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Government says that the sanitary-veterinary field cannot lead to activation of the safeguard clause that would delay accession to EU, but only draw sectorial clauses.
published in issue 3689 page 5 at 2006-05-30
According to centralised data from the Sanitary-Veterinary National Authority, a total of 115 centres of avian influenza had been in place across Romania by yesterday at noon, four more than the latest tally. The four new hotbeds are Rucar (Arges County), Dragutesti and Ticleni (Gorj County) and Belcesti (Iasi County). It is worth noting that henceforth suspicions and confirmations will be counted together given that suspicions too lead to immediate culling, once the virus is confirmed by rapid tests, without waiting the results of laboratory tests. Birds have been culled already in 111 of the 115 hotbeds, incinerated, and the locations disinfected. ?The new suspicions are fewer and fewer and we hope to become even fewer in the upcoming days,? the authorities said.
Suspicion also in District 1
The executive director of the Sanitary-Veterinary Division (DSV), Constantin Savu, announced yesterday that the preliminary tests point to a suspicion of avian flu in a hen found dead on Lonea street, Straulesti neighbourhood, in District 1 of Bucharest. The area has not yet been declared a hotbed, the responsible persons waiting to see if it is a highly pathogen virus. Then it will be decided to isolate the street, said Constantin Savu.
Plenty of checkups
At the session at Victoria Palace yesterday, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu called for stiff fines and sanctions on the farms that don?t comply with bio-security measures. According to the Government spokeswoman, Oana Marinescu, following control operations by the Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety National Authority (ANSVSA), 51 of the 162 farms checked in 15 counties failed to comply with sanitary veterinary norms. The head of the Executive again demanded that the entire ANSVSA leadership check on farms and the way the county departments of the Authority did their checkups, the Government spokeswoman said. ANSVSA and the Consumer Protection National Authority will check on meat processing units and refrigerating warehouses.
Stricter rules will also be enforced on the selling of poultry and poultry products. She also said that so far no bird-to-human transmission of the virus has been reported, which proves that efficient prevention measures have been taken.
Mere speculations
Touching on speculations in the press, the Gov?t spokeswoman said that the sanitary veterinary field cannot draw the activation of the safeguard clause that would postpone Romania?s accession to EU, but sectorial clauses at the worst. ?Authorities make all the efforts to handle the crisis, and the measures taken allow us to keep the situation under control,? Oana Marinescu said. The Gov?t spokeswoman underscored that at this point in time, all the statements about the drawing of the safeguard clause are only speculations. PM Tariceanu called on the Agriculture Ministry and the ANSVSA to send a briefing to Brussels to explain the situation and the measures ordered for handling this wave of avian influenza.
The PSD?s simple motion ?Flutur?s flu? to be discussed on Thursday
PSD announced yesterday in Senate the text of a simple motion ?Flutur?s flu?. The motion that will be discussed on Thursday will essentially request the dismissal of the Minister of Agriculture Gheorghe Flutur, of all the persons responsible in the counties, and requests the National Anti-corruption Division to investigate all the acquisitions of disinfection equipment and fast diagnosis kits made from public money. The motion has three sections: one refers to the technical causes, the second to the economic and European integration problems, and the third includes several proposals made by PSD about combating the bird flu. The social-democrats criticize the way in which the epidemiological inquiries were performed, saying that the specialists of the Institute of Virusology were not involved, while the inquiries were made hastily.
Government says that the sanitary-veterinary field cannot lead to activation of the safeguard clause that would delay accession to EU, but only draw sectorial clauses.
published in issue 3689 page 5 at 2006-05-30
According to centralised data from the Sanitary-Veterinary National Authority, a total of 115 centres of avian influenza had been in place across Romania by yesterday at noon, four more than the latest tally. The four new hotbeds are Rucar (Arges County), Dragutesti and Ticleni (Gorj County) and Belcesti (Iasi County). It is worth noting that henceforth suspicions and confirmations will be counted together given that suspicions too lead to immediate culling, once the virus is confirmed by rapid tests, without waiting the results of laboratory tests. Birds have been culled already in 111 of the 115 hotbeds, incinerated, and the locations disinfected. ?The new suspicions are fewer and fewer and we hope to become even fewer in the upcoming days,? the authorities said.
Suspicion also in District 1
The executive director of the Sanitary-Veterinary Division (DSV), Constantin Savu, announced yesterday that the preliminary tests point to a suspicion of avian flu in a hen found dead on Lonea street, Straulesti neighbourhood, in District 1 of Bucharest. The area has not yet been declared a hotbed, the responsible persons waiting to see if it is a highly pathogen virus. Then it will be decided to isolate the street, said Constantin Savu.
Plenty of checkups
At the session at Victoria Palace yesterday, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu called for stiff fines and sanctions on the farms that don?t comply with bio-security measures. According to the Government spokeswoman, Oana Marinescu, following control operations by the Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety National Authority (ANSVSA), 51 of the 162 farms checked in 15 counties failed to comply with sanitary veterinary norms. The head of the Executive again demanded that the entire ANSVSA leadership check on farms and the way the county departments of the Authority did their checkups, the Government spokeswoman said. ANSVSA and the Consumer Protection National Authority will check on meat processing units and refrigerating warehouses.
Stricter rules will also be enforced on the selling of poultry and poultry products. She also said that so far no bird-to-human transmission of the virus has been reported, which proves that efficient prevention measures have been taken.
Mere speculations
Touching on speculations in the press, the Gov?t spokeswoman said that the sanitary veterinary field cannot draw the activation of the safeguard clause that would postpone Romania?s accession to EU, but sectorial clauses at the worst. ?Authorities make all the efforts to handle the crisis, and the measures taken allow us to keep the situation under control,? Oana Marinescu said. The Gov?t spokeswoman underscored that at this point in time, all the statements about the drawing of the safeguard clause are only speculations. PM Tariceanu called on the Agriculture Ministry and the ANSVSA to send a briefing to Brussels to explain the situation and the measures ordered for handling this wave of avian influenza.
The PSD?s simple motion ?Flutur?s flu? to be discussed on Thursday
PSD announced yesterday in Senate the text of a simple motion ?Flutur?s flu?. The motion that will be discussed on Thursday will essentially request the dismissal of the Minister of Agriculture Gheorghe Flutur, of all the persons responsible in the counties, and requests the National Anti-corruption Division to investigate all the acquisitions of disinfection equipment and fast diagnosis kits made from public money. The motion has three sections: one refers to the technical causes, the second to the economic and European integration problems, and the third includes several proposals made by PSD about combating the bird flu. The social-democrats criticize the way in which the epidemiological inquiries were performed, saying that the specialists of the Institute of Virusology were not involved, while the inquiries were made hastily.