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Veterinary Week 2010 - Save the date!
In June 2010, the European Commission's Directorate-General for
Health and Consumers will organise the third edition of the EU Veterinary
Week (14 to 20 June). The concept of an EU Veterinary Week was created
in collaboration with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe
(FVE) to highlight the important role played by EU veterinarians.
The EU Veterinary Week 2010 will be launched in Brussels by a conference
on 14 and 15 June entitled "Identification and traceability
along the food chain". Similar events were organised in
2008 and 2009 with 'biosecurity' and 'One health' as their overarching
themes. More details can be found at the following websites: www.one-health.eu
and DG
Sanco website.
It is envisaged that the conference will be attended by about 400
participants including Chief Veterinary Officers from EU Members
States, Members of the European Parliament, representatives from
veterinary associations, from the EU Veterinary faculties and from
third countries. In addition, farming associations, consumer groups
and other stakeholders will also be represented.
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Influenza conference 30 October 2009 Brussels
Within the framework of the 'EU Veterinary week 2009' an Influenza
conference took place on Friday 30 October 2009 in Brussels.
The conference was organised by the European Commission (DG Health
and Consumers) on the interface of human and animal health, promoting
the "One Health" concept. The recent occurrence of influenza
A (H1N1) has indeed highlighted this link and the importance of
veterinary and medical sectors working in a coordinated manner.
For further information visit the following website: DG
Sanco
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Veterinary Week 2009
The launch of this year's Veterinary week "Animals + Humans
= One health" was held on 28 September in Brussels.
The key message of the conference - "EU health professionals
working together to ensure good health for all" - was that
animal diseases are having an increasing impact on public health
and that therefore high standards of animal health have a positive
impact on human health and consumer wellbeing.
Two plenary sessions, one on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs) and one on rabies, and four parallel panel discussions, "putting
legislation to work in practice", "Rabies", "TSEs"
and "Influenza" were organised.
For further information visit the following website: DG
Sanco
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FVE / TAIEX workshop on regional cooperation
for rabies control
A Workshop on rabies with the title "Regional cooperation
towards eradicating of the oldest known zoonotic disease in Europe"
was organised by FVE in collaboration with TAIEX and the Turkish
veterinary medical association in Antalya (Turkey) on 4 and 5
December 2008.
Speakers included Nikola Belev (OIE representative), Thomas Müller
(Friedrich- Loeffler nstitute, OIE Reference laboratory) and James
Moynagh (DG Sanco). The meeting aimed to provide more insight into
rabies control and to enhance the regional cooperation. Rabies does
not respect borders, which is why effective control strategies need
to be coordinated between countries. Inconsistent strategies in
neighbouring countries are likely to fail. Although experience has
shown that rabies can be successfully eradicated if control programmes
are well defined, resourced and implemented, around 8000 cases are
still observed every year in Europe, of which about 60% occur in
wildlife, 40% in domestic animals and even, regrettably, some in
humans.
While large regions in Europe have been free of terrestrial rabies
for several years, mainly as a result of the vaccination programmes
of foxes, the rabies incidence in eastern European countries remains
high. In 2006, there were 565 cases in Croatia, 293 in Romania,
119 in Serbia/Montenegro, 2020 in Ukraine and 230 in Turkey.
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Kick-off EU Vet Week meeting on 10 November 2008 in Brussels
The European Veterinary week is a joint initiative from FVE and
the Commission's DG Sanco which is aimed at promoting the Community
Animal Health Strategy as well as the 'one health' concept. The
EU Veterinary Week, which is focused on biosecurity, started with
a kick-off meeting called "One Health: healthy animals = healthy
people" on Monday 10th November in Brussels, in attendance
of Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. Friday the same week, another
event took place at EuroTier (Hanover), one of the main animal trade
shows in Europe, in the presence of Bernard Van Goethem. This event
coincided with the meeting of the FVE General Assembly, breaking
with tradition by holding its autumn meeting outside Brussels.
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Seminar on Veterinary Statutory Bodies, private veterinarians
and paraprofessionals in the Veterinary Services
Chief Veterinary Officers, chiefs and experts from Veterinary Statutory
Bodies from 23 European countries, one country observer and 2 international
organisations took part in the seminar on "Veterinary Statutory
Bodies, private veterinarians and paraprofessionals in the Veterinary
Services" organized by the OIE Regional Commission for Europe
in Sofia on 17-18 June 2008.
The objective of the seminar - which was opened by Mr. Valeri Tsvetanov,
Minister of Agriculture and Food in Bulgaria, Professor Nikola Belev,
President of the OIE Regional Commission for Europe and Mr. Walter
Winding, President of the FVE - was to explain the importance of
involving the private sector in the Veterinary Services. Speakers
from the OIE, the FVE, CVOs and representatives of several Veterinary
Statutory Bodies presented their views and opinions on these topics.
Veterinary Statutory Bodies have a responsibility in the licensing
or registration of the professionals, for setting and monitoring
of professionals standards and for discipline. It plays a crucial
role in maintaining the quality of the services provided by veterinarians
and paraprofessionals; it is indispensable for the well functioning
of the Veterinary Service and the protection of Animal Health, Animal
Welfare and Public Health.
During the conference it became very clear that for the State Veterinary
Services it is essential to build formal links with individual private
veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals. The status of these
actors has to be clearly defined and a Veterinary Statutory Body
must be established in all OIE countries. Veterinary Statutory Bodies
should work closely together with other professional bodies and
Veterinary Associations.
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FVE Conference on MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus)
FVE organised a scientific conference on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) in humans and animals in Brussels on 8 April
(Tuesday) 2008. The conference examined a series of related
key topics with speakers from both the veterinary world as well
as from the field of human medicine. The conference was aimed at
exchanging information on the prevalence of MRSA and to bring the
latest clinical and research approaches to the understanding, prevention
and treatment of MRSA in animals.
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FVE / TAIEX Conference on Veterinary Medicines Legislation
FVE and TAIEX organised a meeting to discuss challenges for candidate
countries preparing for implementing the Veterinary Medicines Legislation
next 18 March 2008 in Zagreb (Croatia).
The overall objective of the conference is preparing the groundwork
for a correct implementation and cooperation in the field of Veterinary
Medicinal legislation. The focus will lay on making veterinary practitioners
aware of the foreseen changes and their responsibility towards responsible
use of Veterinary Medicinal Products. More in particular the conference
will inform delegates about the “acquis communautaire”
in veterinary pharmaceutical field, pharmacovigilance procedures,
authorisation procedures and the availability of veterinary medicines.
For more information contact the FVE office at info@fve.org
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FVE/TAIEX workshop on Classical Swine Fever
The FVE and the Veterinary Association of Romania organised a Workshop
on Classical Swine Fever in the South East of Europe on 17
and 18 September 2007 with the support of TAIEX. The aim
of the conference was to give veterinarians in the region a better
insight in all aspects of Classical Swine Fever, in order to increase
awareness of EU legislation, promote disease prevention and increase
regional cooperation. Despite all measures from national governments
in the region Classical Swine fever continues to be present. The
FVE wants to promote dialogue in order to find a common solution.
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FVE/TAIEX conference on Animal Health, Animal Welfare and
Public Health
On 15-16 March 2007 FVE welcomed around 200 veterinarians
from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland in Riga/Latvia for a
conference on the implementation of EU veterinary legislation. The
conference was supported by TAIEX (Technical Assistance Information
Exchange Instrument, DG Enlargement) and was organised in co-operation
with the Latvian Veterinary Association. Participants saw this conference
as a good opportunity to discuss the veterinary EU legislation and
its implementation challenges. It also helped building valuable
relationships amongst participants. The conference focused on the
implementation of EU legislation in the areas of animal welfare,
disease control, registration and identification of animals, hygiene
and on the role of the private practitioner in public health as
well as zoonoses
- For presentations go to TAIEX
website / Library / event AGR 23977
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‘One Health’ reception
Over 70% of human pathogens originate from animals. Bacteria, viruses,
prions, parasites, worms, etc. can easily be transmitted from animals
to people. For this reason FVE strives to stress the fact that there
is only one health and that healthy animals make healthy people.
Veterinary Public Health is an essential part of Global Public Health.
In order to pass on this message to lawmakers and relevant stakeholders,
FVE organized a reception on 3 October 2007 for
members of European Institutions like the European Parliament, the
European Commission, permanent representations of Members States
and other lobby organizations.
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Study
visit for Serbian veterinarians
FVE organized a study visit for a group of veterinarians from Serbia
with the financial support of TAIEX (EU Commission, DG Enlargement)
at the end of May 2007. The three veterinarians visited
two slaughterhouses and the Department for Reproduction, Obstetrics
and Herd Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Gent (Belgium),
as well as a large private Veterinary Clinic. The aim of this study
visit is to give a deeper insight into the implementation of EU animal
welfare legislation regarding small and large animals in Belgium. |
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