ANSES - Le Magazine

As in 2013, the health situation in France in 2014 was generally very good.

For many regulated health hazards, only a few cases are detected annually: equine infectious anaemia, porcine brucellosis, enzootic bovine leukosis, viral diseases in freshwater fish, rabies in bats, atypical BSE, atypical scrapie, etc.

For other health hazards, no cases were detected in 2014: bovine brucellosis, brucellosis in small ruminants, Aujeszky’s disease in pigs, classical scrapie, bluetongue in mainland France, nor in Corsica since May 2014.

In both situations, however, it is still essential to maintain vigilance and the quality of surveillance at a high level. We are reminded of this by the unpredictable nature (what, when, where and in which epidemio-clinical form) of the recent epizootics or sporadic cases due to recurrences, reintroductions or emergences: sporadic cases of bovine brucellosis in 2012, Schmallenberg disease in 2012, recurring imported cases of rabies in carnivores, and of course more recently bluetongue serotype 8 and West-Nile fever in 2015.

These changes in the epidemiological situation of regulated diseases require the rapid adaptation of surveillance procedures: easing them if the situation improves (e.g. if disease-free status is regained), reinforcing them if the health situation deteriorates (e.g. for bovine tuberculosis), and reactivating and increasing vigilance in the event of resurgence. Tailoring surveillance procedures to the surveillance objectives and the health situation, and constantly seeking to improve efficiency are among the core missions of the French National Epidemiological Surveillance Platform for Animal Health (ESA Platform).

The Editorial Board - BE Regulated and Emerging Diseases