College of Veterinarians: No country around the world has African swine fever specialists

The College of Veterinarians of Romania (CMVR) says in a release on Wednesday that no country around the world has specialists in African swine fever and no veterinarian is specialist in any certain disease, either. 

"Veterinarians are graduates with competence acquired following research on the animals' examination, to diagnose a disease based on the clinical evidence, pathological lesions, results of the specific lab exams. Moreover, veterinarians have competences acquired for the prevention, control and combat of diseases, for the African swine fever, included," the release reads. 

CMVR stresses that the veterinarian profession is one of the seven professions regulated at European sectorial level, the list of the minimum compulsory disciplines the long of the studies and the competences acquired by the graduates being identical in all of the EU countries. 

According to the source, the suspicion of African swine fever in Romania was based on the clinical evidence identified by the free practice veterinarians to the ill animals or based on their kidneys' lesions, as identified by the slaughterhouse's official veterinarian and verified by the laboratories' official veterinarians. 

"In all three situations, the Romanian veterinarians proved to have the necessary, solid knowledge to suspect and diagnose the African swine fever and for this, the CMVR congratulates them. This is due to the proper training the long of their university education and their ceaseless professional training, after graduation," the release adds. 

"The African swine fever in Romania is not a seven-head dragon, different from the one present in the rest of the European countries where the disease exists. Therefore, the statement that <> is outrageous, and questions the competence of the veterinarians and the quality of the Romanian veterinary university education, a reason why we demand public apology to the entire veterinary professional body of Romania," the said release says. 

The source adds that the foreign veterinarians invited to Romania (from Italy, Lithuania, Denmark and Spain) by the authorities have had an experience in fighting this disease following the African swine fever's evolution in their countries. These foreign veterinarians recommended the same measures included in the Romanian legislation. All of these foreign veterinarians recommended the specific European legislation and the EU strategy on this disease be observed. 

"Romania counts on professional veterinarians, capable to manage correctly the African swine fever if allowed to exercise their profession properly, and the promotion to management positions is exclusively carried out based on professional competence criteria," reads the CMVR release signed by Chair, PhD associate professor, Viorel Andronie. 

The Agriculture Minister Petre Daea on Tuesday stated that there are no faculties in Romania to prepare specialists in treating the African swine fever, therefore the use of the experience of those who have met specialists and experts abroad, is necessary.