As part of its WOAH and FAO mandates, the EURL for FMD took part in the Regional Advisory Group (RAG) meeting dedicated to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR). The meeting, organized by WOAH and FAO, took place from July 2 to 4, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Several delegations took part in the meeting (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Russia), as did WOAH and FAO officials associated with the region, and the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD). The EURL was represented by Guillaume Girault, project leader in the Biopic team, who presented recent foot and mouth disease events and outbreaks observed around the world, with a particular focus on outbreaks detected in Western Eurasia in recent years. Numerous exchanges took place concerning the two diseases covered by this meeting. A field simulation exercise was also carried out by the Azeri veterinary services, with the deployment of mobile laboratories, surveillance of wildlife using drones, and the setting up of a crisis unit. The participation of the Foot and Mouth Disease EURL at this meeting enabled contacts to be established with several colleagues from other countries, opening the door to potential future collaborations.

On June 11, 2024, the EURL for FMD organized a webinar with EuFMD on the Emergency diagnosis: interpretation of FMD tests results. Fifteen participants from 15 different countries we invited fr this 4 hours webinar. Labib Bakkali Kassimi (EURL Director) presented the EURL activities and the FMD emergency diagnosis. Then, Aurore Romey and Guillaume Girault presented three different simulation exercises: the first one was dedicated to WOAH type laboratory (live virus) and with the presentation of almost all available methods to detect and characterize FMDV. The Mentimeter tool was used to ask questions to participants and analyze the answers in real time. Then, the second scenario was similar to the first one, again with the mentimeter tool for questions, but without so much help from EURL for the answers. Finally, the third scenario was dedicated to serological analyses. This webinar was highly appreciated by participants and will may be scheduled again in the future.

On Monday May 27, 2024, the Animal Health Laboratory and the JRU Virology/ BIOPIC team (NRL and RL OMSA-FAO-UE for Foot and Mouth Disease) welcomed an official delegation from Poland's PIWet National Veterinary Institute. The delegation, comprising Professors Stanislaw Winiarczyk (Director General), Miroslaw Polak (Deputy Director for Research) and Jacek Kuzmak (Retired since January 1, previously Deputy Director for Research), was received by Stephan Zientara (AHL Director) and part of the BIOPIC team, represented by Labib Bakkali Kassimi (Team Leader), Sandra Blaise-Boisseau (Deputy Team Leader) and Guillaume Girault (Project Leader). The LSAn's activities and those of the FMD theme were presented, as well as the operation of the ICube laboratory, dedicated to the handling and analysis of the FMD virus. Numerous fruitful exchanges followed, notably on the constitution and operation of the confined laboratory, but also on the overall operation of the FMD team and the national laboratory network. Professor Stanislaw Winiarczyk thanked Anses for their warm welcome and expressed his great satisfaction at the visit, which he hoped would serve as a basis for future collaboration between the two institutes.

As part of the EURL for FMD work program, the BIOPIC team welcomed four trainees for a two-week training session (March 11 to 22, 2024) in the emergency diagnosis of FMD (reception of samples, viral isolation, serological analyses, detection of the viral genome, typing and sequencing of the genome and analysis of results). The course was led by Aurore Romey and Guillaume Girault. The trainees came from Austria, Croatia, Greece and Slovakia. The course enabled them to deepen their knowledge of diagnostic methods and to discover methods not yet deployed in their laboratories. The many constructive exchanges will enable trainees to implement the methods presented to better combat this disease.

Call for abstract: October 7th to November 29th, 2024 Communication of decision: January 15th, 2025 Registration will open on November 1st, 2024

Abstract must be prepared using the template form and  sent to  fbtis@anses.fr before November 29th, 2024. The maximum duration of the oral presentations is 20 min (ideally 15 minutes of speech and 5 minutes for the questions). The format of the PPT presentations must be "big screen" (16:9). The dimension of the posters is ~ A0 (120 cm × 85 cm). All the necessary materials to fix the poster(s) on the board will be available on site.

  We're thrilled to welcome Isabel BASTARDO-FERNANDEZ to the Trace Elements and Nanomaterial Team (ANSES).   Isabel joined us this week as the new postdoc of our team. She will be responsible for the assessment of food safety in relation to inorganic contaminants in the 3 value chains addressed in the project (seafood, potatoes and oilseeds). Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), she will evaluate the presence of up to 20 different metal isotopes (including toxic trace metals such as Pb, Cd, Hg and As) in all types of samples (side streams, ingredients and novel food concepts). For samples containing Hg and As, Isabel will develop and validate matrix-specific methods using HPLC coupled to ICP-MS for speciation analysis in order to identify the most toxic forms of these elements (mainly Hg2+, CH3Hg+, As(III) and As(V)), typically present in seafood. Since Isabel already completed her PhD in our team, we are confident she will be doing the best job for this project.   Welcome Isabel in the Up4Food team ! 

Review of rabies analysis oral route diagnosis and follow-up vaccination carried out in the NRLs in 2023 is now available on the website (under restricted access)!  

The EURL for Rabies is glad to announce that the next Workshop will held the 10 and 11 June 2025 in Maison-Alfort, France, a municipality in the suburbs of Paris. Please take note that this Workshop dedicated to NRL will be held on site only. The meeting place will be located at ANSES headquarters. Save the Date in your agendas!  

On 17 September the four EURCAWs hosted an online meeting with National Reference Centres (NRCs) for Animal Welfare and the Supporting Bodies (SBs) of Competent Authorities. Over 50 people attended the meeting, with representation from across EU Member States. The meeting started with presentations from the EURCAWs, including an introduction to EURCAW Aqua (designated in January 2024), two NRCs and one SB. As the aim of the meeting is to explore ways to collaborate, workshops and interactive sessions were also used.   The first workshop session considered a theme relevant to all EURCAWs: “Approval and assessment of stunning equipment” and was presented by Dr Virginie Michel. ​The aim of the workshop was to have a better understanding about the needs of MSs and the type of work that the EURCAWs can provide on this topic.​ Council Regulation No. 1099/2009 states that “Products marketed or advertised as restraining or stunning equipment shall only be sold when accompanied by appropriate instructions concerning their use in a manner which ensures optimal conditions for the welfare of animals. Those instructions shall also be made publicly available by the manufacturers via the Internet”.​ However, some Member States have raised issues about new equipment being installed, for which proof of efficiency has not been made available. Polling tools were used to request feedback from NRCs and SBs and inform the workshop discussion.   After a short break, attendees were divided into EURCAW- specific workshops. The themes were: Managing larger litter sizes (EURCAW Pigs)​ Good practices (farm/transport/slaughter) (EURCAW Poultry-SFA)​ Emergency killing (EURCAW Ruminants & Equines)   The meeting finished with a wrap-up session including a summary of key points from the EURCAW-specific workshops.