ACT: Commission Regulation 1177/2006/EC implementing Regulation 2160/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control methods in the framework of the national programmes for the control of salmonella in poultry.
CONTENT: following a request from the Commission, the EFSA issued an opinion in which it stated that the use of antimicrobials for the control of salmonella in poultry should be discouraged due to public health risks associated with development, selection and the spread of resistance. As a result of the EFSA opinion, this Regulation lays down certain rules for the use of antimicrobials and vaccines within the framework of the national control programmes.
The Regulation states that the use of antimicrobials shall not be used as a specific method to control salmonella in poultry. A number of derogations are listed – for example, poultry presenting salmonella infection with clinical signs of the disease or the salvaging of valuable genetic material in breeding flocks in order to establish new salmonella-free flocks.
The Regulation also states:
- Live salmonella vaccines should not be used where there is no provision for an appropriate method to distinguish bacteriologically wild-type strains of salmonella from vaccine strains.
- Live salmonella vaccines should not be used in laying hens during production.
- Vaccination against Salmonella enteritidis should be applied during rearing (at the least) to all laying hens at the latest from 1 January 2008.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 22/08/2006.