Spain activates surveillance for the Shamonda virus after the first human death in France

Spain must distinguish between making the reporting of Shamonda virus infection mandatory and officially declaring a specific outbreak. To establish a permanent national regime, it requires explicit regulatory coverage and an operational procedure for surveillance, diagnosis, and notification; it does not necessarily have to wait for the European Union to include the disease in its lists.

The consulted sources do not confirm a specific inclusion of Shamonda. They do show that there is already a communication pathway for emerging diseases, which can be applied if the infection meets the criteria for that condition.

1. Determine the sanitary and legal framework

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), together with the autonomous communities, must specify which infection will be subject to notification, the affected species, and the criteria for suspicion and confirmation. This must be supported by a scientific risk assessment: capacity for spread, health and economic consequences, availability of diagnosis, and usefulness of the proposed measures.

This analysis must be contrasted with the European Animal Health Regulation, which establishes the criteria for including diseases in the European list. The veterinary relevance of the virus alone does not equate to its legal inclusion.

2. Explicitly establish the national obligation

The current Spanish framework is Royal Decree 779/2023, which repealed Royal Decree 526/2014. Its annexes regulate the information that must be reported; they do not simply constitute a national catalog to which the virus name can be added.

Its third final provision allows the minister to modify the annexes to adapt them to European or international changes, or "for urgent animal health reasons." That authorization does not allow assuming that a ministerial order is sufficient to create any new obligation. If a permanent regime for Shamonda exceeding those annexes is intended, the route would be to amend the royal decree or approve specific regulation with coverage in the Animal Health Law.

The provision must specify obligated subjects, notifiable events, deadlines, recipients, and territorial scope. Its processing must include the technical justification, reports, and participation as appropriate, including consultation with autonomous communities and affected sectors, and culminate with its publication in the BOE.

3. Do not wait for reform to report an emergency

Article 3.1.a of Royal Decree 779/2023 requires autonomous communities to report to MAPA, within 24 hours after confirmation, any emerging disease. Therefore, if Shamonda fits that category, the absence of a nominal inclusion does not prevent activating that communication.

This deadline corresponds to the autonomous community's communication to the Ministry: it should not be confused with a general 24-hour deadline automatically applicable to all farmers.

4. Prepare practical application

• Diagnosis: agree on tests, sample collection, confirmation, and responsible laboratories.
• Surveillance: establish common detection criteria and communicate instructions to veterinarians and farms.
• Notification: ensure the circuit between the farm, autonomous authority, and MAPA, with dates, location, affected animals, and measures adopted.
• Response: define actions proportionate to the risk. Mandatory declaration does not by itself imply culling, vaccination, or automatic trade restrictions.

5. Promote, if appropriate, European inclusion

For a harmonized regime, Spain must provide evidence to the European Commission. It would be appropriate to update the list of Regulation 2016/429 and determine categories and species according to Regulation 2018/1882, as well as adjust the relevant European notification obligations. That European decision is distinct from immediate national action.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) coordinates the state response to animal health alerts, centralizes epidemiological information, and communicates outbreaks to European and international institutions. It does not generally replace the autonomous communities: these exercise executive powers in their territory, including the official declaration of diseases and the application of corresponding measures.

1. Coordination of the health response

The Animal Health Law 8/2003 constitutes the basic framework. Its article 6 establishes that administrations act "within the scope of their respective competencies." Coordination includes setting common criteria for health programs, minimum prevention and veterinary assistance objectives, and methods to evaluate their effectiveness.

Royal Decree 1440/2001 organizes the veterinary health alert system and its National Committee, attached to the Ministry. This committee brings together state, regional representatives, and national reference laboratories; in zoonoses, it includes health representation. Its functions include:

• Monitoring epidemiological evolution and proposing investigation, control, and eradication measures.
• Preparing the proposal for the State Coordinated Veterinary Health Alert Plan.
• Approving emergency plans, vaccination, and urgent diagnosis of national scope.
• Coordinating livestock and farm identification, and promoting training and drills.

2. Receiving alerts and international communication

MAPA receives autonomous community communications about notifiable diseases and uses them to coordinate necessary measures. Royal Decree 779/2023 regulates this circuit, in accordance with European animal health and notification regulations.

Autonomous communities must report certain emerging diseases and primary outbreaks within 24 hours after confirmation, according to the established cases. The Ministry notifies the information to the European Commission, other Member States, and the World Organisation for Animal Health, respecting applicable formats and deadlines. It also communicates the official extinction of diseases and channels periodic reports.

3. Information, surveillance, and operational support

The system integrates health information on production animals, wildlife, and companion animals, along with European and international data. This information allows tracking outbreaks, assessing their spread, and guiding actions, and is available to autonomous and health authorities.

Royal Decree 1440/2001 foresees a Rapid Intervention Service for emergencies and to support autonomous communities that request it. It also contemplates collaboration in training, drills, and health dissemination, with participation of specialized technical personnel.

4. Control measures and limits

The response may include diagnosis, epidemiological investigation, vaccination, and culling of sick or suspected animals, according to applicable regulations. The Ministry should not automatically be attributed the material execution of each action: its coordinating function must be distinguished from the responsibilities of the competent territorial authority.

Article 4 of Law 8/2003 requires that measures be proportionate, based on risk assessment and scientific knowledge, and minimize negative effects on trade as much as possible.

5. When there is risk to humans

Royal Decree 1940/2004 defines the coordination of zoonoses, diseases transmissible between animals and people: MAPA handles live animals and animal feed, except animals suspected of rabies; AESAN handles food intended for human consumption; and Health handles human cases and animals suspected of rabies. Therefore, a veterinary alert with food or human consequences requires coordination among these areas, not exclusive competence of MAPA.

An updated total number of notifiable animal diseases in Spain could not be verified with the consulted sources. It can be specified that the current regulation does not contain a single closed national list: Royal Decree 779/2023 refers to European and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) lists, and also requires reporting emerging diseases. Therefore, it would not be correct to give the current number as the count of the old Spanish list.

What should be counted and what being on the list means

It is important to distinguish between diseases whose reporting is mandatory and diseases actually detected in Spain. The obligation to notify a disease does not mean it is present in the country: it allows monitoring and reporting its appearance when appropriate.

Royal Decree 779/2023, published on October 25 and effective since October 26, 2023, replaced Royal Decree 526/2014. Its article 3 establishes several communication scopes:

• Outbreak notification to the European Union: refers to Annex I of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2002, with conditions depending on the disease, affected population, and sanitary status of the area.
• Annual information: includes category E diseases — subject to surveillance — confirmed in the corresponding species of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882.
• International semiannual declaration: covers diseases included in the terrestrial and aquatic animal health codes of the WOAH.
• Emerging diseases: must be reported within 24 hours after confirmation, without waiting to be incorporated into an ordinary enumeration.

These scopes overlap, so their respective lists should not be summed without removing duplicates. To offer a unique total, the current versions of all must be contrasted and how grouped diseases and infections differentiated by agent are counted must be established.

How a disease is incorporated

Inclusion is a normative matter, distinct from declaring a specific outbreak. In the current system, the scope of Spanish obligations depends on the European and international lists to which the royal decree refers. An update of those references must be examined within the corresponding European or international regime; it does not equate to requesting the registration of a disease in a Spanish administrative registry.

At the national level, the royal decree was approved by the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, after consulting the autonomous communities and representative entities of the affected sectors, with public participation and opinion from the Council of State.

Additionally, its third final provision empowers the minister to modify its annexes "to adapt to modifications introduced by European or international regulations, or for urgent animal health reasons". However, those annexes establish the information that must be reported: that power should not be confused with a general authorization to modify the European or WOAH lists.

How an outbreak is declared afterwards

Once the disease is confirmed, autonomous authorities communicate the information to the Ministry of Agriculture, which forwards it to the European Commission, other Member States, and WOAH. Depending on the case, communications within 24 hours, weekly, annual, or semiannual are applied. This circuit allows action in the event of an outbreak; it is not the procedure for including a new disease in the lists.