Animals + Humans = One health

EU Veterinary Week Roadshow

Stop 1: Brussels, Belgium
10 November 2008

First stop Brussels

Bernard Van Goethem opens the conference

The EU Veterinary Week 2008 kicked off in Brussels with a conference centred on the theme of "One health: healthy animals = healthy humans". The conference was attended by delegates from diverse backgrounds including veterinarians, EU and national officials, farmers and a variety of other stakeholders.

The conference was opened by Bernard Van Goethem, Director for Animal Health and Welfare at the Health and Consumers Directorate General (DG SANCO) of the European Commission. Robert Madelin, Director-General of DG SANCO then explained his vision for animal health in the EU and highlighted the part played by the Veterinary Week in this vision. “The EU wants its citizens to be healthier, safer and more confident,” he said. "This only comes from ensuring strong animal welfare practices". He highlighted the fact that the EU is a global leader in this domain, but it cannot rest on its laurels and it needs the farmers, veterinarians, government officials and the general public as a whole to think about the future and what actions need to be taken to ensure a high level of animal health and food safety in the EU.

One health: a view from all sides
Five keynote speakers representing the most concerned actors in the debate of the One health concept – veterinarians, doctors, and farmers– talked about their views on the issues crucial to ensuring a high level of animal health and the link between animal and human health.

According to Bernard Vallat, Director-General of the World Animal Health Organisation, many things need to be done to prepare for new animal and public health risks. Changing demographics are having a huge impact on the demand for animal products which only strengthens the link between animal health, food security and public health. Improving health systems will lead to better food security, public health, market access on all levels, reducing poverty and improving animal welfare.

Marc Sprenger from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control drove home the message that healthy animals lead to healthy people. He described how the relationship between humans and animals is becoming more complex due to interdependency and globalisation.

He also highlighted the need for better cooperation between the medical and veterinary worlds to better combat biosecurity risks. If the two worlds work together, human diseases can be identified and treated more quickly and more lives can be saved, like what happened in the Netherlands with the human cases of Q fever.

Walter Winding, President of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, highlighted the vital role played by veterinarians in biosecurity. Veterinarians are important actors for creating “One health” since they play a vital role as the link between humans and animals and are in the front line when it comes to preventing the spread of disease between the two.

Farmers were represented by the German Member of the European Parliament Elisabeth Jeggle. She presented the biosecurity challenges on the farm. As a farmer herself, she is keenly aware of the many challenges farmers face and how devastating outbreaks of diseases such as BSE can be. In particular, she highlighted the need to support farmers during outbreaks of animal diseases. Combating disease is a huge undertaking for farmers and can only be properly achieved with the support of the EU and national governments. Jeggle also praised the European Parliament resolution of 22 May on maintaining and promoting animal health. The resolution highlights the need for better biosecurity, vaccinations and research to improve animal health.

The morning session ended with Paola Testori Coggi, Deputy Director-General of DG SANCO. She explained that the aim of the week is to make people more aware of biosecurity issues across Europe, both at borders and within Member States. The One health campaign is not limited to farmers and vets. Travellers are a key target audience, as it is important that citizens become more aware of the risks the animals and animal products they bring in from third countries can pose to the EU.

The healthy animals = healthy people panel

Debating the issues
The afternoon session saw three different panel sessions: On-farm biosecurity: “Every action counts”, Border biosecurity and import controls: “Diseases don’t respect borders”, and One Health: “Healthy animals = healthy people”. All panel members presented their views on the topic at hand and then the floor was opened to questions. Each panel hosted a lively debate and panellists and participants were able to share and discuss their views.

It was agreed in the on-farm biosecurity panel that vaccines cannot replace preventive measures. Biosecurity is a key part of farmers’ livelihoods and the farmer–veterinarian partnership is only becoming more important. Furthermore, all relevant actors, including hobby farmers, need to be properly educated to limit biosecurity risks.

The panel on border biosecurity involved lots of active participation and an animated discussion on control at border inspection posts and how to better harmonise risk-assessment and biosecurity priorities across Member States. Everyone was in agreement that there needs to be a higher level of security across the EU and better checks on imports, but no agreement was reached on the number of border control stations there should be.

The One health panel concluded that there needs to be structural communication between animal and public health workers to ensure the highest level of safety possible. In addition, there needs to be a strong disease surveillance network which is updated regularly.

 

Now a word from the Commissioner

The roadshow van set-up at the front of the hall

The event was wrapped up with a speech by Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Health, who emphasised the link between EU Veterinary Week and the Animal Health Strategy, “Prevention is better than a cure”. By focusing on the biosecurity aspect of the Strategy, the Commission hopes to raise awareness and stop the spread of disease.

Biosecurity needs to be improved both on the farm and at borders. On the farm, best practice should be encouraged, possibly through the use of guiidelines. At borders, the EU needs to ensure the safety of animal products imported both commercially and by travellers.

A great start
The first stop on the roadshow was a big success. It brought together hundreds of people who were able to exchange ideas and create a dialogue on animal health issues. Moreover, the roadshow van, parked at the front of the hall, was extremely popular with lots of people stopping by to pick up the informational material.

Next stop: Karlsruhe, Germany.