Projects

The landscape of infectious diseases among animals is constantly evolving. As a leading provider of genetic material, Swissgenetics recognizes the importance of staying up to date of current and future disease threats and ensure the effectiveness of its emergency preparedness protocols.

SAFOSO is supporting the FSVO in evaluating pesticides submitted by companies for approval to the Swiss market. Assessments not only focus on potential toxicological effects of pesticide residues in food, but also consider direct exposure for private users, as well as bystanders and residents in close proximity to treated areas.

On behalf of IFC, we assessed selected Moldovan dairy processing companies which produce dairy products from sheep and goat milk in regard to their compliance with EU export requirements. On-site trainings supported processors to increase their knowledge on export requirements for milk and dairy products.

To exploit potential trade opportunities with China, the Government of Punjab, Pakistan planned to establish a FMD Free Zone (with vaccination) in Bahawalpur Division, to be officially recognized by the WOAH. The proposed zone encompasses the entirety of Bahawalpur Division. The geographical boundaries of the zone are defined by the Indus River and the Sutlej River forming the Northern barrier of the zone between the zone and the rest of Punjab province, the Reni canal in the west (between Bahawalpur and Sindh provinces) and India (to the south-east). The edge with India is impermeable due to the presence of a high-security fence.

EuFMD organized a hybrid meeting for the South-East European region under Component 1.4 of Pillar I. The meeting took place on Wednesday 13 July 2022 as part of a 3-day regional event and aimed to introduce syndromic surveillance to the countries in the region. SAFOSO provided support in the design and implementation of the hybrid meeting.

In the context of the EuFMD risk reduction programme in the European neighbourhood, a technical assistance project was carried out in 2023 by EuFMD with the technical leadership of SAFOSO AG for introducing syndromic surveillance systems to improve early detection in the Middle East region and to design a pilot SyS in country in the region.

We conducted an evaluation of a pilot project in which selected animal health indicators were used to establish an early warning system for adverse health events in the national cattle population.

On behalf of IFC, we assessed selected Moldovan dairy processing companies for compliance with EU export requirements. In addition, we held an on-site training for processors and staff of the National Food Safety Authority to increase their knowledge on specific EU requirements in regard to food hygiene and safety in dairy products.

On behalf of IFC, we compared the system for veterinary certification in Moldova and in the EU. We also organized a mission to Switzerland for delegates of the Moldovan National Food Safety Agency to show how animal health and food safety information is transmitted along the value chain.

On behalf of the World Bank, we conducted an assessment of the capacities to implement the WTO SPS agreement and the Trade Facilitation Agreement in the area of import and export of food in Comoros. A 10-day field mission was the core of our activities.

The BETTER COST Action will evaluate how biosecurity is currently used and will use participative approaches to understand motivators and barriers for biosecurity implementation. The overall aim of the Action is to reduce the risk of infectious disease introduction and spread by improving the implementation of biosecurity measures in animal production systems.

SAFOSO in collaboration with SAPPO investigated the perception of farm managers and the consulting veterinarians of the risk of relevant risk factors for African Swine Fever (ASF) introduction into the registered pig compartments in South Africa. The objective of the study is to identify the gaps in biosecurity and make recommendations for prevention of ASF introduction into compartments.

This research study aims to assess the prevalence of paratuberculosis in Swiss dairy herds and assess risk factors for a positive herd status.

On behalf of the Swiss Federal food safety and veterinary office, we conducted an evaluation of the implementation and impact of the Swiss pig health service. Our report provided a basis for its future strategic orientation and further development.

From February to April, SAFOSO supported the canton of Aargau with its pilot project Repetitive Testing (ReTe) for SARS-CoV-2 in collaboration with IXORIS and other stakeholders.

In 2021, the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office conducted a national simulation exercise for an outbreak of African swine fever. We were member of the organizing committee and contributed to the development of the scenarios, observing the implementation and analysing the results of the exercise.

On behalf of the Swiss Federal food safety and veterinary office, we identified indirect economic impacts that can be expected in case of an outbreak of African swine fever in Switzerland. These findings can be used to help the pig sector prepare and put in place measures to reduce these impacts.

We developed an online course on epidemiology for non-epidemiologists in response to the great demand for understanding basic epidemiological concepts during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We accompany a Swiss-funded project in Georgia, which aims to develop and implement a national animal identification and traceability system. Our support contributes to strengthening the sustainability of the project’s results and the long-term viability of Georgia’s animal identification and traceability system.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was the topic of the webinar SAFOSO organized for the insurance company CSS. Together with the participants, we walked through all aspects of the use of antibiotics and how resistance builds.

SAFOSO organized a series of Webinars aboutCOVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 for the insurance company CSS.

SAFOSO has organized a workshop on COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 for Fenaco, a large Swiss agriculture cooperative. The on-site workshop addressed the specific concerns of the client and was a tailor-made training, that included background information on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its epidemiology, on testing and test result interpretation, as well as reflecting the current situation in Switzerland.

Throughout the pandemic, African swine fever (ASF), a viral disease of pigs and wild boar has continued affecting countries and causing serious socio-economic consequences to the swine value chain especially farmers worldwide.

The Quality FOOD Trade Program is a program funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and is focused on value addition for dairy and organic products for the Ukrainian domestic market and export to high value markets. The dairy component is a follow-up initiative to the SECO-funded project "Establishment of a risk-based food safety control system in the dairy value chain in Ukraine", which was implemented by SAFOSO from 2015-2019. The QFT Program is implemented by the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in partnership with SAFOSO.

"Smart Animal Health" is a research project funded by the Swiss veterinary and agricultural authorities. It aimed to develop animal health and welfare indicators based on animal health and welfare data from a variety of data sources. Among other activities, SAFOSO led the Work Packages on stakeholder engagement and knowledge transfer.

Risk-based border inspections for imported food of animal and non-animal origin are important to protect life and health of people, animals and plants of the importing country in an efficient and effective manner. SAFOSO provided training to the food and veterinary authorities in Albania and Kosovo on the use of risk assessment for the planning and implementation of such risk-based border inspections.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a foodborne zoonotic disease with large implications not only for animal and public health but also for international trade in bovines and bovine derived products. SAFOSO supported the States of Jersey to bring together the data and information necessary to achieve official recognition by the OIE of the BSE risk status of the territory and to document it in a report.

Antimicrobial resistance is a recognized threat for public health and exposure of consumers to antimicrobial resistant bacteria should be minimized. This project aims to develop targeted intervention strategies for the reduction of exposure at consumer level.

New technology allows the development of diagnostic test devices that can be used on location, thereby eliminating the need for shipment of samples to a laboratory and thus shortening the time to result. SAFOSO conducted a comprehensive market research study to understand the interest of and benefits for veterinarians.

When veterinarians benefit economically from the sales of antimicrobials, this may be counterproductive to national efforts to reduce antimicrobial usage. Our study analysed the economic importance of and alternative economic systems for the sales of antimicrobials by veterinarians in the Swiss veal sector.

Switzerland is free from IBR and EBL and this freedom is demonstrated annually through the collection and testing of a predetermined number of samples. SAFOSO evaluated this surveillance system and asessed its sensitivity. We provided recommendations for further optimization of the cost-effectiveness of the sampling program.

SAFOSO was contracted by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support the conduct of the evaluation of Germany's strategy on antimicrobial resistance. Findings showed that a reduction in antimicrobial usage was reached and positive effects of this reduction on the development of antimicrobial resistance were noticed. The evaluation reported was addressed to the German parliament in June 2019

The Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office launched a pig health pilot project, which aimed to increase the skills of specialized pig health veterinarians, to improve the quality of pig farm health management and to strengthen the collaboration between pig health veterinarians and laboratories. We conducted an evaluation of this pilot project through an interim evaluation halfway through the project and a final evaluation at the end of the pilot project. The results of our evaluation will provide the basis for decisions about the transfer of the pilot project into a permanent mechanism.

The Moldovan food safety agency demonstrated interest in the establishment of a dedicated risk assessment unit. SAFOSO supported the agency in scoping the mandate, tasks and organization for such a new unit. Our work created the foundation based on which future decision about the risk assessment unit can be made.

The Moldovan dairy industry expressed an interest in exporting dairy products to the EU. Together with stakeholder from the private and public sector, we developed an action plan for the dairy sector and elaborated the design of a national raw milk monitoring program.

Surveillance programs for Salmonella spp in poultry slaughterhouses are put in place to protect public health, but low througput slaughterhouses are frequently exempt from these programs. SAFOSO joined BAE Systems in a research project to analyse if there is a need to develop and implement a risk-based Salmonella spp surveillance framework in such low throughput slaughterhouses.

Researchers from lower middle income countries often face difficulties in having their research work published in international peer-reviewed journals. SAFOSO collaborates with the Science Writing Mentoring Program in Ukraine and supports local researchers in the development of scientific manuscripts.

Brucellosis is widespread in both animals and humans in Armenia. SAFOSO was a collaborator in a project aiming to strengthen coordination and communication between the human and animal health sectors and to increase understanding and capacity of national stakeholders to implement cost-effective surveillance and epidemiological investigations as part of a brucellosis control program.

The Global Framework for the Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) is a joint governance activity of FAO and OIE launched in 2004 to achieve coordinated prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases, and in particular to address their regional and global dimensions. The third evaluation of the GF-TADs was led by SAFOSO and covered the period from 2009 to 2017.

The EFSA developed the EU-FORA fellowship program to build the EU's scientific assessment capacity and knowledge community. SAFOSO is part of a consortium delivering the taught elements to the fellows. The program has been running since 2017.

The aim of the SANTERO project was to promote the enhancement of risk-based surveillance methods suitable for implementation across industry and countries in Europe as well as their dissemination and integration into existing surveillance routines in order to sustain progress towards their harmonized effective and efficient application. SAFOSO coordinated this international research project.

SAFOSO was involved, as a subject matter expert, in the review and adaptation of existing One Health Epidemiology (OHE) training materials towards the development of novel OHE training modules (basic and advanced) purposed for South African professionals working in the One Health sector.

SAFOSO's staff member Katharina Stärk contributed to the evaluation of FAO's emergency prevention system EMPRES. She interviewed stakeholders in Egypt and Ethiopia to document their views on the performance of the system.

Further education for veterinary and food safety officers is important to ensure an adequate and comprehensive inspection and enforcement system. SAFOSO conducted an assessment of the future requirements and expectations for the various roles of veterinary and food safety officers in Switzerland. The results formed the basis for further decisions about the revision of the system of further education.

The Moldovan poultry industry is interested in exporting poultry meat to the EU. SAFOSO supported their ambitions by the development of EU-aligned biosecurity and traceability guidance documents.

The project tackled the main challenge of stopping ASF from further spread in Europe and protecting the European pig industry.

The European Commission wanted to gather examples of best practices across EU member states for the protection of animals at the time of killing at the slaughterhouse or on the farm. SAFOSO contributed to a project compiling these examples.

SAFOSO contributed to a systematic literature review in collaboration with RVC mandated by the UK Food Standards Agency, which aimed to provide evidence on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in retail pork, poultry meat, dairy products, seafood and fresh produce that could pose a risk to UK consumers.

SAFOSO is part of the European consortium of 4 partners (CH, UK, IT, ES) that will, for the next 3 years, implement the “Development of a spatial risk assessment framework for assessing exotic disease incursion and spread through Europe” SPARE project.

The objective of this project was to develop an on-farm inspection tool to assess the probability of exposure of pigs with outdoor access to Trichinella.

SAFOSO has conducted an external evaluation of the early detection system for (re-)emerging diseases of the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office.

SAFOSO is collaborating with EuFMD on introducing the Progressive Control Pathway (PCP) for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) control in Mauritania. The first two workshops were organized in 2015, two further workshops in 2016, and the work is expected to continue in 2017. The work is implemented according to the programme of Component 2.3 of the EuFMD workplan aimed at providing technical support to REMESA actions (Mediterranean Animal Health Network - REMESA).

The Ukrainian dairy sector was lacking compliance with EU and international food safety standards, which posed an obstacle for the national export ambitions. SAFOSO implemented a technical assistance project to improve the national framework for raw milk safety. The project contributed to the development and implementation of national milk safety legislation and a national control program for raw milk.

Hepatitis E is increasingly recognized as a foodborne zoonotic disease, but little information was available about the situation in Switzerland. SAFOSO together with the University of Zurich conducted a quantitative assessment of the risk of hepatitis E to consumers through consumption of domestic pork and wild boar products. Our results contributed to the decision to make hepatitis E a notifiable disease in humans.

The Senior Technical Coordinator of the FAO-ECTAD Programme in Vietnam appointed Marco De Nardi from SAFOSO AG to conduct an assessment mission to review the existing and previously used Animal Health Information Systems of the Department of Animal Health (DAH) in Vietnam.

SAFOSO is involved, as a subject matter expert, in the implementation of the "Community outreach to support understanding of African Swine Fever (ASF) ecology and epidemiology in Eastern Europe: training and implementation for methods and strategies for control and prevention" project.

SAFOSO is involved, as a subject matter expert, in the implementation of the "Community outreach to support understanding of African Swine Fever (ASF) ecology and epidemiology in Eastern Europe: training and implementation for methods and strategies for control and prevention" project.

SAFOSO is involved, as a subject matter expert, in the implementation of the "Community outreach to support understanding of African Swine Fever (ASF) ecology and epidemiology in Eastern Europe: training and implementation for methods and strategies for control and prevention" project.

SAFOSO is involved, as a subject matter expert, in the implementation of the "Community outreach to support understanding of African Swine Fever (ASF) ecology and epidemiology in Eastern Europe: training and implementation for methods and strategies for control and prevention" project.

SAFOSO is working together with the Royal Veterinary College (UK) on the project “Potential use of farm of origin information for more targeted inspection of Cysticercus bovis”, funded by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA).

SAFOSO is member of the network for evaluation of One Health (NEOH).

The use of antimicrobials in livestock is linked to the development of resistance and consequential public health consequences. SAFOSO and the Veterinary Public Health Institute have been contracted by the Swiss Food and Veterinary Office to conduct research to assess the nature of this linkage.

Continuing a successful collaboration in Kosovo and FYR Macedonia, SAFOSO is supporting the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in its implementation of risk-based SPS border inspections in the Western Balkan region.

The Federal Food and Veterinary Office of Switzerland publishes a series of reports every year to document conduct and results of surveillance activities. SAFOSO conducted a review of existing reports to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Equinella is the Swiss equinella syndromic surveillance system for non-notifiable infectious horse diseases. To improve data presentation, SAFOSO in collaboration with Epi-Interactive conceptualized and developed interactive data visualization based on Google Charts and Maps.

SAFOSO has assisted the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in delivering a workshop on the principles of risk-based SPS inspections for government officials from Kosovo, Albania and FYR Macedonia.

In collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College, London, SAFOSO co-authored a report on antimicrobial usage in livestock.

SAFOSO conducted a feed risk assessment for Swissgenetics to determine the probability that breeding-relevant pathogens are introduced into the breeding stations through feed. Additional risk reduction measures were proposed where necessary based on the findings of the risk assessment.

SAFOSO was tasked by the Co-operative Research Programme on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CRP) of OECD with writing an independent evaluation report of the OECD conference “Livestock Disease Policies: Building Bridges between Animal Sciences and Economics”.

Namibia is officially free of FMD, but specific requirements need to be met in order to be able to export beef to FMD-free regions such as the European Union. SAFOSO provided specific input into the interpretation and evidence-based implementation of international standards in order to assure market access.

SAFOSO in collaboration with Epi-interactive are developing a set of eLearning tools for use in the teaching of veterinarians in the VETSUISSE Faculty in Switzerland.

The project aims to develop a general framework for economic evaluation of surveillance for One Health and to conduct case studies to validate the approach.

In collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College, London, SAFOSO conducted an assessment of the implications of specific changes in the meat inspection protocol of cattle, small ruminants and pigs.

Katharina Stärk was contracted by FAO (AGDF) to help develop a tool to assess the capacity of food control systems at country level.

SAFOSO collaborated with RVC to prepare a report on the use of antimicrobials in the livestock sector on behalf of the OECD.

SAFOSO is one of four Swiss organizations implementing a Swiss-funded capacity building project in Mongolia.

RISKSUR develops novel methods for animal health surveillance in Europe. SAFOSO is responsible for knowledge transfer and dissemination as well as input into scientific work packages.

On 14 and 15 November, the Canton of Bern is organizing a pandemic preparedness workshop for stakeholders from government and industry. Recent history presents us with various examples of newly emerged diseases that rapidly spread across the world and challenged existing preparedness plans. Many of these emerging diseases originate in animals. SAFOSO has been invited to the workshop to give an introductory lecture about the role of zoonoses and emerging diseases for human health.

SAFOSO is partner of the new EU-funded Network to enhance the use of economics in animal health education, policy making and research in Europe and beyond (NEAT).

SAFOSO is coordinating the multi-country research project MINAPIG which investigates alternatives to antimicrobial use in pig production.

African Swine Fever incursions are a continuing threat for the European Union. This project will integrate the latest developments in preventive, diagnostic and training approaches to improve prevention and early detection activities.

SAFOSO conducted a risk assessment for the registered product HICURE® which is a fertiliser for plants marketed by Syngenta.

SAFOSO advised Swissgenetics on optimising staff biosecurity during a project to re-model one of their bull stations.

SAFOSO conducted a risk assessment for a European medical company that is using animal materials in the manufacturing process of some of its medicinal products.

SAFOSO is providing support to Costa Rica in the submission of documentation to the OIE to demonstrate the national BSE status and to revise the national BSE contingency plan.

As part of an international contracted consortium, SAFOSO conducted quantitative modelling of the probability of detection of selected animal diseases and welfare conditions by meat inspection.

The Global Initiative for Food Systems Leadership (GIFSL), University of Minnesota, offers a one-week programme on Engaging with International Organisations. Since 2011, SAFOSO was co-leading this programme.

Following up on a project conducted in 2007, SAFOSO supported a second EU-funded project that aimed to take stock of the progress in implementation of risk analysis in Viet Nam.

SAFOSO supported Boehringer Ingelheim in collating evidence on the current regulatory framework for the use of antimicrobials in food animals and possible changes towards more restrictive use that may be imminent in the European Union and/or individual Member States.

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA) conducts a project on revisions to meat inspection practices in the UK.In this project, SAFOSO provides external expert review services to assure proposals are in line with international developments and assurance of meat safety for consumers.

SAFOSO helped World Bank staff preparing two reports entitled “People, Pathogens and Our Planet”; Volume 1: “Towards a One Health Approach for Controlling Zoonotic Diseases”; Volume 2: “The Economics of One Health”.

The STDF was established as a Trust Fund by the WTO, World Bank, WHO, FAO and the OIE at the Doha WTO Ministerial Conference in November 2001 in order to assist developing countries enhance their expertise and capacity to implement international SPS standards referred to in the SPS Agreement of the WTO. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has made a multi-annual contribution to STDF to support multilateral efforts for trade development. Along with this contribution, SECO has given a monitoring mandate to SAFOSO to strengthen SECO’s position as active donor.

Massey University New Zealand is offering an Masters-level programme on One Health. SAFOSO contributed to the development of contents of the modules on surveillance, disease control policy and evaluation.

SAFOSO conducted a first assessment in a Latin American country of their opportunities to export beef to the European Union. Importation by a third country is only possible when the country can demonstrate full compliance with EU requirements regarding animal health and food safety standards, traceability, use of hormones in beef production and absence of residues of unwanted substances.

SAFOSO together with the Swiss partners University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hokkaido University, Japan, to support Japan in building capacities in risk analysis for animal health and food safety.

SAFOSO contributed significantly to efforts to document freedom from FMD with vaccination in the Turkish region of Thrace

SAFOSO contributed to a large EU-funded project to strengthen the veterinary services in the Northern part of Cyprus. During a mission, SAFOSO experts assessed the local situation for scrapie and echinococcosis with regard to prevalence of disease, diagnostic capacities, existing disease control efforts and other.

SAFOSO supported the national veterinary service of Panama in their efforts to complete the BSE dossier for submission to the OIE. In a first step, SAFOSO reviewed available documentation and provided recommendations for further improvement of the dossier.