our Italian colleague of the EURL E. coli ------------------------ Dear Colleague, I’m sure you all know about the situation in Italy with respect to the number of cases of COVID-19 infections, and the recent news of the spreading of cases to other European countries also adds to the  general uncertainty. Actually, at the moment, Rome is not concerned by the public health emergency, but the situation is fluid and we cannot predict what will happen by March the 10th. Additionally, following the feedback from many registered participants who are afraid to travel to Italy for the coronavirus and others who are afraid to travel anywhere due to the problems they may incur while traveling (queues, flight cancelled etc…), we took the decision of postponing the event in another date, most probably after the summer break, when the backlashes of the actual crisis will presumably be over. Such a decision has been made also following the guidance of the health Authorities. I’m really sorry for this, but we feel that the best choice is not to expose people, if not to the possibility to get infected with the COVID-19, but to be subjected to heavy difficulties while traveling to Rome. As said, the conference will be moved after the summer break. The exact date will be notified to you all soon. The registration already done for the event on March the 10th will not be maintained and you should re-register online. A link for the new registration to the conference will be published as the date will be disclosed. I’m really sorry for this and hope you will be still eager to participate to the postponed conference With my best regards Stefano Morabito Director, European Reference Laboratory for E. coli Director, Microbiological food safety and food-borne diseases Unit Food safety, nutrition and Veterinary Public Health Department Istituto Superiore di Sanità Viale Regina Elena 299 00161 Rome, Italy Tel. 00390649903081 Mobile 00393294626848 Fax 0390649387101  

EPIZONE Meeting is postponed : 14th Annual Meeting of EPIZONE from will be in Ghent, Belgium from 15-17 September 2021. https://www.epizone-eu.net/en/Home/show/14th-EPIZONE-AM-has-been-postponed.htm  

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 !

Identification of Aethina tumida, the Small Hive Beetle, by morphological examination and PCR Aims: To evaluate the conformity of the results obtained by the European Union (EU) National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for the identification of Aethina tumida by morphological examination and PCR. Requirements for participation: NRLs from EU Member States and NRLs from third countries (depending on the feasibility). Inter-laboratory comparative test (ILCT) methods: Morphological examination only. Or morphological examination and PCR. Matrix: Entomological specimens stored at room temperature in ethanol 70%. Provisional Agenda: Registration: February 2020 ILCT period: April 2020   Note: Proficiency tests organised by the EURL are mainly intended for the NRLs and the Official Laboratories of the EU. If other laboratories are interested in participating, please contact the EURL (eurl.bee@anses.fr) for more information.    Another ILPT will be organised on virology later at the end of the year

[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 recent years, the proportion of brucellosis‐positive cattle herds, sheep flocks and goat herds in not officially free regions in Italy and Portugal decreased. In Spain and Croatia, eradication of brucellosis in cattle, sheep and goats is within reach with almost no positive herds reported for these last years. Brucellosis in cattle and in sheep and goats is still endemic in southern regions in Italy with the highest prevalence in Sicily and in Greece and Portugal. Greece reported the highest notification rate of confirmed cases in humans, 10 times higher than the EU average, while at the same time reporting an enzootic situation in animals: 1% infected cattle herds and 3% infected sheep and goats herds on the Greek islands whereas from Continental Greece data were lacking. Brucellosis is still an animal health problem with public health relevance in southern Europe/in countries that are not officially free of brucellosis.