FAQ

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta (IZSPLVA) and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) are in charge of the activities of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). According to the TSE Regulation and the the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 the functions and duties of the EURL-TSE can be summarised as follows: – Provision of expertise on the diagnosis and epidemiology of TSE. – Coordination of methods employed within the European Union for the diagnosis of TSE and active disease surveillance. – Regular quality assurance assessments of rapid and confirmatory methods in use in National Reference Laboratories (NRLs). – Characterization of TSE isolates by the consolidated methods. – Collection and collation of data and information on diagnostic methods and results. – Development and maintenance of the NRLs communication network. – Storage and supply of tissues and reference materials. – Active involvement in the evaluation of new tests, and modifications to existing commercial tests on behalf of the European Commission (EC). - Facilitation of the training and continual professional development of national experts through workshops, annual NRL conferences, guidance notes and ad hoc consultancy etc. The legal basis for the establishment, designation, the responsibilities and the tasks of European Reference Laboratories (EURLs) are listed in the Title III (articles 92-94) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625) In addition, Annex X to Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001, i.e., the TSE Regulation (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2001/999) reports the requirements for sampling, and laboratory analysis methods.

The legal basis for the establishment, designation, the responsibilities and the tasks of European Reference Laboratories (EURLs) are listed in the Title III (articles 92-94) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625) In addition, Annex X to Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001, i.e., the TSE Regulation (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2001/999) reports the requirements for sampling, and laboratory analysis methods.

According to Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Article 100(1), each EU Member State shall designate one or more National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for each European Union Reference Laboratory designated in accordance with Article 93(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. The responsibilities and tasks of the NRLs are listed in Article 101 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Our Network of NRLs for TSE includes the 27 EU Member States. However, part of our activities involves also other NRLs i.e. from EU candidate countries as well as EFTA countries and the former EU Member State United Kingdom. The members of the National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) network for TSE and their contacts can be found in this website

The EURL is a consortium between the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta (IZSPLVA) and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS). The IZSPLVA is the leading entity and the contact point for the Commission Services: You can contact us to the e-mail EURL.TSE@izsto.it or finding further contacts in this web site

The European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) will be able to confirm suspected TSE cases identified in the Member States (MS) through the active and passive surveillance systems. To request TSE diagnostic analyses an official letter must be sent by e-mail to the following address: eurl.tse@izsto.it The letter has to report information about the sample: • species • existing test results • amount and type of tissue being dispatched • proposed dispatch date and details • contact name and e-mail It is requested that packages are sent to arrive on a working day (i.e. Monday to Friday), and not at a weekend. The parcel should be clearly addressed to: TSE EURL - Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta Palazzina B Via Bologna,148 10154 Torino Italy

To require reference materials an official letter must be sent by e-mail to the following address: eurl.tse@izsto.it The letter has to report the following information: • type of tissue (brainstem, brain area, lymphatic tissue..) • type of sample (frozen and/or paraffine embedded tissue) • animal species • quantity of tissue • field of application If required, an import permit must also be sent. The reference materials will be will be shipped after the signature of a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

The EURL TSE usually sends all National Reference Laboratrories (NRLs) an annual 'Call of interest' and each NRL indicates the PTs in which it intends to attend. In case a country would like to be involved in the EURL PTs, please send an e-mail request to the following address: eurl.tse@izsto.it

In this web site in the section "Legal sources & documents"

The participation to the annual workshop is upon invitation, you can manifest your interest to participate and ask for the registration form, writing to the e-mail EURL.TSE@izsto.it

In this web site in the section "Legal sources & documents"

To require a traning on the specific TSE area must be send an official letter by e-mail to the following address: eurl.tse@izsto.it The letter has to report the following information: area of interest training length training period

Information on animal TSEs provided by: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/transmissible-spongiform-encephalopathies-tses EFSA also published two interactive communication tools on TSE: a story map and dashboards by species. Each year EFSA publishes a summary report on surveillance for the presence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), the 2020 report can be found at the following link: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/6934 World Organisation for Animal Health (Founded as OIE) Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: https://www.woah.org/en/disease/bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy/ Scrapie: https://www.woah.org/en/disease/scrapie/ Other sources https://www.cdc.gov/prions/bse/index.html https://www.discontools.eu/database.html