The European Commission said that given the serious impact that animal disease outbreaks can have on human health, society, the economy and trade, the allocation of EU co-financing will continue to assist national authorities to put in place precautionary measures, disease surveillance and eradication programmes, at national and European level.

Overall 142 programmes have been selected for EU funding: Bovine Tuberculosis (about €56 million); Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (about €42 million); Rabies (€27.5 million); Salmonellosis (about €17.5 million); Bovine Brucellosis (about €10 million); Classical Swine Fever (€3 million); Avian Influenza (€2.5 million); Bluetongue (€1.5 million); African Swine Fever and Swine Vesicular Disease in Italy (about €850.000).

EU co-financing has resulted in a continuous decrease in the number of cases of diseases, such as Salmonellosis (the second most frequently reported zoonotic disease in humans) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (a disease that affects the brain and nervous system of animals and humans).

In 2014, the EU will increase the financial support to tackle Rabies (a fatal disease transmitted by animals to humans) and will continue to fund vaccination against Rabies in the neighbouring countries of Belarus, Ukraine and Russian Federation.

For the same reason, the EU will for the first time also fund vaccination against Classical Swine Fever in Belarus.

Further Reading

Find out more information on various pig diseases by clicking here.