Council Directive 2003/85/EC of 29 September 2003 on Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease repealing Directive 85/511/EEC and Decisions 89/531/EEC and 91/665/EEC and amending Directive 92/46/EEC (Text with EEA relevance)
1.To ensure liaison between the national laboratories of the Member States and to provide optimal methods for the diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock, and differential diagnosis of other vesicular viral diseases, where necessary, for each Member State specifically by:U.K.
1.1.regularly receiving field samples from Member States and countries geographically or commercially linked to the European Union in terms of trade in animals of susceptible species or products derived from such animals with a view to monitoring the disease situation globally and regionally, to estimating and where possible predicting the risk evolving from emerging virus strains and particular epidemiological situations and determining the identity of the virus, where necessary in close collaboration with OIE designated regional reference laboratory and the WRL;U.K.
1.2.typing and full antigenic and genomic characterisation of vesicular viruses from the samples referred to in point 1.1 and communicating the results of such investigations without delay to the Commission, the Member State, and the National Laboratory concerned;U.K.
1.3.building up and maintaining an up-to-date collection of vesicular virus strains;U.K.
1.4.building up and maintaining an up-to-date collection of specific sera against vesicular virus strains;U.K.
1.5.advising the Commission on all aspects related to foot-and-mouth disease vaccine strain selection and use.U.K.
