Animal disease programs sound, cost-effectiveness unclear: EU auditors

The animal disease programs of the European Union (EU) did a good job of containing disease, but it was hard to tell whether they were cost-effective, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors on Tuesday.

While there had been notable successes, such as decreases in the number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, the auditors warned that some controls were not sufficient and some costs were unreasonably high.

The EU member states' health programs to eradicate, control and monitor certain animal diseases involved EU funding to the value of 1.3 billion euros (1.47 billion U.S. dollars) between 2009 and 2014 to cover activities such as animal vaccination, testing, and providing compensation for slaughtered animals, said the auditors.

The auditors visited seven member states: Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and Britain, representing 72 percent of the total expenditure in this connection.

They found that the examined programs had contributed adequately to the containment of animal diseases. The approach taken by the European Commission was generally sound, and supported by good technical advice, risk analysis, and a mechanism for prioritizing resources.

However, the cost-effectiveness of programs was difficult to determine, due to the lack of available models for analysis.

There were examples of programs which had been insufficiently monitored by the member states, and of unreasonably high costs, said the auditors.

Areas with scope for improvement included the exchange of epidemiological information and access to historic results, although this was in the process of being improved.

The auditors also found that some programs should better specify the actions and controls needed.

"Animal diseases can spread rapidly across borders and some animal borne diseases are transmissible to humans," said Bettina Jakobsen, member of the Court of Auditors responsible for the report.

"So continuous vigilance and effective action at EU level is essential," she added.

While the assessment of specific veterinary programs was positive, the eradication of bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis, as well as ovine and caprine brucellosis, posed continuing challenges in some member states, said the auditors. Enditem