Afssa - French Animal Health Network (RFSA)

Since 2004, a European Technology Platform for Global Animal Health has gathered representatives of the veterinary medicinal product industry, animal health research, financial sector and European regulation authorities.
Its work aims to define a joint research programme focusing on the diseases identified as being priority, thereby accelerating the development of medicinal products, vaccines and diagnostic tests. The creation of mirror groups is strongly encouraged within each Member State to foster the same level of action. The French Animal Health Network (RFSA) was therefore set up in 2007 following the initiative of the Directorate General for Food (DGAI).

It gathers the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Inra), French Food Safety Agency (Afssa), French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (Cirad), veterinary colleges, Union for the veterinary medicinal product industry and reagents (SIMV) and professional operators with a view to defining a joint research programme focusing on the diseases identified as being priority, thereby accelerating the development of medicinal products, vaccines and diagnostic tests.

One year on

The Network really took off in 2008 with the creation of several working groups, each entrusted with an operational mission:

- The first group looks for practical solutions to field problems, such as the availability of veterinary products for minor species.
- The second group is responsible for identifying the needs arising from the current Bluetongue health crisis.
- A final group is considering what the future needs of research will be to inform Afssa's funding ministries accordingly. The latter will then pass this information on to the European Commission.

An action plan has also been drawn up with four major objectives. Definitive validation of this plan will take place in early 2009.

February 2009

Focus: Bluetongue Operational Research Meeting

Bluetongue is a priority for the RFSA and operational research programmes are being coordinated by Afssa and Cirad and funded by the DGAI on the disease. On 21 January 2009, an information and exchange meeting was organised on the theme of operational research into bluetongue in France. Gathering breeding and selection professionals, manufacturers of veterinary medicinal products and diagnostic reagents, veterinary practitioners and public authority representatives and research bodies, it presented the progress made in research and provided responses to scientific questions arising from the field.

> Information about the meeting
(french - on RFSA's website)