Brussels, 13/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The long-dreaded confirmation of cases of foot-and-mouth in France (among Mayenne cattle) - the first on continental Europe since the epizootic broke out in Great Britain on 19 February - had led the Standing Veterinary Committee (SVC) to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday in Brussels to hear detailed information from France and deliberate on additional measures to be taken, at Community level, to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the Union. "A proposal for reacting to this situation will be made", assured the spokesman for European Commissioner David Byrne speaking to the press during the SVC meeting. The aim is to strengthen the additional precautions recommended by veterinary experts until 27 March before the epizootic has spread to the continent (see EUROPE of 8 March, p.10).
On the basis of these recommendations, many Member States have already increased draconian precautionary measures and have confiscated for destruction animals and meat imported from France over recent weeks or have made imports of animals likely to be contaminated subject to prior authorisation.
During the meeting of the SVC, the French authorities announced three new detected cases of foot-and-mouth - detected but not yet confirmed - on sheep in the Seine et Marne.