According to a new GAIN Livestock and Products Report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service entitled EC Animal disease eradication, control and monitoring program for 2009, the European Commission (EC) approved Commission Decision 2008/897/EC, providing a budget of €223 million to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases in the EU-27 in 2009.This is a significant increase compared to the €186.6 million for 2008 and €193 million budgeted for 2007, respectively.
Top priorities will be Bluetongue disease, avian influenza and salmonella programmes, and TSE in small ruminants.
The effort to bring salmonella prevalence numbers down remains an important goal in 2009. The EC is maintaining a high level of funding for this cause at €20 million. As regards the surveillance for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds, it is continuing with financial assistance from the EU for laboratory testing and sampling costs for wild birds. A budget of €4,5 million is available for 2009.
This surveillance is most effective to detect early outbreaks of both high and low pathogenic influenzas and was extremely useful in past years, allowing early detection of avian influenza in wild birds before commercial flocks became infected.
