For your information, the EURL team prepared all materials / documents to launch the ILPT in 2017, November. Since 5 weeks, the EURL team is waiting for transport authorisations, which have to be delivered by ANSM (National Agency for drug security). Usually, such authorisations are delivered within 2-3 weeks. However, according to ANSM, some additional verifications were requested, thus leading to a slippage in the timetable. We apologize for this unforeseen delay that is beyond our control. As a consequence, we are obliged to wait before shipping the strain panel and reagents (phages / sera...) and to postpone the launch of ILPT in 2018. We will let you know as soon as we receive some additional information from ANSM. Meanwhile, we wish you a happy Holiday season, with best wishes for a 2018 full of opportunities and common projects on Brucella !    

The European Union summary report on trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in 2016 was published on 12 December 2017. Here is the paragraphe on Listeria of the annoucement page entitled "Salmonella cases no longer falling in the EU" Listeria infections, which are generally more severe, led to hospitalisation in 97% of reported cases. In 2016, listeriosis continued to rise, with 2,536 cases (a 9.3% increase) and 247 deaths reported. Most deaths occur in people aged over 64 (fatality rate of 18.9%). People over 84 are particularly at risk (fatality rate of 26.1%). Listeriaseldom exceeded legal safety limits in ready-to-eat foods.  

♦ 14 December 2017 ♦ Season’s greetings and warm winter wishes for the holiday season. May every happiness be yours throughout the coming year.

In a context of (re)emerging infectious diseases with wildlife reservoirs, understanding how animal ecology shapes epidemiology is a key issue, particularly in wild ungulates that share pathogens with domestic herbivores and have similar food requirements. For the first time in Europe, brucellosis (Brucella melitensis), a virulent zoonosis, persisted in an Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) population and was transmitted to cattle and humans. To better understand disease dynamics, we investigated the relationships between the spatial ecology of ibex and the epidemiology of brucellosis. Combining home range overlap between 37 GPS-collared individuals and visual observations of 148 visually-marked individuals monitored during the 2013–2016 period, we showed that females were spatially segregated in at least 4 units all year round, whereas males were more prone to move between female units, in particular during the rutting period. In addition to ibex age, the spatial structure in females largely contributed to variation in seroprevalence in the whole population. These results suggest that non-sexual routes are the most likely pathways of intraspecific transmission, crucial information for management. Accounting for wildlife spatial ecology was hence decisive in improving our ability to better understand this health challenge involving a wildlife reservoir.

Ovine epididymitis (Brucella ovis) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of ovine epididymitis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of ovine epididymitis according to disease prevention and control rules as in Annex IV and Article 8 on the list of animal species related to ovine epididymitis. The assessment has been performed following a methodology composed of information collection and compilation, expert judgement on each criterion at individual and, if no consensus was reached before, also at collective level. The output is composed of the categorical answer, and for the questions where no consensus was reached, the different supporting views are reported.

The infection with Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of the infection with B. abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of the infection with B. abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis according to disease prevention and control rules as in Annex IV and Article 8 on the list of animal species related to the infection with B. abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis. The assessment has been performed following a methodology composed of information collection and compilation, expert judgement on each criterion at individual and, if no consensus was reached before, also at collective level. The output is composed of the categorical answer, and for the questions where no consensus was reached, the different supporting views are reported.

♦ 23 November 2017 ♦ Seventy-two out of the eighty-one participating laboratories successfully passed the 2017 rabies serology inter-laboratory test. Congratulation to all of them! As usual, a link to a satisfaction questionnaire has been sent to the participating laboratories for quality assurance matters. The list of the laboratories authorised to carry out the serological tests to monitor the effectiveness of the anti-rabies vaccination is available at the bottom of the “Approved rabies serology laboratories” page of the ec.europa.eu website: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement/approved-labs_en.  

♦ 18 October 2017 ♦ [Relayed from www.who.int] “On 18 October 2017, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization approved all of the recommendations proposed by the SAGE working group on rabies, as an update to the current WHO position paper on rabies immunization based on new evidence and experience in programme implementation. SAGE guides progress on global strategies and policies regarding vaccine-preventable diseases. A SAGE rabies working group was established in July 2016 to review new evidence that would merit updating of the 2010 WHO position paper on rabies vaccines. The working group conducted systematic reviews of published and unpublished literature, and assembled data and programme experience from countries to review options for pre-exposure and post-exposure immunization". […] (Read full article on www.who.int…)  

♦ 25-26 September 2017 ♦ [Relayed from www.rr-africa.oie.int] On September 25 and 26, 2017, the OIE Sub-Regional Representation for North Africa organised a “Workshop on the Rabies National Control Programme of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture: feedback from the field, state of play and ways of improvement", held in Tunis, Tunisia, in collaboration with the Tunisian Veterinary Services (Directorate-General of Veterinary Services). The workshop, funded by the European Union, represented by the European Commission and the European Parliament, as part of the project to Strengthen Veterinary Services in Developing Countries (SVSDC), was aimed at the decentralised offices of the Ministry of Agriculture involved in the fight against rabies. […] (Read full article on rr-africa.oie.int…)  

♦ 02 October 2017 ♦ Further to the call for registration for the inter-laboratory test for tetracycline determination 2017, 13 NRLs volunteered to perform the test. The samples were sent to participants on 2 October 2017 under dry ice. Each panel is composed of several positive or negative red fox jaws for tetracycline, an acknowledgment form and a result form. The acknowledgement and result forms are expected back to the EURL by 30 October 2017 at the latest. As usual, a technical questionnaire related to the technique used has to be online answered.