The European Commission has approved a financial package to fight a range of animal diseases transmittable to humans, it announced on 15 October.

Over half of the total 188 million euro animal disease budget will be spent on monitoring cattle for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) and implementing eradication programmes, while the remaining funds will be used to test for other diseases such as scrapie, salmonella, brucellosis, rabies and bovine tuberculosis.

'We are dedicating increased resources in 2005 to fight animal diseases,' said David Byrne, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. 'Healthy animals are the key to safe food. [This] decision reflects our on-going commitment to supporting pro-active monitoring, preventative action, and disease eradication,' he added.

Food safety has been a priority for EU Member States ever since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks in cattle in the 1990s. The Commission's new financial package was approved following the submission by national governments of their monitoring and eradication programs for 2005.

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Source: Cordis News
October 18, 2004

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