WRITTEN QUESTION E-2661/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 October 2001)

Subject: The effectiveness of the European Community's no-vaccination policy as a solution to foot-and-mouth disease

Is the Commission aware:

- that a study of 60 foot-and-mouth outbreaks around the world in the last decade led by Dr. Keith Sumption, lecturer at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, showed that in 22 countries that did not vaccinate before an outbreak of the disease those countries that used a combination of vaccination and slaughter were all able to control the virus within 42 days, whilst half the non-vaccinating countries that opted for slaughter-only took longer than 50 days to contain the epidemic, with eight of the 10 longest outbreaks involving a slaughter-only policy, and that the study concluded that slaughter-only policies had worked effectively only when outbreaks were small and very localised and tackled immediately;

- that 95 % of the millions of animals slaughtered in the U.K. in recent months were perfectly healthy, causing immense distress to many farmers, some of whom barricaded their farms or resorted to legal proceedings in an attempt to prevent their flocks and herds being slaughtered;

- that one of the world's leading experts on the disease, Professor Frederick Brown, the former Deputy Director at the animal virus research unit at Pirbright, former Professor of virology at Yale University and currently visiting scientist at one of America's leading testing laboratories, has argued that vaccination was the only way to slow an outbreak in which sheep (which can carry the virus for three weeks before showing symptoms) were the principal carriers, and that when he offered the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the use of a testing system developed by his laboratory which could test for infection on site and produce accurate results within two hours, he was told that the scientists there were too busy;

- that British soldiers called to assist in the slaughter were being fed on legally imported beef from Argentina, which practises vaccination against foot-and-mouth?

If so, and bearing in mind that vaccinated animals are perfectly safe for human consumption and that as Commissioner Byrne has testified to the European Parliament, foot-and-mouth is not a risk to human health, that the extent of the slaughter not only caused enormous psychological stress to many farmers and soldiers but increased the risk of BSE transmission and that the Dutch government's policy of early vaccination has been an unqualified success, will the Commission not only undertake an immediate review of its no-vaccination policy without waiting for the outbreak in the UK to end, but also consider intervention on public health grounds so that millions more animals are not needlessly slaughtered?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2001)

The number of cases of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom has diminished rapidly in recent months and the most recent outbreak occurred on 30 September 2001. The introduction of vaccination at this stage is, therefore, most unlikely to lead to the saving of millions more animals as suggested by the Honourable Member. Moreover, vaccination cannot be introduced solely at the Commission's initiative. Instead, it must be requested by a Member State(s). It should be noted in this respect that all applications to the Commission for the introduction of vaccination in the course of the recent outbreaks were approved, subject to the conditions agreed with the Member States in the Standing Veterinary Committee.

A summary of the grounds for the non-use of vaccination in the United Kingdom is to be found on the website of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Commission has already, repeatedly, undertaken to carry out a fundamental review of the current Community approach towards vaccination once the current outbreak has been eradicated. As part of this review process a major conference is taking place under the Belgian Presidency on 11-12 December 2001. The review will also take into account the experience in the Member States where outbreaks occurred. This includes, in addition to the UK, the Netherlands where a limited policy of vaccination was used and the vaccinated animals were slaughtered and France and Ireland where outbreaks were eradicated without recourse to vaccination.

Once this review has taken place the Commission will present a proposal for a Council directive on Foot and Mouth Disease which will be transmitted to the Parliament for its opinion. The future approach towards vaccination, drawing on the experience of the recent outbreaks, will be a major part of the directive. The proposal is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2002.