*This article has been updated with details of the European Parliament activities.*
Given the current Avian Flu emergency in South Asia, the European Commission has taken two measures to address a potential Influenza pandemic at EU level: reviewing the Directive on Avian Influenza and designing a comprehensive integrated zoonoses strategy.
According to experts, the H5N1 strain that devastates South Asian poultries has the potential to spark off the next pandemic, to which humans have no immunity nowadays. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is constantly urging countries to get prepared (For more information, read the article on the World Health Assembly).
Reinforcing surveillance and control measures on Avian Influenza in poultries
The current European legislation on Avian Influenza (92/40/EEC), dated from 1992, only targeted high pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) in poultries. Therefore, the European Commission has proposed to strenghten surveillance and control measures against low pathogenic avian influenza strains. There is concern that avian influenza viruses with low pathogenicity (LPAI) may mutate into highly pathogenic strains, and may acquire the ability to transmit easily from birds to human, and cause a public health emergency.
Amongst the measures put forward by the Commission, are provisions for protective and emergency vaccination, and measures to eradicate the disease within affected poultries, without economic disrupt.
The European Commission expects the new proposal to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of Agriculture in December 2005. The adoption in committee is scheduled for the 22 November and in plenary on the 15 December 2005.
The leading committee is the Agriculture and rural policy (leading), with Neil Parishl (EPP-ED) as the rapporteur;
Other committees involved include the Budget committee (Rapporteur: Jan Mulder ALDE )
And the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) committee (Rapporteur: Robert Sturdy - EPP-ED )
On Monday 10 October, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament adopted Mr Sturdy’s report with an overwhelming majority. All amendments EPHA proposed were voted.
Amongst the amendments that were carried forward, is the provision to change the legal base of the proposal. At the moment the proposal is based on the article of the treaty that protects animal health, however many MEPs considered that it was more appropriate to base the proposal on article 152 of the Treaty (protection of human health). This element is rather important since it will give a mandate to the European Commission to protect human health as well (and not only chickens’ conditions). It will allow the proposal to better protect healthcare professionals, improve communication, and link human pandemic preparedness plans with animal flu preparedness plans.
MEPs also agreed to strengthen the cooperation with affected countries. The Committee also agreed on a resolution and an oral question which will take place on the October Plenary Session of the Parliament (23-26 October 2005).
Both the resolution and the questions call for more action from EU member states and the European Commission to ensure that all member states take the appropriate measures.
Coordinating human and animal influenza preparedness plans
Influenza experts from the European Union member states, the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), World Health Organisations (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) met on the 28 June 2005 in Luxembourg to discuss a European-wide response to a potential influenza pandemic.
The workshop aimed at identifying ways forward to implement an integrated zoonoses strategy. Networks of veterinary and human health laboratories are already in place in the European Union and collaboration between both pillars must be improved in order to ensure an adequate response to outbreaks.
Read More:
Related EPHA article on Influenza
The current Directive on Avian Influenza
The new proposal of a Council Directive on Avian Influenza
European Commission press release on the workshop
