EXPECTATIONS FROM THE CESSATION OF VACCIN ATION AGAINST FOOT-AND-MOUTH-DISEASE IN EUROPEAN MEMBER STATES .4. THE NON-VACCINATION POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN-UNION

In the three previous papers (Stromaier and Straub, 1995, a, b, c), th e properties of the FMD virus, the conclusions drawn rom the country w ide vaccination programme in Germany and the change in the control str ategy were described. In this paper, the results obtained by vaccinati on are compared with those from the slaughter policy, the opinions of both protagonists and antagonists of vaccination being described. The need to perform a common strategy lead to the recommendation To stop v accination following a cost-benefit analysis. The possible sources fro m which infectious agents could be imported into the European Union ar e indicated The measures to be taken in the unlikely event of a FMD ou tbreak are outlined with the conclusion that emergency vaccinations ma y only be carried out when an epidemic escalates.