Meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Commission for the Control of FMD (EuFMD) - 1965

V.

aE?0�T OF TIIJ EXECUTIVE COGMITTEE

The Chairman commontud on the various Sections 0f th c �epcrt which was �r0sentcd. ( Seo Ln, endix IV.) He drew s ;;- e:cial attent:i.-::,n t,, the- folll).-7:i.ne: points: The imp c r t a n c e a t t ,:-. c h e d by t 11 c Corn,,, i s s i CJ n t c, t ·11 <� -� e g ion a 1 Meetin� of Balkan countries hcl( st tho initiative uf the Commission and attended by representatives �f tl1e Veterinary Services of Bulgaria, CrGece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia and the Director of O.I.E., t0gether with Dr. Eichhorn, FAO, and the Chairman and th0 $ecretary ,_;f th& Comr11isc'Jion.

The Meeting uf the Executive Committee in ·,!arsaw, held on 11 September 1965, part uf which was a joint meeting with the O.I.E, Permanent Foot-and-Mouth Disease Commission. This meeting was held on the occasion of the O.I.E. Commission for Europe.

An excellent opportunity was afforded for wide discussion on the _situation of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe and the_ campaigns against the i"ntroduction of exotic strains of t·he viius into Europe.

The meetint of the aesearch Group of the Commission's Standing Technical Committee in Lyons, at which some highly important problems on the control of individual vaccines were fully and openly discussed, It will be noted that the meeting was attended by research workers· ·from countries :in which the laboratories ar� now being established and organized with the assistance of the Commission. The comprehensive report of the work carried out at the meeting, including many of the.papers presented and summaries of the discussions is now being issu�d.

The �uggested agenda for the 1966 meeting of the Group to be held at the Pirbright Laboratory, England, includes: 1.

Further studies on the problems of innocuity and potency of inactivated vaccines, including the use of guineapigs and sheep in the control of vaccines.

2.

The epidemiology of the disease and the current subtype situation.

3.

Vaccine production fr0m cell cultures.

4.

Vaccination of pigs (as reque3ted by the Commission).

The future activities of the Comm�ssion.

The need was stressed for the Secretary to be provided with all up-to-date infurnati�n as stated in the report of the Executive Committee in Milan.

The Report of the Executive Committee w□s approved.

54

A� PEN:)IX IV REPORT OF.THE EXECUTIVE -COMMITTEE The activities of the Commission since the Twelfth Session did not differ substantially from the pattern of work initiated in 1962 with the inception of the SAT1 campaign in s�uthern ·Europe and Anatolia. .

The main scope �as to continue the actiop _directed �o�ard�. preventing the entrance into Europe of exotic types and variants of the foot-and-mouth: disease virus. As is known.,, another epi­ zo0tic I c�uoud by a �ew A variant (Middle East.�ari�ntl of the . foot-and-mouth disease virus spread to all regions which were already the theatre of the SAT1 campaign and everythi.ng possible has been done to achieve, also against this second menace, @imil:.r rGcults ,,s wcr(:;' rer.chcd with the SATl virus.

This brought about an intense activity of the Commission's Secretariat who, as in the past, was entrusted with the organization of the campaign and maintenance of coritacts with countries, authorities, institutes and experts involved in it.

The particular aspects of this work were essentially the same as in 1965, i.e. procurement of additional funds needed to ,continue operations and ipclude control of a further exotic virus in the campaign; coordination of the work in Turkey and ·Iran directed towards astertaining the real importance of the new variant from ony point of view; the.supply of vaccine for the spring and autumn campai�ns; the supply of material and equipment to the assisted institutes at Ankara and Athens; repeated contacts with the PAO experts working in the field •·(Mr. Stubbins) and at the laboratories (Dr� Girard) within the framework of the campaign; contacts with veterinary authorities, experts and specialists engaged in foot-and-mouth disease work in the Near East; participation in the administrat�on of the funds for the SAT1 campaign; reports on the situation of the campaign, etc.

These· activities ws:r<: c�,ntinu,"·•d 1.· n �-...,. C C (. r C . ·:a C e _. with the suggestions of the FAO/EEC/OIE Consultative Committee made at its IVth meeting on 29 March 1965 (minutes of this meeting; page 45, XIIth Session R�port), ) .

ln the . autumn of. 195 5 a new epiz0otic, .caused pro ba_bly _by the same Middle East variarit of t�e A vlrus type, spread in westePn regions of the Soviet Union, thus cre�ting great cancer� in western Europe.

The Secretary was invited to an informative meeting at the GIE Headquarters in Pnris on 14 Decembe�~ �1965.

Here, he discussed with the Chairman of the Commission the possibility of earmarking funds available in the Commission's Special Account for the purchase of 40,000 doses type A vaccine (homoi�gous to the Middle East sribtype�. The vaccine will be dispatched for ring vaccination in case of

MR/42003

56

��e�gency 11 shoul4 the disease appear in any member country of the' Commission. , !�:addition it w�s �gTeed with PAO tha�·�nt�serum, specific for the -.Middle East A virus shoul.d be ·,.tmmediate.1y dispatched _by Pirbright to Europe�n countries bor4ering the USSR, at the expense of FAO. Mainly conne,ct . ed with the S_AT1/A campa"igns were the two trips t_ o cou�trios in scuth�oasttrn Europe_·undertaken by the Secretnry of the Con.mission.

1..

Visit t _ o G�eece, ,Turkey, Bulgariu and th€, .:1cgional �;i0i;_ting of the Balkan coqntries (22 April-16 May 1965)

(a) Visit to Gre . ece .,(23-25 May 1965). This visit. was �arried out together with Dr. E.A. Eichhorn, with the object of discussing the· d,isense position in Greece and the pr.ogress made in the productio,n; of larger quantitios of foot-and-mouth disea-se vaccine at the Jnsti�ute of Ag�in Faraskevi (Athens). This has bee_n .of particular ,,importance in view of the new situation which arose because of- tbe- appsarance. of the new variant of type A' virus in Greek terri�ory at the borders with Turkey ,and the necessity to coordinate accordingly the activities within the framework of the campaign.

At the Institut.e, it became apparent that, at that time, a maximum of 100,000 monovalent doses could be produced per month.

This capacity is still inadequate if compared with the number of ruminants in the country (14 1 000,000 small ruminants and 1,400,000 large ruminants) and the necessity of k�eping vast areas under protection against two or. three virus types.

Production capacity will be considerably increased Wh�n the· new wing of the Inst�tute is completed which will p.ermit the use of all equipment furnished by FAO within the framework of. the SAT1 campaign.

-

..

Va�ious t�chnical problems concerning the maintenance of the buffer zone, the production and testing of vaccine, the expqnsion of work on tissue culture �nd the reorganization of the . Irts�itute. were discussed. The progress made by· the· Ins ti tJ1 te in cultivating foo t-and-mou th disease virus on kidney ·tissue was also appreciated. (b) Visit . to Turkey (29 April-15 May).

Ankara. The objects of the yisit were to coordinate the· actiVities of the two FA6 �xperts i ,Dr. Girard and Mr. Stubbins, to arrange :for Dr. Girard's continuation and expansion of his activities es adviser for laborato�y work and fqr setting up the new Foot­ and-:t;'iout.h _Dise,c1se I·�•stitute, to make arrangements for ·th.e· spring a�d $½Mme� vaccination campaign to .be carried otit in Thrace ·an,d.the; ;Ma:rmara Se.a nreas,.against SATl, A and O,virus types,- to ,Qiscus.s the supply of- equipment still needed' for·,'.· laboratory work, an Jt.)revi-ffw: the ,pr-og.r:e-ss made in the ·:o:rganiz·ation: of control of fqot-and-m:outh. disea�Ei in ,general.,

56

In particular, the Secretary took note of the final results of the expel'iments carried out in. Turkey under the di.rection of Dr. Girard and in collaboration with French experts in order to establish up_to which degree, if any, the European v�ceine of type A could ·Protee t against the new strain (Middle Bast A strain) which had entered Turkey in late 1964. The results obtained by the comparative testing of three European vaccines had made it possible to classify the new subtype as exotic just in time to make possible the supply of homologous vaccine requ{red for the vaccination of the buffer zones, the rest of Thrace and other important areas of Anatolia. the efforts made by the Turkish Government to · Also, take part in the supply of important installations for the new Institute, for instance the piping necessary for the ven­ tilation and air-conditioning of the whole Institute, were noted,

..

Finally, the Secretary participated with Dr. Ozdural and Mr. Stubbins in a meeting with the officers of the US AID Mission, Cen�ral Office in Turkey. The possibili·t y and ad­ v�sability of expanding the assistance program for the produc­ tivity i�p�ovement of local bovine breeds (Livestock Feeding Project}, combining that program with the �ctivities aimed at the creating foot-and-mouth disease free areas, were discussed.

Together with the Director-General Field Trie in Turkey. of the Italian Veterinary Services, Professor Ademollo, the S�cretary visited breeding farms and experiment stations for animal production (Lc;1lahan), the dj.E.gnostic centre and tbe indust�ial slaughterhouse at Konya, the Veterinary Institute at Fendik and the provincial Veterinary Office and the quarantine station at Izmir.

The purpose of the trip was in particular to investigate the organization of the peripheric veterinary services in western Anatolia with a view in future to collecting animals for export in this part of the cou�try.

At Izmir two isolation stables, the construction of which was recently completed and which brought the capacity of the station up to 300 animals, were visited.

For the time being any export from this station into Europe is suspended. (c) �isit to Bulgaria and the Region8l·��&ting of B3lkan Countries. In Bulgaria the Secretary• made a visit, together with Dr. Eichhorn, to some Veterinary Institutes at Sofia including the laboratory producing foot-and-mouth disease vaccine and made a trip through Bulgarian Thrace, where buffer zones are being maintained against SAT1 and A•virus.

The efforts made by Btilgaria to colliborate with PAO in keeping the country free of foot-and-mquth disease were observed. �owever, the produ�tion capacity an� layout of the laboratory were found. quite · inadequate to meet the require­ ments of the country.

The Director of Veterinary Services, Professor A. P 6pov;intimat�that the Government anticipates building a new foot-and-mouth disease insti�ute in a suitable area near Sofia as soon as_ financial means will become available.

The cbns�ruction is foreseen f or 1967.

A Regional Meeting of the Balkan Countries was held from 26-28 April -1965 at Sofin at 'the• initiative of -the Commission 'ani with the participation of the Director of OI·E. · Dr. Fopov organized the meeting and was able to secure the participation o E . delegations from Greece, Rumania, Turkey· and Yug·oslavia and of an observer from Hungary.

The Chairman of the Commission, Dr. R,P. Gaier, was elected Chairman of the Meeting;

•

The object of the meeting was to examine the position of foot-and-mouth d.i:s-eu8e in south-eastern Europe nnd the Near ,East, the progress made during three years through vaccination programs in· the buffer· zones and in Turkish Thrace, the danger of the spv--e.ad of presen-t exotic vi1'us types or subtypes into Europe through· Anatolia and· the Bosphorus, nnd the possibility of , apvlying uniform -sanitary regulations to facilitate commercial trade in animals and products of animal origin .

In particul�r, the Secretary reported on the steps taken

by FAO to determ�ne the characteristics of the new type A variant compared with the classical strains used in the production of A type vaccines in Europe. He also gave info�­ mation on the· supplies of homologous A vaccine ordered for the bivalent (SAT1/A) protection of the buffer zones and on the intention to extend such vaccination to the whole of rurkish Thrace.

The meetint endorsed the action taken by_FAO to create and maintain buffer zones •in south-e�stern Europe and re6ommei��d that border areas at a depth of not iess than 20-30 km. on both sides. of ·the Turco-Bulgarian and the Turco-Greek frqntiers should continue to be protected as long · as the threat of foot­ and-mouth disease persists in this strategically impo�tant area.

All participants in the m�eting e�phasized the necessity for improved regulations concetning import, export and tra�sit of ani�als and prciducte of 'ani�al 6rigin between the resp�ctive i count�ies, It was·-agreed, howevei, that no g�r eral rules co�ld ' be laid down at that time and that bilateral agre�ments to fit th�ir individuai nee�s should be stipQlated between countries, Another recommendation str6ssed the ne�d for accurate and timely exchange of information between countries and the immediate notification by OIE on any new appenr�nce of f6ot­ and-mouth disease in the region, At the conclusion of the meeting a documerit was appfove� and signed by the chiefs- of delegations (see attach�erit ·1�a), The meeting at Sofia offered a welcome opportunity to review- in detail and with the participa•ti0n of a:11· countri.es concerned, p�oblems �hich had ilready been· discussed on a m9re. general leve1 at the XIIth Ses�ion of the_ Eu�opean Commissi9n_ for the Control of Foot-and-Mobth Disease (R�me� 30 March 1 April 1965) which was not attended by deleg�tions from Bulgaria or Greece·.

58

2.

Second visit to Lebanon,·Turke� and Greece.

3 November).

(15 October -

Lebanon. At Beirut, the Secretary had contacts with Dr. Moulton, Project Manager of the Near-East Ani�al Health Institute (NEAHI), Mr. Childs, Instrument Technician at the NEAHI and Dr. Nahme, Director of Veterinary Services, Lebanon.· The sanitary situation in the Near Bast with regard to foot-and-mouth disease and other infectious diseases was dis­ cussed with Dr. Moulton, as well ns the action taken to instruct veterinarians of the region, mainly those working in the Persian Gulf area, in diagnostic techniques, early reporting of the presence of foot-and-mouth disease and other infection� diseases, disease control, etc. As is known, exotic diseases have easy access to the Neai East because of the active and often many of these originate from uncontrolled livestock trade: infected countries. The danger of a possible spread to Turkey and the European Continent is evident . . At Tripoli, the Secretary visited the new quarantine station about to be set up by· the Lebanese authorities in view of the importation of ruminant� from the African Continent, Various problems connected with such difficult and dangerous enterprises were dis cussed with Drs. Moulton and Nahme. ..

Turkey.

In Turkey, the Secretary discussed with Drs. Ozdural, Nazlioglu and Girard the results obtained in. Thrace with bivalent and sometimes trivalent vaccination during the spring and summer months.

After the completion of vaccinntion, only a few outbreaks had been observed. In these outbreaks, a very low percentage of animals was affected with patent symptoms of the disease.

As with the GAT1 virus, vaccination with homologous A vaccine proved an excellent me ans of c ori trolling the ne_w epizootic.

The absence of SAT1 virus from Thrace for the second year and th� fact that in Anatolia typing had not disclosed any SAT1 virus since July 1965, was considered highly satisfactory.

Dr. tizdural, however, expres�ed his c6ncern about the simultaneous recur�ence in several Anatolian provinces of ne� outbreaks due to virus type O and asked the Secretary to attempt to procure a stock of type O vaccine from other sources. The Secretary undertobk to investigate this possibility immediately afte.r h-is return to Rome.

In reviewing with Dr. Girard the p�ogress of the laboratory work carried out at Etlik, the Secretary became aware of the difficulties which prevented Turkey from regularly producing sufficient quantities of good yaccine in the old, small laboratory at the Etlik institute. On the othe r hand, he noted the slow progress made during 1965 compared with that in 1964 in the construction of the new institute, and the conse�uent

59 impossibility of producing adequate quantities of vaccine for the ._ ....... next biennium in Turkey·; The-work ·of· the;very active diagnostic section �as found to be ex·tremely satisfac·tory as :in ·the first .nine months of 1965, 2,.500 specimens of foot-�nd-�outh �aterial·had been examin�d; But the most intoresting and concrete results at Etlik in 1965 are probably the improvements made by Dr. Girard of the quality and co6rdinat±on Of the woik of th� personnel employed in the f6ot-and-m6tith·•disease laboratory (twel�e veterinarians), Improved techniques in vaccine production were set up, so far with favourabl8 and fairly constant results,· The program of future activities at the institute was reviewed with Dr. G±�ard and it was agreed that Mr. Childs (Near Eist Animal Health'Institute) should make a further visit to Turkey in order to advise on the installaiibn of the equip­ ment in the institute under construction.

A fur ther plan for the autumn vaccination of the buffer zones and the regions near Istanbul was examined in detail, wi•th DI',,-· -Ozdur ar an·ct Dr. Nazlioglu.

Greece. The program for the autumn vaccination of the buffer zones (province o� Evros) wa� di�cuss�d with Dr, Perakakis and a visit was made to the Institute of Aghia .:.,Fiara:ske:vi.

It was ,g,ratifyi•ng to note the co'nSiderable progress 1 m1,1<a·a�-'. by •this Institute in its vaccine--production c·a1:,acity, whi-c:-h,:w.as ·d:ue mainly to the installation of two rolling drum a�ps�at�& in th� -tissue culture section.

Unfor t \itrl ate 1 y , t tie i·a ck -of s p ac e at' t he In stitut e s ti 11 cre,ate:s ·considerable· difficulty and it is hoped that decisions will soon·.be· made ·for expansion of the Institu're to be begun in the :early ,mo-nths ,·of· 1966.

1

'

A;

MEETINGS OF TI-IE COMMISSION'S COMMITTEES

Executive Committ��- ·

Wars:aw ,' · on· ·the occasion of the Conference of the OIE Permanen't Commi!Ssion. f6r Europe· at Warsaw (7-11 September), the Secretary of the Commission convened a meeting of the Executive Committee. ' Twd �essi6ns �eri hrild;on the 11th September, the first a clos'e'ct' :·m·eeting f'o.r the mem·bers of the Executive Committee � only._ ;

60 The First Session (11 September 1965) was attended by Dr, R.F. Gaier, (.r\.\rnt:d_a: -Chc:-irn!"'.!l.i Dr, E. Fritschi (Switzerland) and Professor A, Ademollo (Italy} Vice-Chairmen; Dr. J.M. van den Born (Netherlands); Mr:. L. Patkovic (Engineer) Yugoslavia (representing D'r. 'Mijailovic) and Dr. G.M: Boldrini, Secretary of·the European Coi0ission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

A report, prepared by the Secretary of the Commission to the Executive Committee,was circulated and approved. The report contained: (a)

Statistics on the foot-and-mouth disease situation in Europe;

(b}

the development and the prospects of the campaigns con­ ducted in 1965 against the SAT1 and A (Middle East) virus types in south-eastern Europe and Anatolia;

(c)

the activities of the Secretariat in connection with the above campaign;

(d)

a summary of the Regional Meeting of the Balkan countri�s held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 26-28 April 1965;

(e)

the future activities of the Commission.

Regarding the position in Europe, a report was given by the Lirector�General of Veterinary Services, Italy, on the results and the development of the vaccination campaign against foot­ and-mduth disease undertaken on a large scale in northern Italy since autumn 1964.

It was noted with much satisfaction that Italy had made great efforts to begin systematic annual vaccination of her livestock, as is ·now carried out in various other European countries and which will lead to a definite improvement in the control of foot-a�d-mouth disease in this country.

The possibilities of introducing the disease into Italy through the importation of livestock (700,000 head of cattle were imported in 1964 alone) and the great difficulties connected with an efficrent control of the animals entering the country via the alpine border transit points have been evaluated.

The meeting appreciated the efforts made up to the present time and the perseverance with which the policies were pursued, w ith a ·1.ri e: i, t o ext endi n g an nu a 1 va ccination t o a 11 the nationa1 territories.

The Executive Committee also expressed satisfaction concerning the activities carried out by the Secretariat of the European Comm�ssion with regard to the FAO campaign against the exotic viruses, SATl and A (Middle East strain), and of the remarkable results obtained in the control of these two viruses in Thrace.

The efforts made by Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey in organizing the proper applic�tion of vaccines obtained thr0ugh FAO_ were emphazised.

62 Item I. Spe�kers from Poland 1 the Federal Republic of Germ�ny 1 the Gritmin Dem6cratic 3e�ublic, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugosl�via� ltij1�, Rumania 1 Bulgaria and Turkey gavd accounts of the sinitaiy situatiohs in th�ir respactive countries. · . �ri pirti��la�; Dr. �ck�rsko�n emphnzised the difficulty of 'controlling· foot-and-mouth disease in pigs esQecially in those areas· where there is a very high concentration of this species.

Th_e adoption of vaccination, even with imported _ vacci�es 1 _gave ·no noteworthy results, possibly because of the too short immunity conferred. However, Germany had in mind to adopt, probably in the winter 1965/66, a "stamping- out" policy.

Dr. Heinecke, German Democratic Republic, rQferred to the success of trivalent vaccination which permitted the liquidation of the last epizootic wave of the disease (Spring 1965) and to the promising results which were obtained with a ne� modified live virus-vaccine, intended exclusively for the vaccination of pigs.

Dr. Osz explained the difficulties encountered in his country in bringing the disease under control and the impo�tant role played by tourists in the passive transmission of the virus.

Dr. Kouba, the Czech del8gate, dealing with the same problem, stated that in his country too 1 the movemen tsof human beings had to be limited during the last epizootic.

In addition, tourists are not admitted from the neighbouring countries if foot-and-mouth di�e�se has been reported within 10 kilometer� from their place of origin.

Czechoslovakia slaughtered over 7,000 cattle in the first five months of the year.

Yugoslavia also attributed significance to the movement of tourists, as stated by Dr. Patkovic, for the passive trans­ mission bf the disease. ·r� the first few �bnths of 1965, 5�842 pi�s had to be slaughte�ed bef�re the disease could be brought under control. · For Italy, Professor Ademollo spLk? in mLre detail than in the. previou� meetingpn the �esults of the first campaign in the Po Valley where,.3,5OO,OOO cattle were vaccinated during Autumn 1964, He underlined the Government's determination.to continue along these lines·in order to arrive, if possible, at annual trivalent �actination of all livestbck in the. country.

He reiterated the importance of the dang�r to which Italy is exposed because of the importation of s0veral hundred thou�cind cattle per year, addin� that the disease had entered Italy in this way· on at leasr two ocGnsions during the first few mvnths of 1965.

The Secretary of the Commission pointed out that in Bulgaria, Rumania and Greece,the mea�ures adopted to control foot-and-mouth disease have had full success aQd that it had beeri possible to keep a region as important as south-east�rn Europe free from the di��ase.

Dr. Sadettin presented a comprehensive report on the situation in Tuikey end the efforts which are being made 0t present to identify and to c�nt�ol'the n�w· A v�riant. ,,

66

The results of the experiments which were given, the different experiments now in pro�ress and the accumulation of the results will �erhaps enable the possibilities offered by these �ethods to be increased in the future.

The choice of the strain of the chillenge virus is of primary importance.

This strain should, in fact, have the same characters as the strain which threatens the livestock of a country.

Close collaboration between the controller nnd the producer is therefore necessiry in the choice of the strain, since its introduction into the composition of the vaccines may be found indispensable·.

The control carried out in the two stn6es, i.e. by the producer and the controller, gives an additional guarantee for eliminating all batches o_f vaccine which are judged to heve insufficient activity.

All the controls are based, in general, on the degree of immediate immunity.

Eiperiments now in progress will perhaps enable information on the duration of immunity to be obtained from the results of the controls.

It would be desirable to have a standard reference serum in order to be able to compare the serum-neutralisation results obtained in the different laboratories. (c)

St�dy of the Vaccination of Sheep, using inactivated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine.

From the reports presented, it is confirmed that a very good immunity against foot-and-mouth disease in sheep can be obtained.

It is not possible to control foot-and-mouth disease vaccine in sheep by direct test in sheep because of the irregularity of their response to virulent challenge.

Indirect methods based on the titration of antibodies and particularly the study of viraemia seem, nevertheless, to enable the de�ree of the immunity to be measured. ( d)

Influence of Vaccination' of the mother against Foot­ and-Mouth Disease on the level of ne�tralising �ntibodies in her offspring.

From the work presented, it is concluded that the titres of antibodies vary within very wide limits in accordance with the ways iri which the vaccination is carried out in the mother and with the age of the animals.

67 OTHER MEETINGS ATTENDED BY THE SEC::{ETA�Y, AND VISITS

The XXXIIIrd Session of OIE 2·4-29 May 1965.

Among other matters of general interest, the evolution df foot-and-mouth disease wns·disctlssed on a world-wide basis and the acti0n taken by FAO and the Commission in controlling foot­ and-mouth disease in south-�astern Buro9e was mentio�ed.

Some �ountries repo�ted on the live modified vaccines used by them in the prophyl�xis of foot-and-muuth disease; this was in view of an inventory now being prepared by OIE on this subject.

The Third Conference of the OIE Permanent Com�ission for Europe. ·War�aw, 11 September 1965.

The -Secretary re·presented PAO at this meeting, which gave him an opportunity of convenin& the Executive Committee· (��e under Commission's Com�ittee Meetings} and exchanging i�f6r­ mation and views �ith �eveihl d�legates of Centrai Europ��n countries.

Visit to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale, BPescia, Italy, 19-30 July 1965.

At Brescia,the Secretary, as in previous years, spent a few days at the Institute to collect information on the latest developments in vaccine production techniques. In particular, he was able to note a great expansion in the industrial application of tissue culture techniques and the promising progress in the technique of virus culture in suspended cells.

The epizootiology of foot-end-mouth disease and the results of the first general vaccination can�oign in the Po Valley were discussed.

Future Activities of the Commission The Crn ..mission will continue to encourage national and international actiun for the control of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe.

To this end, close contacts will continue to be kept with Government nuthorities, OIE and other specialized agencies and institutes.

If necessary, the Secretary will visit European veterinary services And institutes in 0rder to collect information on the progress of disease control, vaccination schemes, vaccine production techniques and research on foot-and-mouth disease.

The member countries of the Commission, in turn, should furnish the Secretary with all the information which could be of use to him in view of the activities to be carried out, in compliunce with the Constitution of the Commission,