Animal Disease Preparedness
Background
Transboundary and emerging animal diseases have been increasing in occurrence over the past decades. Diseases which were once only reported outside of Europe’s borders are now more frequently occurring on European soil, and not solely in the continent’s southern climes. When a new disease outbreak is serious enough to impact food production and the agricultural economy, very often the first reaction is for authorities to contact veterinary medicines manufacturers to request rapid development of vaccines to address the outbreak.
In 2024 the reactive approach to disease prevention was relatively sufficient as vaccines existed already for avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease was contained – not without consequences – and the strain of bluetongue virus (BTv3) was known to the animal health industry, although no vaccines were available at the time of the outbreak in the Netherlands. In the case of bluetongue, the animal health sector swiftly developed and distributed the much-needed vaccines to limit the impact of this outbreak on the Europe’s farming sector.
It is only a question of time until the next outbreak occurs – be it a known or a new disease.
Relying on the reactive approach may not be the best strategy to protect Europe’s animals – and maybe even our human population – from the next inevitable disease outbreak. We need a fundamental shift from a “firefighting” approach to a “fire prevention” approach. Otherwise, the consequences of a future outbreak could spiral beyond our control, dealing a serious blow to European agriculture, public health, and the wider economy.
The way forward
As such, AnimalhealthEurope proposes four points for decision-makers to take into consideration to ensure a ‘fire prevention’ rather than ‘firefighting’ approach when it comes to animal health:
- Establish a regular dialogue between the animal health industry and veterinary authorities
- Develop a dedicated rapid alert and response mechanism
- Guarantee an Animal Health Law that is fit for future challenges
- Ensure European coordination for animal vaccination