Council Directive of 13 December 1977 establishing the Community criteria for national plans for the accelerated eradication of brucellosis, tuberculosis and enzootic leukosis in cattle (78/52/EEC)

CHAPTER II U.K. Specific provisions relating to brucellosis in cattle

Article 5 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that under a plan for the eradication of brucellosis:

(a)

the presence and suspected presence of brucellosis are compulsorily and immediately notifiable to the competent authority;

(b)

any therapeutic treatment of brucellosis is prohibited;

(c)

if practised, anti-brucellosis vaccination is carried out under official supervision but is suspended as soon as possible so that the herds may pass to the stage of officially brucellosis-free herds.

Article 6 U.K.

1. Where a herd contains an animal suspected of having brucellosis, the competent authorities shall ensure that the official investigations are carried out as soon as possible to confirm or rule out the presence of that disease.

Pending the outcome of these investigations, the competent authorities shall order:

• the herd to be placed under official surveillance,

• the prohibition of all movement into or out of the herd unless authorized by the competent authorities for the purpose of slaughter without delay. However, movement of the castrated cattle on the farm may be authorized by the competent authorities after the isolation of the suspect animals, provided that the castrated animals are moved to fattening herds, and thence to the slaughterhouse,

• Isolation within the herd of the suspect animals.

2. The orders referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be lifted until the presence or suspected presence of brucellosis in the herd concerned has been officially ruled out.

3. Where the presence of brucellosis is officially confirmed in a herd, the Member States shall take appropriate measures to prevent any spread of the disease and shall ensure in particular that:

• all movement into or out of the herd in question is forbidden, unless authorized by the competent authorities for the purpose of slaughter without delay; however, movement of the castrated cattle on the farm may be authorized by the competent authorities after the isolation and the marking prior to slaughter of infected animals and of cattle regarded by the same authorities as infected, provided that the castrated animals are moved to fattening herds and thence to the slaughterhouse,

• animals in which the presence of brucellosis has been officially confirmed, and animals which may have been infected by them, are isolated within the herd,

• subject to observance of the terms of Directive 64/432/EEC, and those of Council Directive 78/51/EEC of 13 December 1977 prolonging certain derogation measures in respect of brucellosis and tuberculosis granted to Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom(1), the cattle are examined without delay for brucellosis,

• animals in which the presence of brucellosis has been officially confirmed, animals which have been examined as stipulated in the third indent with unfavourable results, and animals considered by the competent authorities as infected are isolated and marked until their slaughter pursuant to Article 7,

• milk from infected cows may only be fed to animals on the same farm after suitable heat treatment,

• without prejudice to national provisions concerning foodstuffs, milk from cows from an infected herd, cannot be delivered to a dairy, except to undergo suitable heat treatment,

• carcases, half-carcases, quarters, pieces and offal from infected animals intended for use as feed for animals are treated in such a way as to avoid contamination,

• foetuses, still-born calves calves which have died from brucellosis after birth or placentae are carefully disposed of and destroyed immediately, unless they are to be examined,

• straw, litter or any other matter and substance which has come into contact with the infected cow or calf or with the placenta is destroyed immediately, burnt or buried after soaking in disinfectant,

• official regulations for the control of establishments such as carcase disposal plants ensure that there is no danger of the material produced spreading brucellosis,

• manure from sheds or other quarters used by the animals is stored in a place inaccessible to farm animals, treated with a suitable disinfectant and stored for at least three weeks. Use of disinfectant is not required if the manure is covered with a layer of uninfected manure or earth. Liquid waste from sheds or other quarters used by the animals must be disinfected if it is not collected at the same time as the manure.

Article 7 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that, following a bacteriological, pathological or serological examination, animals in which the presence of brucellosis has been officially established and those considered by the competent authorities to be infected are slaughtered under official supervision as soon as possible and not later than 30 days after their owner or the person in charge has been officially notified of the results of the tests and of his obligation, under the eradication plan, to slaughter the cattle concerned within that time limit.

Article 8 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that:

1.

after the slaughter of the cattle referred to in Article 7 and prior to restocking, sheds and other herd quarters, and all containers, equipment and other articles used for the animals are cleaned and disinfected under official supervision, in accordance with the instructions given by the official veterinarian. Re-use of pastures which have contained these animals must not take place for 60 days after their removal from such pastures, the competent authorities may however derogate from this prohibition in the case of castrated animals, subject to the condition that these animals only leave these pastures for slaughter or that they are moved to fattening herds and thence to the slaughterhouse;

2.

all means of transport, containers and equipment are cleaned and disinfected after the transport of animals from an infected herd, or of materials from such animals, or of materials or substances which have been in contact with such animals. Loading areas for such animals must be cleaned and disinfected after use;

3.

the disinfectant to be used and its concentrations are officially authorized by the competent authority of the Member State concerned.

Article 9 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that after the slaughter of the cattle referred to in Article 7,

• without prejudice to the provisions of Article 11, no cattle may leave the herd concerned unless authorization has been given by the competent authority for the purpose of slaughter without delay. However, movement of the castrated cattle on the farm may be authorized by the competent authorities, provided that the castrated animals are moved to fattening herds and thence to the slaughterhouse,

• brucellosis tests are carried out on the herd concerned to confirm that the disease has been eliminated,

• the herd is not restocked with animals for breeding until the animals over 12 months old remaining in it for this purpose have passed one or more official serological examinations for brucellosis. However, for cattle which have been vaccinated in accordance with the provisions of Directive 64/432/EEC, this test need not be carried out until they are 18 months old.

Article 10 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that official serological testing is carried out in type B₁ and type B₂ herds until such time as they become type B₃ or type B₄.

Article 11 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that:

(i)

all female animals and all bulls from type B₁ herds destined for type B₂ herds:

• if more than 12 months old, have passed an officially approved serological test carried out within the 30 days prior to movement and are accompanied by a certificate to this effect from the official veterinarian,

• are isolated immediately upon arrival for at least 60 days and if more than 12 months old, have passed a further officially approved serological test before admission to the type B₂ herd;

(ii)

all female animals and all bulls from a type B₂ herd destined for another type B₂ herd:

• if more than 12 months old, have passed an officially approved serological test carried out within the 30 days prior to movement and are accompanied by a certificate to this effect from the official veterinarian,

• do not come into contact, during transfer, with animals from herds of a lower health status;

(iii)

transfers of animals between B₃ and B₄ herds are carried out subject to the observance of the requirements of Directive 64/432/EEC.

Article 12 U.K.

Member States shall ensure that:

• official control measures are taken to prevent a herd in which brucellosis has been eliminated from being re-infected from other sources of infection,

• all movements of cattle into and within herds covered by an eradication plan are subject to official monitoring,

• the movement control measures referred to in the second indent can be applied without prejudice to existing Community measures concerning movement into and out of brucellosis-free and officially brucellosis-free herds.

(1)

See page 32 of this Official Journal.