The Agency conducted a survey on the availability of vaccines against animal diseases in the European Union (EU) in February 2010.

The survey was conducted as part of the Disease Control Tools (DISCONTOOLS) project. It was carried out with input from national medicines regulatory authorities throughout Europe, co-ordinated through the Heads of Medicines Agencies.

Conduct of the survey

The Agency asked the veterinary regulatory authorities in each EU Member State, Norway and Iceland to provide information on which vaccines against the DISCONTOOLS project's 47 priority diseases were authorised in each country.

The survey concentrated on 'exotic diseases' (disease that are not normally found in the EU) and rare diseases; a full survey of vaccines against common diseases was not needed because a number of vaccines against these are known to be available across the EU. The Agency did not collect information on centrally authorised vaccines, because they are all authorised in all EU Member States. The Agency also noted that the lists produced are not exhaustive, since other vaccines are available in some countries, often from national producers.

The regulatory authorities also supplied information on vaccines that are being developed, the status of the diseases and national legislation.

The Agency collated the results by disease and shared the information with all of the contributors and with the DISCONTOOLS network.

The DISCONTOOLS project

The DISCONTOOLS project is a joint initiative involving industry, the research community, regulators and users of veterinary medicines. One of its aims is to prioritise important animal diseases, to help guide the distribution of funding and to focus and prioritise research. Ultimately, this will lead to the development of new and improved vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tests.

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