Med-Vet-Net is the Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an Network of Excellence for Zoonoses research.

Zoonoses are diseases that are naturally transmitted from animals to man.

Med-Vet-Net's aim is to develop a network of excellence for the integration of veterinary, medical and food scientists

Food science

Food science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork"...

, in the field of food safety

Food safety

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....

, at the European Level, in order to improve research on the prevention and control of zoonoses, including food-borne diseases. The Network will also take into account the public health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 concerns of consumers

Consumer

Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

 and other stakeholders throughout the food chain

Food chain

A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...

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The Network officially commenced on 1 September 2004. It is funded for five years by the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU) 6th Framework programme, within the ‘Quality and Safety of Food’ Priority Area.

Thematic research areas

Experts appointed by each partner institute of Med-Vet-Net are involved in scientific research projects, which are organised into four thematic areas:

* Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

* Host

Host (biology)

In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...

—microbe interactions
* Detection and control
* Risk research

There are currently around 20 active projects, which will be completed over the next 18 months.

Partners

Med-Vet-Net comprises 16 partners across Europe and over 300 scientists. The institutes involved consist of eight veterinary, seven public health institutes and one learned society

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...

 from 10 European countries. All partner institutes have national reference laboratory-based responsibilities for the prevention and control of zoonoses.

* (Denmark) Danish Technical University (DTU)
* (Denmark) Statens Serum Institut (SSI)
* (France) Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (AFSSA)
* (Germany) Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)
* (Hungary) Veterinary Medical Research Institute (VMRI)
* (Italy) Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS)
* (NL) Central Institute for Animal Disease Control (CIDC)
* (NL) Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheit en Milieu (RIVM)
* (Poland) Panstwowy Zaklad Higieny (PZH)
* (Spain) Complutense University Madrid (UCM)
* (Spain) Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
* (Sweden) National Veterinary Institute (SVA)
* (UK) Health Protection Agency (HPA)
* (UK) Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM)
* (UK) Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Veterinary Laboratories Agency

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency is an executive agency of the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It carries out animal disease surveillance, diagnostic services and veterinary scientific research for government and commercial organisations...

 (VLA)

Med-Vet-Net is a member of CommNet

CommNet

CommNet is an informal network of communications managers from EU funded research projects about food quality and safety.CommNet was established in early 2005 based on an initiative from the Network of Excellence CASCADE. It is an informal network and started with Communicators from about 15...

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