Foot-and-mouth disease is an extremely contagious disease of livestock that requires special attention from health authorities. Being a major pathology, it can indeed seriously affect the production and international trade of foodstuffs of animal origin, as well as food security and economic development at local and global levels.
A new European Union Reference Laboratory for foot-and-mouth disease
ANSES, via its Animal Health Laboratory in Maisons-Alfort, in association with the Belgian Veterinary and Agrochemical Study and Research Center (CERVA), has just been designated European Union Reference Laboratory (LRUE) for foot-and-mouth disease. The Franco-Belgian consortium was selected following a call for applications launched by the European Commission in May 2017. The implementation of this new European reference mandate should begin on 1is January 2019, to take over from the Pirbright Institute in the UK which currently holds it.
By granting ANSES and CERVA the status of European Union Reference Laboratory, the European Commission salutes not only the work and the scientific influence of the two organizations at European and international level, but also their coordinated mobilization in the face of major sanitary facilities.
ANSES and CERVA long-time partners
Linked by a collaboration agreement since 2009, also recently renewed, the two organizations have joined forces on many occasions in recent years, particularly in the context of joint participation in research projects in animal health and food safety. . For some time now, ANSES and CERVA have been collaborating in the areas of diagnosis and reference activities, both in terms of pathogens responsible for epizootics and zoonoses and chemical agents liable to contaminate the food chain.
Associated with the Med-Vet-Net network, the European network on foodborne zoonoses, CERVA is also a partner in the European “One Health” research project coordinated by ANSES. This project will start in January 2018 and will focus on foodborne zoonoses, antibiotic resistance and emerging infectious disease risks. Finally, CERVA is associated with the editorial committee ofEuroreferencethe European reference magazine piloted by ANSES, and now co-produced by 18 European organisations.
