Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 5, Issue 51, 20 December 2001

A chronology of outbreaks of foodborne disease and food scares, notably bovine spongiform encephalopathy and dioxins in animal feed, has damaged consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply and the ability and commitment of the regulatory agencies to ensure that food is safe. In November 2000, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Regulation laying down the general principles of food law and establishing the European Food Authority (1).

Austria (previously assessed as geographical BSE risk (GBR) category II) announced its first confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on 6 December 2001. Therefore, since the report in last week’s issue of Eurosurveillance Weekly (1), Sweden is now the only country in the European Union not to have reported BSE.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is an independent medical research body funded by the government of the United Kingdom. The MRC’s Review of Autism Research was commissioned by the Department of Health in March 2001 and is now complete (http://www.mrc.ac.uk/PDFs/autism_report.pdf). The review was carried out to take the broadest possible view of the causes of autism, to consider whether autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have increased, and to identify priority areas for research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States (US) last week released its plans to cope with a deliberate release of smallpox (1). The plan centres on rapid ring vaccination of the contacts of infected individuals to contain the spread of infection. Mass vaccination in advance of an outbreak will not be used, partly because the risks associated with vaccination outweigh the risks of exposure to smallpox.

The recommendations for adult immunisation in Portugal’s Programa Nacional de Vacinação (PNV, national vaccination programme) (1) include the following.