Report of the

levels of risk, especially when there is a possible need to change vaccine use or surveillance for new threats.

On FMD control in Turkey

Recommends:

22. that he feasibility of the long term plan for FMD control in Turkey, developed between the

Government of Turkey and the European Commission, should be re-evaluated in light of the recent epidemiology, and the possible reasons for failure recognized and addressed early in the planning and implementation process; 23. that the feasibility of achieving the much higher level of herd immunity to effectively drive

FMD type O outbreaks to extinction should be re-evaluated, given the apparent failure of FMD control against the epidemic type O virus, using an apparently suitable vaccine. As part of this, other options, including greater emphasis on regionalization and effective local containment of epidemics, should be considered; 24. greater emphasis and support to epidemiology and predictive modelling over the next three years, to guide the setting of performance targets at national and sub-national level for control measures, including vaccination coverage, in Turkey and in the most affected countries in the neighbouring region. On the EUFMD activities in support of FMD prevention

I.R of Iran and the south Caucasus countries

Recommends:

25. that the EUFMD Commission should continue to support the Iranian authorities in their efforts to establish an effective early detection and early warning system for FMD incursions, and to promote effective control; 26. that, having endorsed the activities proposed for 2007, further emphasis should be placed on identification and evaluation of options to reduce risk associated with animal movements, with a focus on identifying the patterns of movement of animals towards Turkey and the near-east; 27. further development of the outbreak investigation system and capacity of the CVL to undertake virus typing for early detection of new virus strains. Continued support should require that virus typing information is shared with the WRL and OIE/FAO Reference

Laboratory network; 28. the feasibility of extending FMD vaccination and outbreak monitoring using, where possible, the epidemiological unit as the level of interest should be evaluated by the Commission, to support the countries in the region to manage their control programmes according to risk and using performance based indicators; 29. that, after the proposed activities to maintain and strengthen the buffer zone and capacity for

FMD control in the southern Caucasus were supported, agreements with the countries should be reached to clarify their inputs to the future programme, and progress of FMD control reviewed by joint meetings with the countries concerned, and with EC and OIE; 30. that in-service training of staff in Government, and of private veterinarians engaged in disease control operations, must be promoted in FAO programmes. Political commitment to sustain training programmes should be sought. On progressive, international FMD risk reduction

Recommends:

31. that support is provided through the Secretariat to technically assist to develop the strategy under the GF-TADs on progressive FMD control, which has in view the eventual elimination of the infection as a threat to animal health; 32. that such an initiative for Global FMD control should be coordinated by FAO/OIE under GF-

TADs, and be assisted technically by bodies including the EUFMD Commission; 33. that FAO and OIE report progress on the status of the initiative, including the commitments, funding and progress in the implementation of the above, at each EUFMD Session; 34. that a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) or other form of agreement is reached between the Executive Committee and the management of FAO on the extent and modalities for the assistance provided by the Secretariat to the wider work of FAO on FMD; 35. that FAO increase its actions on FMD and that the Secretariat, subject to the agreement reached above, play a supportive role to ensure synergy between the programmes;

36. that increased effort is made to ensure co-ordination between the EUFMD Research Group (RG) and the major European and international FMD research initiatives, and that a report is given at each Session on the progress of these research initiatives, to ensure the attention of member states and the international donors to significant developments, including any threats to scientific progress that arise; 37. that the EC increase its funding support, via DG-research, to speed up the development of improved FMD control tools, including novel vaccines, while at the same time continuing to support applied research to improve the utilization of current tools. On the proposed work programme for upcoming biennium

Recommends:

38. that wherever possible, the balance of activities should be addressed to ensure that sufficient attention is given to actions that will assist preparedness for FMD control by the member states, with particular attention to the needs of the western Balkans; 39. that further support for the Secretariat is provided and, as part of this, a management support group (MSG) is established to provide a bridge between the Secretariat and the Executive

Committee, and include the EC as a key partner organization, with additional expertise from the Technical Committee and the WRL as required, to ensure co-ordination with the efforts of key partners in FMD control; 40. that the function of the MSG should include prioritization, co-ordination and monitoring of the progress of the ad hoc working groups established under the programme of the Standing

Technical Committee (Research Group). The MSG should report to the subsequent Executive

Committee for endorsement of decisions to create or disband groups, their specific tasks and duration. The working groups should be under the supervision of the Standing Technical

Committee, to which they will report. On the Report of the activities of the Standing Technical Committee (Research Group)

Recommends:

41. that the working groups in 2007 should focus on the following, organized into ad hoc working groups under the umbrella of the Standing Technical Committee: a. FMD epidemiological assessment and improving knowledge on virus circulation to improve preventive actions; b. monitoring of vaccination, including post-emergency vaccination surveillance; c. FMD laboratory services and standardization (lab services group); d. Application of quantitative models in decision support (modelling group). In addition, following the recommendations of the 36th Session, a further group is proposed: the Ad hoc Working Group on capacity building of national experts on technical issues in FMD outbreak management and prevention (training group); 42. that according to the need for expertise and the available budget, the number of experts in the Standing Technical Committee should be reviewed during the next two years, with a view to expansion to address the disciplines in the depth required, and to address the need for specific expertise, and the ad hoc working groups should have the opportunity to invite additional participation from member and non-member states; 43. that in addition to the main working group tasks, the Technical Committee should review the feasibility and constraints: a. of a potential antiviral strategy for control of FMD in dense populations of livestock; b. of the application of full length sequencing for tracing FMD outbreaks as part of routine investigations. 44. greater CVO involvement in the upcoming workshops in 2007, after which the need for continuation of NSP workshops should be evaluated, and the lessons learnt summarized for member states.

On technical issues with the vaccinate to live policy

Recommends:

45. that the outputs of the post vaccination surveillance workshops should be made available to the member states;

46. that member states should test the practicability of surveillance policies after vaccination, and are encouraged to organize their own workshops along the model developed, to assist them to assess their capacity to carry out the chosen exit strategy; 47. that further work on quantifying confidence in disease freedom be undertaken by the

Commission, with invitation to member states to participate in studies to optimize surveillance, for example in the Thrace region; 48. that the EU Vaccine Bank should hold at least 2.5 million doses for each of the vaccine strains, and at least 5 million for priority antigens for use against strains circulating in nearby regions; 49. that member states holding or considering to hold national reserves of antigen should make their own assessment of the minimum stocks required, and take into consideration the sixmonthly WRL/EUFMD Executive Committee report indicating the recommended high priority antigens; 50. that EUFMD should ensure that arrangements are in place that would allow FAO to purchase emergency stocks of vaccine and could be rapidly implemented when required, with those member states willing to provide part of their reserves for emergency actions; 51. strongly that member states organizing simulation exercises include scenarios that involve vaccination and test their preparedness to mount emergency vaccination programmes. On the use of predictive epidemic modelling

Recommends:

52. that potential models for use by an expert group should be subjected to a pragmatic peer review process, whereby the potential users become familiar with the structure and parameters and understand the most significant parameters which affect outcomes. An ad hoc working group should be formed, under the Standing Technical Committee and preferably in co-ordination with the OIE, to select the models of most interest, and initiate a pragmatic peer review process that involves the EUFMD member states, to guide the Executive and member states on the models of most potential use and on how such peer reviews could be organized at national expert group level; 53. that the ad hoc group consider developing a set of normalized parameters for FMD transmission and behaviour that could thereafter be a reference point for development and testing of models; and that the group use the above approach to identify key parameters that require new experiments to be conducted; 54. that the ad hoc group also consider if a European animal disease spread model should be developed, and identify the key activities and animal movement information needed to achieve this, using models developed for national epidemic forecasting. The work should involve consultation with DG-SANCO on the availability of animal movement data from the

TRACES system; 55. that in order to improve models and ensure their relevance to disease control in countries such as Turkey, the opportunity to gain systematic animal disease epidemic data should be taken, and that the ad hoc group should advise the Commission on feasibility and data quality issues that affect model development for endemic countries in the region. On the Membership of the Commission, the Election of the Executive Committee and the

Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee

Recommends:

56. that the Executive Committee should take steps to increase the membership of the EUFMD

Commission, in particular of countries in the east of the FAO European Region.

REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Dr Peter de Leeuw, Acting Chairman of the EUFMD Commission, opened the 37

th General Session and introduced Mr Alexander Müller, Officer-in-Charge, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, FAO. OPENING CEREMONY

Opening address by Alexander Müller, Officer-in-Charge, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, FAO: Dr de Leeuw, Chairman of the EUFMD Commission, Members of the Executive Committee of the EUFMD, Delegates of the Veterinary Services of member states, Observers of the European Commission and OIE, and delegates of observer countries: It is a great privilege for me to open the 37th Session of the EUFMD Commission. I do this not only in my name, but also on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, Dr Jacques Diouf. EUFMD is the first, and thus the oldest and most mature FAO Commission, and my Department is privileged to have hosted this Commission for more than 50 years. This is clear evidence that from the start, member states of FAO have promoted the international effort to control major transboundary animal diseases, in partnership with FAO. The trend of the past few years has been for greater integration and co-ordination of the international efforts, with FAO and OIE working together under the GF-TADs (Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases) agreement. The events of the past few years with HPAI have required FAO to respond to the new challenges, and the Organization has gone through a period of evolution in its mechanisms, which will continue as we strive to provide a better service to member states relating to TAD control. It is evident that the role of FAO will continue to evolve, and the Director General has made clear that control of transboundary pests and diseases is a priority area for FAO actions over the next years. EUFMD has always contributed to the FMD eradication process on the European continent, and as this has progressed, the importance of keeping a close watch on the virus circulation internationally and in particular at Europe’s footsteps has come to the forefront, and these tasks can only be conducted through the close and active international partnership with EC, OIE and the member states that supply specialist laboratory inputs. The role of the EUFMD Secretariat provides added value to the international system for early warning of animal diseases, including the newly established FAO/OIE/WHO Global Early Warning System. I believe I am correct when I state that the tools for FMD control are basically available and becoming more and more sophisticated thanks to the activities of the EUFMD Research Group. I note with interest and support the development of wider initiatives including that launched at FAO yesterday (the Global Roadmap for development of improved tools for control of FMD in endemic settings), that should speed up the process of development and optimization for use by the most affected countries. FAO is ready to support these initiatives, which it considers are “pillars” of the international effort to improve FMD control through increasing the access of countries to affordable and effective control options. However, the fact that FMD persists in many areas of the world is basically due to insufficient political will to use the current tools. We are in a period of time when we observe increasing frequency and impact of animal diseases, of trans-boundary and unpredictable nature. This has to do with rapidly increasing domestic animal densities in many tropical and sub-tropical areas, to ever closer contact among different animal species and with man, with the globalization and liberalization of livestock and animal product trade, with much increased human mobility and other factors. More than ever before, EUFMD has a crucial role to play for the interaction of member states’ CVOs on how to face the continuing and probably increasing disease risks. EUFMD is there to serve such purposes of a platform and fast intervention force. In conclusion, I would like to single out a few personalities and institutions which have contributed, and continue to contribute, to EUFMD’s success:

Dr Peter de Leeuw, for his leadership of the Commission, Dr Kris De Clercq, the able co-ordinator of the EUFMD Research Group; both Drs Joseph Domenech and Bernard Vallat for reconfirming their trust in EUFMD; the European Commission without whose support EUFMD actions would be very limited. All the member states of the Commission including the ones contributing to EUFMD’s staff and prominently the Governments of France and Ireland, the latter having for the third time in a row provided an Associate Professional Officer to the EUFMD Secretariat. I perceive a strong general support for EUFMD and its vision and work programme as the platform for the fight against this devastating disease, and can assure you of all FAO’s support for this important body. I wish you fruitful and rewarding deliberations in your Session. Thank you.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL SESSION

Item 1 - Adoption of the Agenda

The Agenda (Appendix 1) was adopted as proposed.

Item 2 - Overview of the FMD situation in Europe and other regions

The item was preceded by a short presentation by Dr Lubroth, Head of the Infectious Diseases Section, Animal Health Service, providing an overview of the regional projects to which the Animal Health Service of FAO is engaged (Appendix 2). This was followed by the report of the FAO World Reference Laboratory (WRL) (Appendix 3) and the summary of the annual reports for 2005 and 2006 of the OIE/FAO FMD Reference Laboratory Network (Appendix 4). Dr Paton provided the WRL report, and indicated that the predominant FMDV isolated from submissions to the WRL in 2006 was type O (64%); all isolates had been sequenced, and vaccine matching performed on 74 isolates, with a focus on type A (>50%) reflecting the high antigenic variability and problems for vaccine selection. The WRL continued to produce for the EUFMD Executive, at six-month intervals, recommendations on virus strains for inclusion in the European banks. In the past two years changes had been made reflecting the type A regional epidemics. The WRL had provided diagnostic kits, quality assurance (including the EUFMD/FAO serology and virology standardization exercises), and technical and training services on request. He concluded that progress in FMD control had been limited, with incomplete understanding and appreciation of epidemiology in primary endemic regions and over reliance on past history of isolations rather than ongoing surveillance. There is a poor understanding of why pandemics occur, and a need for field studies to complement molecular epidemiology. Vaccine reserves reflect perceptions of greatest risk, which may be incorrect. The priorities for the WRL in 2007-8 would be to:

continue and target strain collection and characterization; harmonize strain characterization; expand the reference laboratory network; roll out web-based information centre for reference laboratories; move to Annual inter-laboratory proficiency testing. He added that 2007 would be the final year for the EU FP6 Coordinated Action on FMD and CSF, and therefore one priority would be to ensure sustainability of those parts which had proved valuable to partners. Conclusions

1. The work of the WRL, and that of the OIE/FAO network of FMD Reference Laboratories, has provided essential information to assist the Commission and member states in their actions against the disease. 2. Sample submission from some regions remains critically low, and the lack of information is a risk to the success of contingency plans against FMD in Europe. 3. The recent and rapid spread of type O PanAsia II lineage mimics the spread observed in the 1990’s, breaching biosecurity barriers in several near-east countries, and should be regarded with concern.

Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 3 - FMD control in the European neighbourhood

The Secretary of the Commission, Keith Sumption, presented a paper (Appendix 5) on the recent FMD situation in the European region, emphasizing the epidemic events that had occurred in the past two years and the issues and lessons to be drawn relevant to the prevention and control of further such events. He drew attention to the: • regional pandemic of type A Iran 05, affecting Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and which reached Thrace region in January 2006; • the regional pandemic of type O, new PanAsia lineage, with high virulence and mortality rates in young animals, affecting Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian Authority areas, and which spread to Thrace in January 2007; • the incursion of type A into Egypt, for the first time involving an African type A virus from sub-Saharan Africa (east Africa/the Horn). The FMD control situation in the near-east had deteriorated in the past two years, and the current epidemics with type O and type A could not be considered to have ended. The frequency and severity of these incursions resembled the 1960s, requiring international emergency supplies of vaccine from the European bank, and missions conducted by EUFMD with EC support; in three of the countries switches in vaccine strain selection were required, with epidemic strains being adapted to make homologous vaccines. In addition several international meetings were organized by EUFMD with OIE to communicate the risk situation. In his presentation he highlighted the failings in the international early warning, relating to lack of sample submission to the WRL from risk regions, lack of reporting of epidemiologic events to the OIE, and lack of capacity for early detection and containment of new outbreaks.

Discussion

Concern was expressed by delegates on: • the lack of early warning from Iran and Turkey on detection of the type A epidemic in 2005; • the lack of clarity on the route and circumstances by which the east Africa type A virus had entered Egypt; • movement controls within Turkey, to prevent high risk movements before and following the kurban festival, especially the failure to prevent movement of unsold animals from markets in Istanbul to the western provinces of Thrace region. Dr Willeberg, CVO Denmark, asked to receive assurance from Turkey on the timetable for introduction of measures to ban high risk animal movements into Thrace region, including return of unsold animals from markets in Istanbul, and the biosecurity measures on vehicles visiting Thrace region, since both had been implicated in the introductions in 2006-2007. The EC representative indicated that more effort was needed to ensure each individual outbreak in Turkey is rapidly investigated to rule out the presence of an exotic virus strain, and to identify feasible measures to prevent the illegal movement of animals to Iran and from Iran to Turkey. The issue of preparedness in the Balkan region countries was raised. The delegate of Greece indicated a desire to have greater participation of Balkan region neighbours in the EUFMD/OIE/EC Tripartite meetings. The Secretary added that the Minister of Agriculture of Albania had made a similar proposal to the Chairman of the EUFMD, for a meeting point not only on FMD but on other livestock disease issues common to the region. Conclusions

1. The European region is at risk from at least five different and complex regions whose ecosystems of FMD viruses have high antigenic diversity. 2. The situation in the past two years has been highly unstable compared to previous biennium. 3. Epidemics continue to sweep through partially vaccinated populations in Turkey and Iran, highlighting the need for commitment to animal movement control and biosecurity at all levels.

4. Identifying feasible control options that will reduce the risk associated with live animal marketing and movement practices in countries affected by FMD epidemics should be given a high priority. Best practices from other countries should be considered. 5. The EU vaccine bank and the EC/FAO agreement on the support to EUFMD have been extremely important in mounting effective and rapid response to FMD emergencies in Turkey. 6. The purchase of vaccine from a national bank operated by a member state has been important in enabling a response when the EU vaccine bank stocks was not sufficient. 7. Improvements are needed to the recording and reporting of FMD clinical signs in order to enhance early recognition of emergent viruses with altered virulence characteristics, and work is needed to identify diagnostic indicators of changes to transmissibility and virulence. 8. The close functional relationship between the EUFMD Secretariat, DG-SANCO and the World Reference Laboratory, and FAO structures has proven to be effective in enabling rapid response to crisis situation including delivery and monitoring of emergency vaccination programmes. Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 4 - On international risk reduction and inter-regional co-operation in FMD control

This item was opened with a presentation by Dr Domenech (FAO), and followed by short presentations from the OIE (Dr Bruckner), on the OIE/FAO FMD Reference Laboratory Network (Dr Paton), on Co-ordination of FMD Research in Europe under the DG-Research funded programmes (Dr Paton), on the Global FMD Research Alliance (Dr Jeggo) and on the Global Roadmap for Research Relevant to Endemic Countries (Dr Perry).

GF-TADs, global risk reduction, and the technical support via the regional animal health centres (by Dr Domenech). In his presentation (Appendix 6), Dr Domenech summarized the co-ordination between FAO and OIE under the GF-TADs agreement, and the progress to implement supporting technical centres to serve the joint actions in the regions. At the annual co-ordination meeting between FAO, WHO and OIE in February 2007, it was agreed that FAO and OIE should develop a strategy under GF-TADs for the long term control of FMD, with a view of elimination of the disease as a threat to livestock agriculture. A first GF-TADs ad hoc group consultation was held in FAO on the 16th April to develop a global FMD risk reduction strategy, and this would be developed into a paper for the Global GF-TADS Steering Committee meeting in July. He added that as part of the above, FAO would increase its technical support for FMD prevention and control, in ways that would be complementary and co-ordinated with the EUFMD Commission. Regarding field actions, the opportunities to assist national and regional FMD control would be strengthened through the activities of the joint FAO/OIE Regional Animal Health Centres (RAHC), to ensure efficient co-ordination of actions. The RAHC of most direct relevance to EUFMD are in Ankara (for central Asia), Tunis (for north Africa), Beirut (for middle-east), Bamako (for west and central Africa), Nairobi (for east Africa), and Gaborone (for southern Africa). The RAHC in Africa will be run jointly also with the African Union, to increase efficiency of co-ordination with AU programmes.

Statement by the OIE (by Dr Bruckner) To ensure global FMD control, the international standards of the OIE are a sufficient guide, but the major challenge will be to ensure that sufficient application is made in enough areas where infection is endemic to bring FMD under control. Commitment and capacity to undertake FMD control is lacking in many regions, and therefore as part of a wider effort to identify and address shortcomings, OIE has trained 50 to 60 experts to undertake Performance-Vision-Strategy (PVS) assessments around the world. OIE is in agreement with FAO that the GF-TADS initiative should develop and co-ordinate a global FMD strategy, and considered that the EUFMD Commission will be an important partner that would be expected to provide technical guidance and assistance. As part of this, OIE highly supports the improvement of the Global Early Warning System (GLEWS).

OIE/FAO network of FMD Reference Laboratories (by Dr Paton) A statement was provided by Dr Paton on behalf of the WRL, which acts as Secretariat for the OIE/FAO FMD Reference Lab Network (Appendix 7). The network has succeeded to produce an annual combined report on FMD surveillance to both OIE and FAO. In addition to routine FMD virus characterization, the work programme of the network focuses on harmonization of vaccine matching tests, with a view to reducing the need to send samples between the partners, and increase the confidence in results performed by different methods. At present the annual network meeting is funded by the DG-Research Co-ordination Action, and he was pleased to note the offer received during the Session from FAO to fund a contribution of 20,000 USD to support the annual network work programme.

Co-ordination of research initiatives on FMD

DG-Research funded actions; Co-ordination Action for FMD and CSF laboratories, Improcon and

Lab-on-Site projects, Epizone

Dr Paton summarized the above projects; two of these (Co-ordination Action, Epizone) support only meetings and co-ordination costs, the other two fund research activities. Since the WRL and Dr de Clercq are involved in one or both of these initiatives, the work can be co-ordinated to ensure that outputs are relevant to the needs of the EUFMD Research Group, and avoid overlaps. The main issue to be faced is the uncertain funding future, since other diseases have replaced FMD as a priority for the EC. The European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health (ETPGAH) has assisted to identify priorities for funding by EC programmes, but there is a clear risk that applied research relevant to FMD control will lose out on funding, which will affect expertise in member states.

Global FMD Research Alliance (GFRA)

Martyn Jeggo, Director of the Australian Animal health laboratory, Geelong, provided a summary of the progress of this initiative, formed between high security laboratories in UK (WRL), USA, Canada, Australia and ILRI (Nairobi) (Appendix 8). The model of co-operative research had been successful, in part because of a shared vision to create new vaccines and diagnostics for use in emergency campaigns in disease free regions, but also since each partner sought R&D funding mainly from domestic sources, and not in competition with each other. The progress made had been very good, and the challenges ahead were to increase the partnerships while maintaining coordination, and develop the second phase of work relating to the endemic countries where the technology needs are different. The development of the second phase had been mainly through the process of developing a “roadmap”, which had culminated in the launch in FAO on the previous day. He indicated that in the challenge to ensure participation and communication of progress, EUFMD could play a major role, through extension of the activities of the Research Group. He therefore invited the Commission, through the Secretariat, to consider its role, given that the benefits of the R&D should be to the member countries.

Global roadmap for development of improved tools for FMD control in endemic settings

The process leading up to the launch of the report on the 17th April 2007 was summarized by Dr Brian Perry (Appendix 9). The initiative arose out of the GFRA, but with emphasis on R&D for the endemic regions, and following a pathway process that had been used for other major long term initiatives, for example in R&D for malaria control. Some fifty persons had contributed to the Agra workshop, which had developed a long term vision that FMD would no longer be a threat to livelihoods of farmers, and roadmap of research actions that should contribute to making this possible. Concept notes had been prepared for co-ordinated research under six technical areas, including economic analyses that should assist strategy and policy development. Interest in funding several of these had been received from the Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom, and the EC (DGResearch). Discussion

A panel discussion was held with the presenters for the above item. The increased commitment by FAO to FMD control, and the development of the R&D initiatives were warmly applauded by delegates, and the need for the twin track approach on FMD vaccination, optimizing use of current 11

vaccines and development of novel vaccines with features required for use in emergency response and endemic regions, received general support. The relationship with the ETPGAH in the co-ordination of FMD research was questioned; Dr de Clercq considered there was no competition, ETPGAH primarily recommended priorities to DGResearch for funding, and it will be for DG-research to consider if funding opportunities to be made available also meet the needs identified in the Roadmap. In addition, he stressed the danger of Europe focussing on the long term when there is a current need for improving FMD control through applied research, and the expected cessation of some FMD R & D in Europe because of funding switched to other diseases.

Conclusions

1. The Session noted with interest the agreement to establish joint FAO and OIE regional animal health centres. The development of the role of these centres will be important to the improvement of FMD surveillance and control campaigns. 2. Noted with appreciation the commitment of FAO to increase its technical support to FMD control, and to develop and implement this support in full consultation with the EUFMD and the OIE. 3. Endorsed the Report of the WRL and the decision of the 74

th

Session of the Executive Committee to support the continuation of the contract with the WRL for services to the Commission, including external quality assurance and harmonization activities of the FMD reference laboratories. 4. The reports of the Global FMD Research Alliance, and that of the Agra workshop on development of a “global roadmap” for improved tools to control FMD in endemic settings, were noted with interest. The recommendation that research to develop better tools for FMD control and to optimize the use of existing tools be considered a high priority in Europe, was supported, in line with conclusions of the European Technology Platform for Global Animal health (ETPGAH).

Item 5 - Trend in animal trade and prospects for risk reduction in the middleeast

The Agenda of the Session was re-organized such that discussion on this item took place under item 3. The situation report on the middle-east was provided in two papers, one being the report and recommendations of the 3rd Roundtable on FMD control in the middle-east (Appendix 10), organized by FAO and OIE, held in Damascus in November 2006 (to which the EUFMD had provided technical assistance to produce the report) and the paper provided by the OIE Regional Bureau (Appendix 11).

Item 6 - Progress in FMD control in Turkey

A paper (Appendix 12) on the recent epidemic events and the progress in FMD control was presented by Dr Naci Bulut (SAP Institute) on behalf of the General Directorate for Protection and Control (GDPC). Two major epidemics had occurred in the past 2 years, with type A Iran 05 from November 2005 to the present, and a new variant of the type O PanAsia virus from October 2006. Both incursions had resulted in multiple outbreaks in Thrace region, whereas before January 2006 that area had remained free of clinical disease for over three years. Both epidemics had peaked in late winter period, with over 100 outbreaks in Turkey in January 2006 and again in January 2007. Both epidemics had severe impact, and had spread widely within a couple of months of the introduction. He highlighted the severe clinical signs associated with the type O virus and the mortality rate in young animals, in common with the reports from Iran and Israel. Although diffusion of the strain was rapid, spread within well vaccinated units was limited, and spread to small ruminants had not been proven. Primo-vaccinated and non-vaccinated young animals after maternal immunity period were most at risk, and he considered these the principal reservoir for continuing virus circulation. Fattening premises were frequently affected as these often receive such animals. The index case, on basis of molecular typing, was in west-central Anatolia in October 2006, but the actual entry points to the country were unclear, possibly via Iraq or Syrian borders. Three outbreaks of FMD had occurred in Thrace in 2007, one type A, two type O. The last of these involved the same premises as an outbreak in June 2006, and involved animals transferred from the Anatolian side of Istanbul. The factors behind the peaks of infection were the movement of animals for the kurban festival, and movements to pasture in the spring, resulting in two peaks in 2006. Great effort had been made to achieve and maintain a high vaccination coverage in Thrace region, and western Anatolia; however cattle vaccination coverage less than 50% still occurred in 12

16 Provinces (out of 81) in eastern Anatolia, and sheep in Anatolia were vaccinated to a very low extent. The GDPC thanked the EC and EUFMD for supply of over 5 million doses of bi- and tri-valent FMD vaccine for emergency response in 2006 and 2007; the reconstructed SAP Institute plant was now in full production and together with the EC donated vaccine, sufficient supply for full spring vaccination had been achieved. The GDPC also thanked EC/EUFMD for support for epidemiological investigations in 2006 and 2007, including the ongoing training in outbreak investigation procedures. The EU funded programme for FMD control in Turkey, involving three years of complete large and small ruminant vaccination, was scheduled to begin in autumn 2007, although the GDPC expectation was to begin in spring 2008, in anticipation of further delays. Discussion

Questions were asked on the potency of vaccines used, and their monitoring in the field, on the long term plan for FMD control, on movement control and stakeholder interest to participate in FMD control, and on the apparent difference between disease incursions into Thrace and the Caucasus in past two years. In response, Dr Bulut considered that type A epidemics were more rapidly controlled compared to type O, leading towards elimination, since protection after vaccination was more durable with type A; sero-monitoring was conducted post vaccination in Thrace, and each batch of SAP Institute vaccine was also tested in trials with 30 non-vaccinated animals in the field, and also by a limited challenge test. Regarding the long term strategy under the pre-accession EU funding, for FMD elimination by six rounds of full vaccination of large and small ruminants populations through twice yearly vaccination with an oil based vaccine (PD50 of 6), he was of the opinion that success could not be achieved unless animal movement control was also brought under control. Dr Willeberg supported this point, and the Chairman reminded the Session of the enormous difficulty to achieve progress unless there is support from the major stakeholders, and questioned if this was the case, and how this support will be gained unless the incentives are clear. Dr Füssel indicated that the first round of vaccination was due to commence autumn 2007. The Turkish delegation were not clear on this point, given the delays in funding, and had therefore planned to have SAP Institute vaccine produced to supply the normal requirements of the autumn 2007 campaign. The delegate of Bulgaria stated that in response to the situation in Thrace, the monitoring programme involving sentinel animals had been brought forward; no sero-positives had been detected.

Conclusions

1. The EC and EUFMD support to the GDPC had played an important role in containment of the epidemics in Thrace in 2006 and early 2007, but uncontrolled circulation of virus in Anatolia and movement of live animals to Thrace carried a risk of re-introduction at any time. 2. In both of the recent major epidemics, early detection and containment of infection had not occurred, which allowed national dissemination of infection through the market chain. Vaccination and movement control policy need to be reassessed with a view to achieving higher rates of immunity in animals before they leave the original area and enter the marketing chain. 3. A much reduced time delay between entry of new infections and confirmation by the authorities is required if national dissemination is to be prevented following future incursions. 4. The support of EUFMD/EC to outbreak investigation and epidemiology has been of benefit to the GDPC. Uptake and application within the Government services of the norms in the EC directive relating for outbreak investigation is needed to improve reporting consistency, quality and value for outbreak control. Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 7 - EUFMD activities in support of FMD prevention Iran and the South Caucasus

Iran Dr Francis Geiger presented the report on the progress of activities in support of surveillance and control of FMD in Iran (Appendix 13). His report was followed by that of the FMD task force manager, Dr Otorod (Appendix 14). With 80 million small ruminants and eight million cattle, and land borders with endemically affected countries on the east and west, the FMD situation in Iran was important for the wider region, characterized by waves of FMD epidemics that usually spread onto Turkey and the middle-east. The unstable security situation in the region contributed to changing patterns of cross border movements, adding to risk of entry. With EC funding, the current project had begun in early 2006, and had focussed on establishing improved surveillance in seven pilot study regions, with a view to extension to the whole country if beneficial. Effort had been made to improve investigation procedures at local level, and analysis and response arrangements at national level, bringing together laboratory, vaccine production and epidemiology experts into the FMD task force, to improve early identification and response to new findings. This had enabled reporting of the new type O epidemic to Turkey and other neighbouring countries in September 2006, ahead of the index case in Turkey, and repeat warnings in December in relation to probable transborder movements for the kurban festival. Outbreak investigations showed that FMD is underreported, circulates the whole year, and vaccination coverage is insufficient at village level. In large dairy units and fattening units, breaches in biosecurity and unregulated entry of animals were the usual reason for FMD outbreaks. Improving the alert system was a high priority to improve early warning; for control, the proposed focus in 2007 is on the identification of high risk points for outbreaks, and identification of control options for these. Given the uncertainties of the impact of the current vaccination programme, a large sero-surveillance study would be conducted under the project, after first establishing if local vaccine induces NSP antibodies. Finally he proposed that the experiences and capacity established under the project should benefit neighbouring countries, and that this could be achieved under an extension phase to the current project. Dr Otorod, FMD Task Force manager, summarized the epidemiological analysis of FMD (Appendix 14). Through registration of over 75,000 epidemiological units, and electronic disease reporting at district level and upwards, the incidence of FMD in different production units and age classes had been estimated. The approach had identified “accumulation points” with abnormally high FMD incidence and those units close to the above where infection is probably the result of secondary spread. The project plan was to focus on the “primary” points for disease surveillance, as these were considered the most likely locations where new strains would be revealed. Control at the primary and secondary points was proposed as the focus of disease control policy. To reduce risk of circulation, they advocated improved vaccination around these points, to include all units in control zones. He strongly advocated that control of FMD in Iran, and in the region, required regional collaboration, with improved and harmonized procedures for information sharing, and to assist the use of the epidemiological units approach to enable analysis at the level of population structure. Greater use of GIS should assist to identify gaps and direct responses. At regional level, he also advocated vaccination in a defined period for the middle east and central Asia), and a regional vaccination strategy with three times a year vaccination with strains providing coverage of the major subtypes, under a five-year project to follow from the current phase. Discussion

Warm appreciation was voiced by delegates of the information presented on FMD epidemiology and on the problems faced in control, and on the progress of the programme of activities. The role of small ruminants was questioned, given the population in excess of 80 million. Dr Otorod considered they play a negligible role, based on the observed high incidence locations for clinical FMD; however as this question had been long foreseen, a programme of sero-surveillance had been designed for implementation in 2007 to investigate this. Since this is a new activity, training, equipment, and preliminary studies to determine if NSP are induced by local vaccines, had first to be completed.

Conclusions 1. The surveillance and control of FMD in Iran is of high importance to reduction of the risk to Turkey, the Caucasus and the middle-east, and continuation of the project in the next biennium was strongly supported. 2. In addition to the proposed activities, attention is needed to identify feasible options for reducing the risks associated with live animal trading and movement practices, including a better understanding of the transborder movements and mitigation measures. 3. Experience and expertise developed under the project should be of benefit to the wider region, including countries with limited access to Reference Laboratory services and where transport to the WRL is not feasible.

FMD control in the South Caucasus

The status and progress of the FMD vaccination buffer zone and related surveillance and control actions was summarized by Dr Potzsch, Project Coordinator for the EUFMD/EC actions in support of FMD control in the South Caucasus countries (Appendix 15). With support of the EC, the buffer zone along the borders with Turkey and Iran had been maintained, through supply of FMD vaccine purchased under tender for twice annual vaccination in 2005, 2006 and again in spring 2007. Sero-surveillance had been completed in 2005 and late 2006, and results presented for pre- and post-vaccination surveillance in Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2006, indicating that the herd immunity remained satisfactory even six months after vaccination, and that it was likely FMDV incursions had occurred but did not spread as a result of the high vaccination coverage in most parts of the buffer zone. Further, results with locally produced vaccines did not provide evidence of interference with NSP tests, assisting surveillance for incursions. The results confirmed that the region was at high risk as a result of the type A and O epidemics in Turkey and Iran, but that the policy of buffer zone vaccination had been successful. The three countries had not reported FMD in the past two years, although this may be as result of limited clinical signs under the vaccination coverage. Reliance on vaccination remains high, and given the current level of risk, reducing vaccination coverage would be premature. Greater control on the Turkish and Iran sides over the next two-three years may allow this to occur, if other safeguards are in place at the level of the national Services. Capacity building at the level of national epidemiology units and reference laboratories remained a priority. Discussion

Questions posed included the reason for the lack of clinical signs reported in the animals groups and villages in which clusters of NSP positive animals were detected. The consensus from the discussion that followed was that sub-clinical infection with FMD in vaccinated and exposed cattle is possible, and has also been the experience in Turkey, but lack of detection or reporting by owners is also a likely explanation. Since the timing of sero-conversion is not clear, further investigations are needed, to ensure follow up of clusters soon after detection. Dr Willeberg, on behalf of the Executive Committee, drew attention to the progress made over the past year, and considered that the useful results justified the effort. Conclusions

1. A consistent and long term co-operation between EUFMD/EC and the veterinary services of the three countries is needed to ensure national capacity to effectively prevent and contain FMD is put into place. 2. The supply of FMD vaccine under the project had resulted in satisfactory immunity levels that were maintained during the vaccination interval, in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The situation in Georgia requires clarification as the vaccination and surveillance were delayed. Some subregions, such as Nagorny Karabakh, had variable coverage that requires action to prevent recurrence. 3. Although lapinized FMD vaccines do not seem to induce NSP responses, they do not meet OIE requirements in terms of production method or quality assurance procedures. Since the results of serological tests also indicate a low and variable level of potency, their use cannot be supported.

4. The trans-Caucasus region was at high risk in the period 2005-2007, and the detection of NSP clusters without reporting to the authorities should be considered with some concern. 5. At present, the capacity of the countries to detect and contain FMD is weak, and reduction or replacement of the current vaccination policy cannot be contemplated until substantial improvements have been achieved, or the situation improves in the neighbouring region. Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

FMD control in Israel

A presentation (Appendix 16) on the epidemiology and control of the recent epidemic of type O PanAsia was provided by Dr Yadin, Kimron Institute, Israel, and included in this section since the experience of vaccination against the new virus lineage is relevant to vaccine selection and strategy in the wider region. The epidemic had proved much more difficult to control than others, with a high virulence in young animals, and the ease of spread indicated that biosecurity measures must be higher than usual to prevent spread; 26 outbreaks had been recorded, affecting cattle farms (20), small ruminants (3) and wildlife (gazelle, of which 100-200 had died). All outbreaks were close to the borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan or Palestinian Authorities. Even limited gaps in vaccination coverage had allowed outbreaks, so protection against this strain requires an excellent vaccine and well organized programme at herd level. The vaccine in use in cattle is produced by Merial and contains 3 type O (Manisa, Geshur 2/85, and 3030), 3 type A (A22, Iran 99, Eritrea 98) and Asia-1 (Shamir) antigens; sheep receive type O vaccine (containing the three antigens). The Government of Israel strongly desired to see improved early warning in the middle-east and urged EUFMD/FAO with OIE to increase the technical information exchange to reduce the risk of this happening again. Gratitude was expressed for the early warning on FMD and LSD in Egypt which had assisted to prevent spread into Israel. Discussion

The risk posed by difficulty to control this epidemic even with quality vaccines applied in a systematic programme was a concern to many delegates. The infection of wild boar was noted with interest; it should be clarified if these act as the source (or recipient) of infection to domestic and other wildlife species (gazelle). Keith Sumption highlighted the problem for early warning of the lack of reporting of suspected changes in virulence or transmissibility, and the need to develop or apply a standardized measure during field investigations. Without such a measure, these key features may be missed and false confidence gained from genetic or antigenic similarity to endemic FMDV strains. Dr Füssel asked for a clear recommendation on whether a challenge test is needed to assess the potency of the O Manisa in the EU vaccine bank for use against the O PanAsia variant. Conclusions

1. A reporting system that will improve detection of higher virulence should be identified by the Technical Committee and where possible evaluated for application in outbreak investigation, to improve the early detection of emergent viruses; 2. The need for O Manisa/O PanAsia variant challenge test should be clarified, with a view to urgent commissioning of such a test if recommended by the Research Group.

Item 8 - Report of the Executive Committee for past biennium (2005 -2007)

The report (Appendix 17A) had been reviewed by the 74th Executive Committee, and was presented by Keith Sumption. A report on the activities of the Commisison in 2005-6 was also tabled (Appendix 17B). The The basis for actions was the 2005-2009 Strategic Plan that had been adopted by the 36th Session; under this, the Commission should implement actions under five themes, balancing preventive actions, capacity building for FMD response, actions to support FMD control in neighbouring regions, and emergency responses. The heavy impact of the emergency responses had affected preventive actions and capacity building. Nevertheless some balance had 16

remained with preventive actions focussing on early detection of strain circulation, on the work of the Research Group, and in neighbouring countries. Discussion

Concern was raised by several delegates that despite some remarkable progress in some areas of work, the plan for the past two years had been overambitious, resulting in insufficient emphasis on activities to directly assist European countries to improve preparedness, and on the level of preparedness of the western Balkan countries. The Secretary agreed that some efficiency gains could be made, without sacrificing areas or activities, for example greater use of outsourcing and networking tools to engage experts in the member countries in aspects of the work programme. The Chairman agreed that there was a need to improve priority setting, but the emphasis on emergency control was correct and had been forced by the circumstances. The need to balance technical actions with political pressure was raised, that more effort should be given to ensure countries fulfil their international obligations. Conclusions

1. The report was endorsed, and the Session noted with appreciation the high level of activities conducted in the past two years in pursuance of the Strategic Plan 2005-2009. 2. Prioritization of activities is needed to ensure that activities are carried out in a balanced manner, with lower impact of emergency events on delivery. 3. Although efficiency gains may be achieved by outsourcing certain activities to partners and institutions, further strengthening of the technical capacity of the Secretariat is needed. Item 9 - Proposal for work programme for upcoming biennium

The proposed work programme (Appendix 18) was based on the Strategic plan for 2007-2009, with some modifications to redress the balance of actions towards preventive and capacity building themes. This report had been endorsed by the 74th Executive Committee, modified with their comments and presented to the 37th Session for approval. As a result of discussions in the outgoing Executive on the balance between activities, and to provide more support to the Secretariat and to the direction of the working groups under the Research Group, a Management Support Group (MSG) was proposed, to involve 1-2 members of the executive, representatives of partner organizations (SANCO), and key technical experts including the Chairman of the Research Group. It was further proposed in a paper to the meeting (Appendix 19) that the MSG should assist in planning and monitoring progress of working groups established under the Standing Technical Committee (Research Group). The Research Group would continue to play an essential role in providing continuity and critical mass of FMD expertise, and oversee any new groups formed to undertake short term tasks. Discussion

The concept of the management support group received a favourable reaction. The delegate of France received clarification that the ad hoc working groups would have time-bound tasks that the experts in the Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee would serve between Sessions, and that the ad hoc working groups would involve the latter, not replace them. Several delegates spoke in favour of ensuring that relevant expertise outside the Research Group be used where appropriate, and that the proposed arrangement should assist their involvement and supervision. The delegate of Greece proposed that the current Tripartite for FMD control in the Southern Balkans should continue, but with involvement of more countries, including Albania. Conclusions

1. The proposal of the 74

th Executive for the work programme in the upcoming biennium was

endorsed. 2. Decision on creation or cessation of working groups should be made at the Executive Committee, who should formally decide on the task and duration of each group. 3. Ad hoc working groups may provide an important contribution to the work programme of the Standing Technical Committee but should work under supervision of that Committee, to which they should report.

Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 10 - Report of the activities of the Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee

The Report for the Research Group for 2005-2007 was presented by Dr de Clercq, Chairman of the group (Appendix 20). In his report he highlighted the key points relevant to the CVOs from the Closed Session held in Germany and the Session at Paphos, which had an open Session that had been very well attended (>140 participants) and where a number of technical breakthroughs had been presented of relevance to disease control. The work plan involved some 22 tasks in 13 items, and therefore could be said to be overambitious and in need for some prioritization; he supported the development of ad hoc groups to create focus on specific tasks. Dr Nesya Goris then provided a summary of the three presentations (Appendix 21) voted by participants as most significant for each day of the Paphos Session. One concerned the improved tracing of outbreaks with full length virus genome sequencing, another the precision of vaccine potency tests results and its implications for vaccination selection, and a third the control of virus excretion by pigs through use of anti-viral compounds in feed. The work of the RG focussed on applied research questions and several of the papers had been finalized for the 37th Session; others were in progress for clearance at the upcoming Closed Session. He supported the proposal under the previous item to theme the tasks of the group under a reduced number of key areas, and for the management support group to clarify the questions and priorities to be addressed. Discussion

The Chairman and the group were congratulated on the report, and warmly thanked for the quality of the work and outputs. Dr Willeberg stressed the value to veterinary services of participating in the open Sessions, since the subject matter is important to preparedness for FMD control. Conclusions

1. The report of the Chairman was endorsed. 2. The workshop on the design and interpretation of post FMD vaccination sero-surveillance by NSP tests proved highly useful for laboratory experts, epidemiologists and CVOs. Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Working group on Laboratory Biosecurity

The Secretary reported on the status of the revision of the Minimum Standards for FMD Laboratories, which had been adopted at the 30th Session in 1993. The 74th Executive had requested a review of this document, and the initial review had identified several important areas where updating should occur, particularly on the commissioning procedures, staff training and operating procedures, decommissioning. The latter particularly relevant as some EU plants wish to operate only at BSL3+ when required. The financial implications of compliance require great care to ensure that changed requirements are shown to be necessary and advantageous, and therefore further time was needed in development and consultation and a proposal for change was not yet ready to be brought to the Session.

Item 11 - Progress on technical issues relating to the vaccinate to live policy

Five papers were presented relating to vaccination to live:

• the first two concerned issues with achieving disease freedom after use of emergency vaccination, with a report of the simulation exercise on surveillance after emergency vaccination in cattle (Kris de Clercq, Appendix 22), and a second paper which proposed working methods for application to improve confidence in the outcome of surveillance for disease freedom (Tom Murray, Appendix 23); • two concerned antigen and vaccine banks, one proposing the minimum level of stocks for the European antigen bank (Aldo Dekker, Appendix24), and a second paper by the Secretariat on the survey of the vaccine bank holdings in Europe among the member states (Appendix 25); • an information point on the recent workshop on improving capacity to undertake emergency vaccination programmes (Tom Murray, Appendix 26). Discussion

Dr Füssel drew attention to the difficulties of surveillance after vaccination in South America and raised a question of the level of expected NSP positivity after mass vaccination of European breeds. Dr Bruckner expressed interest in the work on quantitative assessment of confidence in surveillance and considered that after further development and evaluation the methodology might be of relevance to assessment of country dossiers for disease freedom. Clarification on the recommendation on vaccine stocks was sought. Dr Dekker indicated that the assessment was for European stocks, each national authority should undertake its own risk assessment on quantities. For antigen priorities, the six-monthly WRL/EUFMD List of Priority Antigens should be used as the guide. On the availability of national vaccine bank stocks to FAO/EUFMD for emergency actions; most respondents were favourable to the principle that national vaccine banks could be a potential supplier of antigen for international campaigns, providing that contractual arrangements were in place. Keith Sumption indicated delays had occurred in the supply of vaccine to Turkey because of the complexity of the arrangements to make a contract for procurement involving a national vaccine bank. Future questionnaires should request a response only from those holding national banks, since the EUVB is included in the survey. Conclusions

1. Member states should consider organizing national simulation workshops to test their preparedness to undertake the surveillance needed to regain disease-free status after control of FMD outbreaks, in addition to participation in one or more of the regional workshops. 2. Sero-monitoring for FMD infection after outbreaks has its technical limitations, and work is needed on how additional indicators, such as the performance of surveillance system relevant to the claim that disease would be detected if present, could assist to build confidence that infection is absent. 3. Controlled studies on NSP antibody induction by vaccine from the EU vaccine bank have been usually small in scale, and there is a need to evaluate if a larger scale study is justified to determine the expected frequency of positives following mass vaccination if used in a vaccination to live policy. 4. With the exception of the six countries that report the retention of a national antigen bank for FMD, the majority of EUFMD member states are reliant on EU vaccine bank for potential supply in a crisis. The adequacy of vaccine stocks in the EUVB is therefore of exceptional importance for both response to outbreaks in EU countries and to potential actions to contain outbreaks threatening the disease free state. 5. A minority of the national vaccine banks have not maintained A22 Iraq in their reserve, whereas this has been a high priority recommendation in the WRL/Executive Committee Session reports for the past 12 months. 6. Several countries in the EU have advanced planning for mounting emergency vaccination campaigns against FMD, but very few countries have tested their capacity to mount a rapid vaccination campaign. The lack of readiness to deploy emergency vaccination could hinder the effective use of emergency vaccination. Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 12 - Confidence in the use of predictive epidemic modelling in decision support

In response to the request of the 74th Executive for a paper on this item, Dr David Schley, IAH, Pirbright (Appendix 27) had prepared a review paper which was presented to the Session. He highlighted the need to ensure experts who will use models have a sufficient understanding of each and that normal process of peer review may fail since models are now so complex as to render a detailed peer review impossible. Validation by accurate production of epidemics is limited since large outbreaks are rare, or occur in settings very different from Europe. As a consequence there is a need for a new system of review that will assist European expert groups to become familiar and confident with the features and applicability of different models. Best practice in this area has become a form of practical review by the users in workshops conducted with experts on the model structure. Following the paper, potential ways to proceed were proposed by the Secretariat (Appendix 28), since many of the member states do not have significant programmes on model development and therefore the few models that exist will require to become better known at the level of national experts groups, and an efficient process may be to convene a series of workshops. Discussion

Concern was voiced by several member states that a working group on FMD epidemic modelling should be under the supervision of members of the Technical Committee, highlighting the potential impacts of this work. Conclusions

1. The lack of new datasets on big FMD epidemics in free countries presents a major constraint to validate epidemic models on FMD epidemics, resulting in over-reliance on the 2001 epidemic datasets. This constraint is likely to be a long term feature as no major FMD epidemics have occurred in FMD-free countries that do not use vaccination since 2001. 2. Most epidemics are currently in non-FMD-free countries that use vaccination, and therefore present the best opportunity to validate models until the next major epidemic in free countries occurs. 3. There is need of a clear guidance and process to assist decisions makers and the expert groups that advise them, to select models that are fit for the purpose intended. 4. User-friendly epidemic models are increasing, leading to potential problems if used by persons who are unfamiliar with the basic assumptions and parameters 5. It is important that users of the models understand the assumptions and have a sense of ownership of the parameters used, and that confidence can be built by agreeing on what goes into the model, and the critical parameters (sensitivity analysis). Recommendations

See list of recommendations.

Item 13 - Statement of accounts and budget for the upcoming biennium

The Income and expenditure statements for the three Trust Funds operated by the Commission were provided by the Administration and Finance Department of FAO, for 2005 and 2006 (Appendix 29). The budget proposal for contributions to the administration of the Commission by the member countries (to Trust Fund MTF/INT/011/MUL), as agreed by the 74th Executive, was presented by the Secretary (Appendix 30). Discussion It was proposed by one member state that contributions should be fixed in euros rather than US dollars at the Session, to ensure the countries were clear in their expected level of contribution. The Commission was asked to review the options and possibility for change before the 38th Session.

Conclusions

1. The Statements of Account for MTF/INT/011/MUL, MTF/MUL/004/MUL, and MTF/INT/003/EEC for 2005 and 2006 were endorsed. 2. The budget paper for 2008 and 2009 was agreed, as proposed by the 74

th

Executive Committee in Session paper 12.1, of an annual total contribution by the member countries to MTF/INT/011/MUL of US$528,890, and individual country contributions as indicated in Table 3 of the paper. 3. Attention was brought to the use of official names of member countries, specifically the recording of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 4. The conclusions and recommendations of the 74th Session of the EUFMD Executive Committee were upheld by the 37

th

Session. 5. Currency exchange variations to the US dollar affect the level of contributions by member states, and a review of the feasibility of denominating the contributions in euro or dollars should be conducted before the 38th Session.

Item 14 - Election of the Executive Committee and the Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee

Election of the Executive Committee

The following were elected unanimously, on the basis of receiving a proposal that was supported by at least one additional country nomination, and there being no additional proposed candidates:

PROPOSER SECONDERS

Peter de Leeuw, The Netherlands (Chairman) Debby Reynolds, UK (First Vice chair) Ulrich Herzog, Austria (2nd Vice Chair)

Germany Belgium Denmark Greece Hungary Sweden Germany Slovakia Finland Members

Carlos Pinheiro, Portugal Ireland Spain Lithuania Spyros Doudounakis, Greece UK France Portugal

Jeko Baichev, Bulgaria Lithuania Poland Ireland

Nihat Pakdil, Turkey Serbia Netherlands

Dejan Krnjaic, Serbia Norway Germany Netherlands

Election of the Standing Technical Committee

The proposed list developed by the outgoing Chairman and Executive Committee was endorsed without change:

Kris de Clercq Belgian National Reference Laboratory for FMD/Vesicular Diseases, CODA CERVA-VAR Bernd Haas National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, FLI, Germany Donal Sammin National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Ireland Aldo Dekker National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Lelystad, The Netherlands Mark Bronsvoort Epidemiology unit, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Emiliana Brocchi Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy Hagai Yadin National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Israel Georgi Georgiev National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Bulgaria Naci Bulut National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Turkey Stefan Zientara National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, France Soren Alexandersen National Reference Laboratory for FMD / Vesicular Diseases, Denmark Håken Vigre Epidemiology Department, National Veterinary Institute, Denmark Discussion

The involvement of experts from non-EU countries was raised. The lack of involvement of the Russian Federation in the work of the Commission was raised, given that actions in the Caucasus and West Asia act to reduce risk to Russia and the CIS countries. Several delegates indicated their support for increasing the involvement and membership of the CIS countries. Recommendations

The Executive should review the number of members, bearing in mind the budgetary and other constraints to their potential participation. The Executive Committee should take steps to increase the membership of the EUFMD Commission by countries in the east of the FAO European Region. Item 15 - Reading of the report

The Secretariat presented the draft final report, which was endorsed subject to the inclusion of the corrections and changes proposed during the reading by the member states, EC and OIE, to be included in the version to be circulated for comments.

Closing ceremony

The Chairman, Dr de Leeuw, thanked the participants for their support and interest in the programme of the Commission, the EC for their support to the activities and active participation at all levels, and thanked the Secretariat and FAO for the organization and arrangements. On behalf of the Secretariat, Dr Sumption thanked the Chairman and members and drew attention to the work behind the scenes of Nadia Rumich, Laura Contaldi, Claudia Ciarlantini, Sebastien Pesseat and Tom Murray over many months to prepare for the Session, while not neglecting the main tasks of ensuring activities continued at field level.