ANSES is granted a new reference laboratory mandate by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
At the May 2012 General Session of the World Organisation for Animal Health, ANSES's Maisons-Alfort Laboratory for Animal Health was entrusted with a new reference mandate, for epizootic haemorrhagic disease. The session was also an opportunity to officially establish the transfer of the paratuberculosis mandate from the Maisons-Alfort laboratory for Animal Health to the Niort Laboratory.
ANSES was entrusted with a new reference mandate on May 24, at the General Session which brought together the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) representatives. The mandate, for epizootic haemorrhagic disease, has been assigned to ANSES's Maisons-Alfort laboratory for Animal Health. Anothe mandate, concerning paratuberculosis, has been transferred from the Maisons-Alfort laboratory for Animal Health to the Niort Laboratory.
With this new mandate, ANSES now holds twelve OIE reference laboratory mandates and one OIE collaborating centre mandate, reflecting recognition for the work done by the Agency on the international level.
As an OIE reference laboratory, ANSES is in charge of:
- developing, standardising and validating new diagnostic and control methods for the diseases for which one of its laboratories holds a reference laboratory mandate;
- using and promoting these diagnostic methods and circulating them among the laboratories of the other Member States;
- storing and distributing the reference biological products and other reagents used for the diagnosis and control of diseases and agents for which they have a mandate;
- setting up and coordinating a network with the other OIE reference laboratories with mandates for the same disease, and organising inter-laboratory tests on a regular basis to ensure the comparability of results;
ANSES is also in charge of providing scientific and technical assistance as well as advisory support on subjects regarding surveillance and prevention for these pathologies. And finally, the Agency may train laboratories from other Member States or coordinated scientific and technical studies in collaboration with other laboratories or organisations, for example through laboratory twinning.