♦ 15 December 2010 ♦ Thirteen countries participated to the Inter-laboratory trial on tetracycline detection in red fox teeth. Results are currently under analysis.

♦ 25 October 2010 ♦ The third workshop of the Rabies EURL took place on 22 and 23 September 2010 in Nancy, France. 38 participants from 20 National Reference Laboratories of the European Union and two European organisations (the European Commission and EFSA) attended the meeting. On the agenda: statement on 2010 activities, work programme for 2011, Inter-laboratory tests, diagnosis harmonisation procedures and Member State presentations on topical rabies subjects. 23 September was spent visiting the new BSL3 building in Malzéville and the Atton experimental station of the Nancy Laboratory for Rabies and Wildlife.

♦ 03 June 2010 ♦ The Nancy laboratory for rabies and wildlife inaugurated its new, level 3 containment facility (including restricted and regulated access, facility maintained at negative pressure, total decontamination of liquid and airborne effluents, etc.) for the handling of Class 3 infectious agents. The laboratory now has a surface area of 450 m2, of which 333 m2 is for the level 3 containment area, comprising a laboratory area and animal housing. The building also has two floors for technical equipment necessary for maintaining containment. This new infrastructure will be shared by ANSES's hydrology laboratory, also located in Nancy, for its research on the microbiology of water. Additionally, this level 3 laboratory will give the opportunity to start new collaborations with LNRs. Get out more on ANSES website

♦ 03 June 2010 ♦ The 2010 inter-laboratory test was performed on a panel of 12 samples for the following techniques: FAT (Fluorescent Antibody Test) RTCIT (Rabies Tissue Culture Infection Test) RT-PCR techniques It was geared to detecting the different genotypes. This year, the test started in May. Results had to be sent to EURL in June 2010. As the deadline had to be adhered to, the applicants had to make sure they were technically able of performing the test before applying. The report should be available in autumn 2010. There was no technical questionnaire this year, but the EURL requested the participants to send an English version of their protocol. There were no registration or participation fees. The samples were sent free for Member states countries and at the participants' expense for third countries. Estimation could be provided on request. Applicants had to make sure that their administrative services agreed to pay this expense before applying. For countries needing an import permit, a licence for the importation of 12 freeze-dried brain samples that could contain a virus was requested from the relevant authorities.

♦ 04 September 2009 ♦ In 2009, two inter-laboratory trials on rabies diagnosis were organized by the EU Reference Laboratory. FAT, RTCIT and MIT An inter-laboratory trial on rabies diagnosis was conducted in 2009 by the EURL for Rabies. In addition to this test, a technical questionnaire was sent to each participant in order to compare the procedures used in the laboratories. The objective was to compare results between national reference laboratories and laboratories from third countries on the rabies diagnosis reference techniques: the Fluorescent Antibody Test (FAT) (Dean et al, 1996), the Rabies Tissue Culture Infection test (RTCIT) (Webster at al.,1996) and the Mouse Inoculation Test (MIT) (Koprowski, 1996). RT-PCR Another inter-laboratory trial was organised in 2009 by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Rabies on RT-PCR rabies diagnosis. The objective of this inter-laboratory trial was to compare results of laboratories on a same panel and to draw up an inventory of the techniques used.

♦ 18 November 2009 ♦ The triennial meeting of the Rabies Serology CRL took place on 18 November 2009 in Nancy (France). It brought together a total of 64 participants from 37 laboratories coming from 30 countries and two institutions (the European Commission and OIE). Discussions mainly focused on the benefits and disadvantages of the Platelia Rabies II kit (Bio-Rad) test for domestic carnivore serum sample analysis, as well as its alternatives. This meeting was organised following the Second Workshop for Rabies held the day before. Most of the participants attended both meetings. The objectives of this meeting were the following: to provide an opportunity for rabies scientists from approved rabies serology laboratories to get together to provide an opportunity for the participants to present rabies serology to collect information from the European Commission regarding the movements of pets within the European Union as well as the new procedure for laboratory approval

♦ 17 November 2009 ♦ The second workshop for rabies took place on 17 November 2009 in Nancy. Sixty-six participants from 37 laboratories coming from 32 countries, and three institutions including the European Commission and EFSA attended this event. The overall number of participants was higher than in 2008. This is mainly due to the fact that the triennial rabies serology meeting was planned the following day and that the majority of participants were attending both days. A breakdown of participants from EC National Reference Laboratories (NRL) shows that 41 participants came from 23 laboratories. Only four EC countries were excused, suggesting a substantial increase of EC NRL attendance compared to last year. For the second workshop for rabies, the European Member States were represented along with countries from all over the world. Although the meeting was more specifically dedicated to National Reference Laboratories, the participation of other laboratories was highly appreciated and discussions between participants were all the more fruitful overall. Discussions on work programme 2010, proficiency tests, sequence database and presentations by National Reference Laboratories were proof that rabies concerns remain. Nevertheless, there is a strong consciousness from all Member States that the disease can be efficiently controlled if concerted efforts are carried out.

Dear Colleagues, We have been facing a technical problem to access part of the files available on the website. This problem is now sorted out, you should now be able to access any file on the website. Remaining available for further information Best regards Adrien ASSERE

Maisons-Alfort, 2 and 3 October 2013