Brussels, 07/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 7 April, the European Parliament approved, with a few amendments, the proposal aimed at making rules on vaccination against bluetongue in sheep more flexible. The aim of the text is to authorise the use of “inactivated vaccines” outside those areas where animal movements are subject to restriction.
With the adoption (587 votes to 1 and 19 abstentions) of the report by Janusz Wojciechowski (ECR, Poland) on the proposal for a directive on amending Directive 2000/75/EC with regard to vaccination against bluetongue in sheep, the EP calls on EU countries to apply the new provisions as of 1st July 2011 at the latest (and not 1st May 2011 as stipulated in the initial proposal).
Bluetongue is a disease affecting ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats. Since the early 2000s, several epidemic waves of disease have occurred in many member states, causing significant losses in terms of morbidity, mortality and disruption of trade in live animals.
Council Directive 2000/75/EC of 20 November 2000 lays down specific provisions for the control and eradication of bluetongue, including rules on vaccination. These rules have been designed for the use of the so-called “live attenuated vaccines” that were the only vaccines available when the directive was adopted. Those vaccines may lead to undesired transmission of the vaccine virus in unvaccinated animals. For this reason, Directive 2000/75/EC allows vaccination only in specially designated zones, where the disease has occurred and where animal movements have been subject to restrictions. In recent years, however, new “inactivated vaccines” have become available. Unlike the “live attenuated vaccines”, these inactivated vaccines do not pose the risk of undesired vaccine virus circulation and could therefore be successfully used outside areas subject to animal movement restrictions. (L.C./transl.jl)