site.btaChief Veterinary Officers of Central and Eastern Europe Hold Informal Discussion in Sofia on Animal Disease Control

Meeting informally in Sofia on Thursday, the chief veterinary officers of Central and Eastern European countries discussed measures against some currently prevalent animal diseases, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency said. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

The participants talked about challenges associated with the transportation of live animals from EU member states to third countries. They stressed the importance of enhanced measures against the spread of infectious diseases into the EU, given Bulgaria’s status as an external EU border.

Bulgarian Chief Veterinary Sanitary Inspector Iliyan Kostov said: “We have been faced with serious challenges as epizootic diseases have spread into new territories.”

Speakers provided latest data about the dynamics of African swine fever in Bulgaria and other EU member states over the last two years and the initiatives implemented to control the disease. The meeting also looked at the control of highly pathogenic avian influenza during the 2023/2024 season. The chief veterinary officers of Central and Eastern European countries gave details about the state of play of these animal diseases in the respective regions. They also paid attention to the situation with bluetongue disease serotype 3 in Europe and the control of animal consignments from regions affected by it.

The participants in the meeting rallied around two recommendations to be put to discussion at a meeting of directors general of veterinary services, which will be held in Brussels next week. First, they recommend to the European Commission to adopt universal rules for certification, control and movement of consignments of live animals vaccinated against bluetongue disease serotype 3. Second, they call for a harmonized approach and a preliminary document check for consignments of live animals transported from member states to Turkiye or transited via that country.

The informal meeting in Sofia was also attended by experts from the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency.