The committee of the Veterinary Health Alert Network of Spain values the important role of the farm veterinarian in improving animal health.
The committee of the Spanish Veterinary Health Alert Network (RASVE) has held a meeting to exchange information and debate measures to deal with diseases that in recent months have affected the Spanish livestock herd such as bluetongue, epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHE) and bovine tuberculosis.
The RASVE committee is a collegiate body created through the Royal Decree 1440/2001of December 21, which establishes the veterinary health alert system and coordination in matters of animal health, which is responsible for studying the situation and evolution of animal diseases and approving the necessary measures to address them.
This committee, which is chaired by the general director of Agri-Food Production Health and Animal Welfare, Valentín Almansa, includes the general directors with responsibility for animal health from the 17 autonomous communities. In addition to exchanging information and discussing the situation of the aforementioned diseases, the meeting also addressed the figure of the farm veterinarian as a key element in improving the health of livestock farms.
In relation to bluetongue disease, the data and the epidemiological situation in Spain have been reviewed. It has been confirmed that the new territories that have entered the restriction zone have started or will soon start vaccination. Likewise, there has been debate about the situation of serotypes 3 and 8, present in Holland and France respectively, which have demonstrated great virulence, so it has been considered important to maintain surveillance against these serotypes.
For all these reasons, the committee has decided to maintain, in general, the vaccination strategy in progress, with the objective of avoiding clinical signs and mortality caused by the disease, reducing viral circulation, achieving eradication and enabling, with the adequate health guarantees, the movements of animals from restricted areas. In this way, the maintenance of trade flows at the national level, with countries of the European Union, and exports to third countries is facilitated.
Incidence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease
In relation to EHE, the general directors have shared the latest data available regarding the impact of the disease, which offers differences between geographical areas, breeds, age of animals and production systems. The incidence is higher in suckler cows than in dairy cows, while it hardly occurs in fattening cows. The general data remains within the limits reported since the beginning of the disease, with a mortality rate of less than 1%.
The general director of Health of Agri-Food Production and Animal Welfare has reported on various meetings held throughout 2022 and 2023 with the national vaccine-producing laboratories, which he has requested to develop a vaccine against this new pathogen that appeared in Spain. To promote this process, the Algete Central Veterinary Laboratory, dependent on the ministry, which is the national reference center for the disease, has supplied material to these laboratories, so that, currently, there are several centers. who are working on the development of a vaccine.
Additionally, the ministry has sent a technical report to request national authorization of the vaccine through the emergency procedure to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), to shorten the general deadlines for this authorization.
The ministry, in collaboration with the autonomous communities, is preparing a seroprevalence study in order to know the immune status of the livestock herd, which will make it possible to predict how the disease will behave during the year 2024 in terms of dissemination and impact. This study is absolutely necessary for making decisions regarding the next vector season.
As soon as the autonomous communities send the results, the general directorate of Health of Agri-Food Production and Animal Welfare will summarize and analyze the information and a new committee meeting will immediately be called where the results will be discussed, in order to agree the strategy before the start of the new vector season.
With respect to tuberculosis, the modifications introduced to the 2024 program have been reviewed, and a meeting will be held again once the autonomous communities send the final data relating to the year 2023.
The meeting highlighted the important role that the farm veterinarian must play in improving health through continuous advice and supervision to the farmer in the health management of the farm. The farmer needs close health support to be able to make the appropriate decisions in relation to the different health problems that may affect him or that he must face, especially in those diseases for which there is no official control and eradication program.
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2024-01-18 07:03:30
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