Veterinary visits to become mandatory in European farming
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International, Wallingford, UK The European Agriculture Council has formally approved a draft law on animal diseases that are transmissible among animals and potentially to humans (zoonoses). The provisions in the law on farm animal health visits stipulate that professional animal owners are to receive regular animal health visits from a…
Five more bird species that can spread Lyme disease identified in USA
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent arthropod-borne disease of animals and humans in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere1. Risk of infection in humans is primarily associated with occupation (e.g. forestry work) or outdoor recreational activities. Recent surveys show that the overall prevalence…
Migrants fleeing conflict: a trial run for mass-migration due to climate change
Faced with an humanitarian crisis taking place on their shores, EU governments debate how to redistribute Syrian migrants fleeing conflict. In 2009, international health and travel medicine specialists at ECTMIH (Italy) identified mass migration as a key public health issue that Europe needed to prepare for because of climate change. What lessons can we learn from handling the current migrant crisis to prepare for the future warming of the planet?
One of our invasive species in the mainstream media
Picture: ©Muséum de Toulouse/Didier Descouens-2013. CC BY-SA 3.0 Some of the species that are included in our open-access Invasive Species Compendium are well known to the general public, for example Japanese Knotweed. Others are more obscure, and I had never heard of the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina, until I edited the datasheet about it earlier…
7,500 Years of Cheese Making in Europe
M Djuric, Dairy Science Editor Compelling evidence of cheese-making has been uncovered in prehistoric pottery sieves found in the Kuyavia region in Poland by researchers from Great Britain, Poland and the United States. The study has just been published online in Nature journal on 12 December 2012. An abundance of milk fats was detected in these specialized…
British Vets Resist “Political Measures” to Restrict Veterinary Use of Antibiotics
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM The British Veterinary Association (BVA) marked the 5th European Antibiotic Awareness Day (18 November 2012) by releasing a statement in which it reaffirms its commitment to promoting responsible use of antibiotics, but also warns that political measures to reduce antimicrobial resistance in Europe and the UK are not based on sound…
Jumping the red light – Do consumers pay attention to nutritional labels?
There have been many labelling schemes to make clearer to consumers the healthiness of foods, such as traffic light codes with green for healthy and red for less healthy. But do consumers actually make use of the labels and choose healthier foods?In a paper in CAB Reviews, Sophie Hieke and Jo Wills of the European…
Forests on the move
Studies on ‘natural’ and ‘forced’ migration of forests threatened by climate change. A multi-European project trying to anticipate the effects of climate change on forests is taking shape. In parts of Europe, established forest trees are showing signs of vulnerability – such as drought stress – as their ‘climate niche’ changes. An ambitious long-term project…
The First European Veterinary Week, 10-16 November 2008
European vets are gearing up for their first veterinary week, which will be held from 10-16 November in various locations across Europe. This is a joint initiative organised by the European Commission and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). The organising team is also supported by an advisory group of stakeholders (farmers’ organizations, industry…