WRITTEN QUESTION E-1093/01 by David Bowe (PSE) to the Commission. Link between Crohn's disease and paratuberculosis.
Date: 2001-04-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, animal disease, disease prevention, public health, research project

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/45

(2001/C 364 E/049)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1093/01

by David Bowe (PSE) to the Commission

(6 April 2001)

Subject: Link between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis

Could the Commission give a brief summary and findings from the study it has conducted on a possible
link between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis?

Will the Commission be taking any further action in this area?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 June 2001)

A report entitled (cid:145)Possible links between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis(cid:146) was adopted by the
Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare in March 2000. The report is available on the
Commissions web site at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scah/out38_en.pdf

The report is a comprehensive review of the subject which merits being read in its entirety. However, the
Committee summarises its findings as follows:

The currently available evidence is
to confirm or disprove that Mycobacterium
paratuberculosis is a causative agent of at least some cases of Crohn(cid:146)s disease in man. There are
sufficient grounds for concern to warrant increased and urgent research activity to resolve the issue.

insufficient

The Commission is funding, through the (cid:145)Quality of life and management of living resources(cid:146) programme
of the Fifth Research and Technological Development (RTD) framework programme, a research project on
the improvement of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis and Crohn(cid:146)s Disease (Sacrohn). The
project started on 1 October 2000 and continues until October 2003. The project aims at developing new
molecular detection methods and culture techniques, in particular using molecular typing techniques to
establish any possible links between ruminant sources of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and the
aetiology of Crohn(cid:146)s Disease.

At this early stage no concrete results are available from this project to see whether there may be any links
between Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in (products from) ruminants and Crohn(cid:146)s Disease.

(2001/C 364 E/050)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1099/01

by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Council

(9 April 2001)

Subject: Aid for the victims of hurricane Mitch

In response to the devastation of large areas of Honduras and the death of tens of thousands of people
caused by hurricane Mitch, the EU promised aid of SEK 2,2 billion towards reconstruction.

More than two years after the disaster, however, it appears that only a tenth of that amount has reached
the victims of the hurricane.

While other countries have completed their projects, not even one tenth of the EU(cid:146)s billions has arrived.
The remaining funds appear to be held up in Brussels.

What initiatives will the Council take to change procedures in order to avoid such mistakes in the event of
future disasters?