9th meeting of the Standing Group of Experts on Lumpy Skin Disease

Main outcomes

As regards the main session on LSD, the discussion focused on the continuation of the vaccination exit strategy in the Balkans. The standing group of experts eventually recommended, in particular, that:

1. vaccination be maintained in 2020 at least in Turkey, Albania and the high-risk areas of Greece and Bulgaria;
2. that all countries/territory in the region submit to the GF-TADs Secretariat, no later than 31 January 2020: (i) a final report detailing the LSD vaccine coverage achieved in their territories in 2019 and any LSD occurrence; and (ii) their LSD surveillance plans for 2020. Armenia and Azerbaijan were also welcomed as members of the SGE LSD

Key documents

Agenda, List of participants

• Overview presentations
  * LSD in Central Asia (R. Abascal, OIE Nur-Sultan)
  * LSD epidemiological situation in Europe and neighbouring areas – occurence and vaccination (D. Dilaveris, European Commission)
  * Current FAO initiatives on LSD in the region (E. Raizman, FAO Budapest)
• Expert presentations
  * The different strategies of fighting LSD in Israel in five outbreaks, between 1989 and 2019. What have we learned? (M. Bellaiche, Israel)
  * Update on the LSD epidemiology in Russia 2015-2018 (A. Sprygin – ARRIAH)
  To play the animation of slide number 8, please click here.
  * Surveillance and control of Lumpy Skin Disease: key messages by EFSA (A. Broglia, EFSA)
  * Lumpy skin disease Diagnostic tools (K. de Clerck, EU reference laboratory)
• Countries presentations
  Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine
  * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
• Recommendations
  SGE LSD9 recommendations
• Report of the meeting
  SGE LSD9 report