17 January '10

The minister has sent another update letter to Parliament, as a response to various questions and motions.

One of the motions was to vaccinate ALL goats and sheep htis year. The minister promised to search for more doses of vaccines, because the ordered batch of 1,5 million doses will only cover the group of animals regarding compulsory vaccination (all dairy goat and sheep farms (>50) and all petting farms and other farms with a public function. But there will not be enough to vaccinate the animals at meat sheep farms, and hobby held (breeding) animals.

The minister asked the CVI to test the Merial bi-vaccine (Q-fever combined with Chlamydophila), but apparently this vaccine does not have sufficient effectivity on goats and sheep. CEVA, the French producer of the current vaccine, cannot deliver more.

Below is a translated abstract of the letter to Parliament. attached to this letter is a CVI report on account of the various doubts uttered lately about the reliability of the PCR-tests. CLICK  cvi_07022010en for the translated version.

Ministers Verburg (LNV/Agriculture) and Klink (VWS/Public health) have sent their regular Q-fever update letter to Parliament on 16 February. In it they give a reaction to the motions and to the various written questions from MPs.

Billies (he-goats)
One of the motions to which the ministers responded concerned individual testing of the billies. The ministers decided that billies at contaminated farms will be culled, unless the farmer decides to have the billies tested for Q-fever. In that case the billies have to be tested three times with an interval of six weeks. If a billy has three negative tests in a row (the Q-fever bacterium has not been found in any of the samples) then the billy's lifelong breeding ban is lifted.

Compulsory vaccination
In the ‘regulation for temporary measures animal diseases' it says that all farms with compulsory vaccination should have their animals vaccinated before 1 January 2011. However the ministers have now decided that this date, before which animals at dairy farms and breeding farms must be vaccinated, shall be put forward; because all goats and sheep at such farms must be vaccinated before getting pregnant. The ultimate date for compulsory vaccination for these animals shall therefore be advanced to 1 June 2010. The ‘regulation temporary measures animal diseases' shall be adjusted.

Letter to Parliament, 16 February 2010 (Dutch version)  

How to use the information desk?
The Q-fever Information team has now available some hundreds of questions and answers. Around 200 municipalities, public health services, representative organisations and other relevant parties have received an e-mail with a login code for the Information desk.

The objective of the Information desk is for all these organisations to share and pass on the information to with members and other interested parties. And the organisations should act as vademecum for its members. In case that an answer to a question cannot be found in the information desk or when you have a new question, send an e-mail to the Q-fever Information team via qkoortsvragen@minlnv.nl. The question will be answered as soon as possible.

The Q-fever information desk (click HERE)

Q-fever and public health
On the website of the RIVM (National Institute of Public Health and environment) you may find the FAQs on public health. Information on public health in your own region you may find at the websites of your regional GGD (PH service). More information on Q-fever and public health at the Ministry of Public health (Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport) www.minvws.nl 

Measures and Q-fever in animals
For an overview of the measures taken as well as the answers to questions about culling, hobby animals and city farms and about vaccination, CLICK HERE.

For an overview of all relevant official websites, CLICK HERE.

The Q-fever Information Team.