EU funding to combat zoonoses to protect human health
Co-financing will assist national authorities with precautionary measures, disease surveillance and eradication programmes, at national and European level given the impact that animal disease outbreaks can have on human health, economy and trade.
The eradication, control and surveillance programmes aim to contribute to food safety and safety in food production systems, while improving the sustainability of production.
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (about €12m); Salmonellosis (about €17m); Bovine Brucellosis (about €10m) and Avian Influenza (€2m) are some of the 130 programmes selected for funding.
The EU said co-financing has improved animal health and led to a decrease in human cases of zoonotic diseases, such as Salmonellosis (from 151,292 in 2007 to 80,677 cases in 2014), brucellosis and other zoonotic diseases.