About 100 participants gathered at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in the framework of the Biosurveillance Network of the Silk Road. The following countries were represented: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Urkaine, Modavlie, Uzbekistan, Byelorussia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. It should be noted that this network has recently expanded to Bulgaria and Romania. The meeting is dedicated to the purpose of strengthening approaches, which are the basis for effective preparedness to prevent, respond and recover from communicable disease threats, within One health Approach.   The first day was focusing on the Economic burden of zoonotic diseases as wekk as Networking & regional collaboration. Economical references from recent "One Health" reports (such as World Bank, 2018) were presented together with results from the Network for the Evaluation of One Health.    The second day provided an update on the Epidemiology of different zoonoses in the BNSR countries, including data on brucellosis. Claire Ponsart animated the "Animal Health" session and was invited to give a presentation on "Brucella genus: a high genetic homology together with a wide host range".  The third day was dedicated to existing surveillance systems and the prevention of biological incidents, with the participation of INTERPOL and a representative of USEUCOM (US European Command).   A report of this mission will be published in the next EURL Newsletter.

[relayed from www.crawd.org] The 2019 International Brucellosis Society (Annual Brucellosis Research Conference) will be held Saturday, November 2 – Sunday, November 3, from 8am to 5pm, as a CRWAD satellite organization. Scheduled guest keynote speakers include Drs. Sergio Costa Oliveira and Elizabeth A. Rucks. For further information or an invitation, please contact Sue D. Hagius (shagius@agcenter.lsu.edu). Attendance requires a separate registration; abstract submission details are available from Sue.   Dates:   November 2-3, 2019   Venue:  Chicago Marriott, Downtown Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL   Abstract Submissions Deadlines: September 20, 2019   Conference Email:  shagius@agcenter.lsu.edu   CRWAD Website:  www.crwad.org   Conference Hotel Block:  https://crwad.org/crwad2019/hotel-reservations/     Looking forward to seeing you in Chicago! 

The 12th edition was very successful regrouping 41 participants and 33 countries at the Animal Health Laboratory, ANSES. For the first time, a representative from Serbia attended the workshop. Following the first session describing EURL activities, fruitful discussions were held on molecular approaches. Exchanges on Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) approaches were boosted by our invited speakers, Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon (DTU), Giuliano Garofolo (IZSAM) and Benjamin Felix (ANSES, EURL for Listeria) sharing their experience on WGS-based identification of bacteria. Oral communications related to characterization of Brucella strains were further presented by National Reference Laboratories of Croatia (Silvio Spicic) and United Kingdom (Roland Ashford). The second day was focusing on serological methods: Jiabo Ding (from the Institute of Veterinary Drug Control, China) and John Mc Given (APHA, UK) presented results of promising serological approaches aiming to differentiate vaccinated and infected animals. Finally, a representative of DG SANTE (Jostein Dragset) presented an update of delegated acts to be implemented in the framework of the Animal Health Law. Presentations will be soon available on the 2019 Workshop webpage. Thanks to all speakers and participants for their excellent contributions ! #EURL #WGS #Brucellosis #AHL #ANSES

In December 2018, the United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). This initiative, implemented by FAO and IPPC, have the intention of raising awareness that protecting plant health is crucial for environmental protection, economic development and reducing poverty and hunger. The IYPH focus is on preventing plant pests and diseases from spreading. To find out more about IYPH information, actions, messages, and events visit the official website www.ippc.int/en/iyph/ 

The EURL for fungi and oomycetes website is operative from 26th of September 2019. The aim of this website is to be a source or information for the general public, as well as the meeting point for all European National Reference Laboratories (EU NRLs) in mycology. For this, a common working space has been created, called 'NRLs Workspace', available for NRLs staff after registration on the website. To register to the website, please, send us an email with your request, indicating your NRL, and we will send you an activation key, needed to complete the formulary to open an account. The main services available through the website are: General information about EU regulations about plant health. EURL missions and work plan for the current working period. EU NRLs network and contact details. Information about past and future trainings and workshops organized by the EURL for fungi and oomycetes. Organization of proficiency tests. Access and registration to LEILA platform, a software to perform proficiency tests.  Information about the EURL fungal and oomycete collection and request of strains. EU quarantine fungal pathogens list. Link to EPPO and IPPC diagnostic protocols for the quarantine organisms listed by EU and in our work program. Lists of validated and approved reagents for diagnostic purposes. Diagnostic protocols, validated by the EURL.  EURL monthly newsletter addressed to NRLs, with information about EURL activities and updates on plant pathology (new research published, new protocols, ...). To contact us, we have a corporate email address, eurl-fungi@anses.fr, and a twitter account (@EURL_fungi).

Sevilla 19-21 October 2020 https://eavld2020.org/

On the 8th of August, ICA (Instituto Agropecuario Colombiano) has confirmed the presence of the devastating plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, tropical race 4 (Foc TR4, or recently renamed as F. odoratissimum), in two banana plantations in La Guajira, Colombia. Strong quarantine and contingency measures were taken when the presence of the pathogen was suspected early this summer, and after the confirmation, the state of emergency has been declared in the country. This is the first report of the disease in South America, one of the most important banana producer regions worldwide, where the industry is key to their economy.   Further details in the links below: ICA (in Spanish): https://www.ica.gov.co/noticias/ica-amplia-y-refuerza-las-medidas-que-ya-venia-im Science (in English): https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/colombia-confirms-dreaded-fungus-has-hit-its-banana-plantations  

The inter-laboratory tests (ILTs) organised by Anses are now managed through an online tool: LEILA, accessible via the following link: https://leila.anses.fr.   LEILA enables to consult the list of the Anses ILTs (organised in the past, in progress, or open for registration). For more information about LEILA use and the creation of your laboratory account, please consult the user manual (start at page 40 for the English version).

For decades, invasions of alien species into a new territory have invariably altered the balance of natural ecosystems and have had serious repercussions on areas of economic and social importance. National Plant Health Services first goal is to prevent the introduction and spread on the EU territory of potential harmful species, putting in place official measures immediately after the discovery of the pest within their borders. Therefore, being able to rely on the competences of Laboratories well trained for a prompt identification, is of paramount importance. On 1st of August 2019, the European Reference Laboratory for Insects and Mites (EURL for Insects and Mites) officially opens its doors and starts its activities. Designated under the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/530 of 27 March 2019, the EURL is composed by two partners: the Entomology and Invasive Plants Unit of ANSES Plant Health Laboratory (Montpellier, France) and the Department for Molecular Diagnostics of Plant Diseases of the AGES (Vienna, Austria). This consortium has been defined in such a way as to unite the broad knowledge of ANSES in the morphological identification of plant pests together with the diagnostic expertise of AGES in the molecular field. The main objective of the EURL-Insects and Mites is to coordinate the network of EU National Reference Laboratories (EU NRLs) to ensure accurate identification of regulated or invasive insect and mite species. In this frame, the work programme will include a number of activities and services aimed to the EU  NRLs, i.e.: ► Provision of guidance on methods of laboratory analysis, including validated reference methods; ► Provision of reference materials; ► Organisation of annual proficiency tests; ► Organisation of annual training sessions and workshops; ► Sharing of information and news, recent publications and forthcoming events; ► Provision of confirmatory identification of specimens. All this in order to improve the quality of the diagnosis and harmonise the diagnostic procedures at European level. A questionnaire will soon be presented to all EU NRLs in order to collect information on their expertise, facilities and available staff and their expectations for future EURL activities, such as their technical and scientific support needs. The EURL requests the kind cooperation of all EU NRLs to provide this important information. The EURL for Insects and Mites is pleased to welcome you, wishing the full cooperation of all EU NRLs in building a network at European level, able to meet the challenges that the diagnostics in the field of entomology will present in the years to come.

In 2018 the United Nations declared 2020 as the International Year for Plant Health (IYPH). The main aim of this initiative, lead by FAO and IPPC, is to raise awareness of the effects of plant health in poverty, hunger, as well as in environment protection and economic development. Seven key messages are the base of the IYPH initiative. Participation is open to all types of public with the organization of different activities, like a photo contest, different events at national and international level, featuring stories, activity books for children,... For more information and materials, visit the official website: www.ippc.int/en/iyph/