ANNEX IIIResponsibilities and tasks of the EU reference laboratory for bee health, additional to those laid down in Article 32(2) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004

1.The EU reference laboratory for bee health shall coordinate, in consultation with the Commission, the methods employed in the Member States for diagnosing the relevant bee diseases, as necessary, in particular by:

  1. (a)

    typing, storing and, where appropriate, supplying strains of the pathogenic agents to facilitate the diagnostic service in the Union;

  2. (b)

    typing and antigenic and genomic characterisation of pathogenic agents, where relevant and necessary, for example for epidemiological follow-ups or verification of diagnosis;

  3. (c)

    supplying standard sera and other reference reagents to the national reference laboratories in order to standardise the test and the reagents used in each Member State, where reference reagents are required;

  4. (d)

    organising periodic comparative tests of diagnostic procedures at Union level with the national reference laboratories, in order to provide information on the methods of diagnosis used and the result of the tests carried out in the Union;

  5. (e)

    retaining expertise on the Tropilaelaps mites and the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) and other pertinent pathogenic agents to enable rapid differential diagnosis;

  6. (f)

    determining the identity of the causative pathogenic agents, where necessary in close collaboration with regional reference laboratories designated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE);

  7. (g)

    building up and maintaining an up-to-date collection of pathogenic agents and their strains and an up-to-date collection of other reagents against bee disease pathogens when or if available;

  8. (h)

    carrying out an inventory of the currently used techniques in the various laboratories;

  9. (i)

    proposing standardised tests and test procedures or reference reagents for internal quality control;

  10. (j)

    advising the Commission on scientific aspects related to bee health.