Barely three months after the last European outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), colleagues from the countries involved – Germany, Slovakia and Hungary – shared their experience during the general assembly of the Union of European Veterinary Practitioners (UEVP), held in Leuven (Belgium) last month.
‘More manpower required’
‘One of the lessons we learned from the outbreaks: calculate twice the amount manpower you think you need,’ said Roman Matejčík (State Veterinary Services, Slovakia). ‘Altogether – including firefighters, police, customs officers and the army – we needed 30,000 man-days, of which 7,000 man-days of veterinary professionals to control the outbreaks.’
Lack of awareness among vets and farmers
‘Our previous FMD outbreak was 50 years ago, and awareness of the disease among vets and farmers was perhaps not as high as it should be,’ admitted Borbála Bende, veterinary and food safety attaché of Hungary to the EU. She saw an important role for practitioners during outbreaks, such as control (early detection and surveillance), prevention (advice on biosecurity) and to be kept in the loop regarding decisions and consequences.
Simulation exercises
‘We should be better prepared, especially as young farmers and vets have never seen the disease,’ agreed Iris Fuchs, state veterinary officer and president of the Bavarian veterinary chamber (Germany). ‘We should do yearly simulation exercises, but we simply don’t have enough workforce.’ She welcomed a recent decision requiring mandatory laboratory investigation of any vesicular disease seen in cloven-hoofed animals. She also praised the reactivity of key decision makers who communicated via a WhatsApp group.
Recruitment challenges and resilience training
‘We faced veterinary recruitment challenges,’ reported Zoran Nikolic, of the Berlin veterinary services, recounting the January outbreak in Brandenburg (Germany). ‘There is a clear lack of training, much bureaucracy and also psychological strain, because who wants to kill animals?’ While he praised the transnational collaboration and was proud the FMD-free status had been restored within three months, ‘it would have been nice to have an emergency veterinary pool and benefit from resilience training.’
FMD preparedness in Austria
Although Austria did not suffer any outbreaks, it was included in the FMD surveillance zone, ‘which had a huge economic impact,’ observed Andrea Leutgöb-Ozlberger, state veterinary officer. Border crossings with Hungary and Slovakia remained closed for six weeks. Barriers and disinfection mats had been put in place, while ground water and wells were investigated for traces of the virus, as burial sites were located near the border.
‘Veterinary authorities mainly called upon companion animal and equine vets, as they would suffer less consequences for their practice in case of infection,’ explained Dietmar Gerstner, large animal practitioner form Austria, adding that veterinary volunteers were paid 140€ per hour plus travel compensation of 0,50€/km.
The importance of animal health visits
‘Animal health visits, which are mandatory according to the EU animal health law which came into force in 2021, could certainly avert outbreaks of infectious diseases and ensure faster reporting, reducing their spread,’ regretted Nancy De Briyne, executive officer of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). ‘During these animal health visits, the focus is on biosecurity and early detection of emerging diseases, so of great importance.’ However, ‘more clarity is needed on the scope and frequency of these visits’. When implemented properly, ‘it’s a win-win-win situation for farmers, society and the agrifood sector,’ she stressed.
All presentations mentioned above are available from the UEVP via national member associations.
Caption: Zoran Nikolic, of the Berlin Veterinary Services, speaking at the UEVP general assembly. (photo © Karin de Lange).