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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its assessment of the risks of the spread of Xylella fastidiosa for agriculture of the European Union. The control of the insect vectors and to reduce to the maximum the time that elapses between the detection of the bacterium and the implementation of control measures, such as the removal of infected plants and the establishment of areas demarcated are fundamental to prevent its expansion. The EFSA endorses the control measures specified by the European Commission and that both rejection have generated among those affected by the outbreak of the Valencian Community.
The Panel of Plant Health (PLH, for its acronym in English) of the EFSA has used computer models to simulate the way in which X. fastidiosa is spread across distances long and short in different conditions. The simulations showed the importance of controlling the insect vectors, such as Philaenus spumarius, and to accelerate the implementation of control measures.
Precisely, the successive statements of foci of Xylella in Alicante have been accompanied by resources freehand resources and administrative adjudicatory proceedings which have slowed down the implementation of the measures, hampering the success of the same. For this reason, the legal services of the regional Administration decided to raise a prejudicial question to the Court of Justice of the European Union to ensure the effective implementation and rapid eradication measures.
The assessment of the EFSA confirms that there is still no known way to eliminate the bacteria from diseased plants in field conditions. The effectiveness of the control measures biological and chemical has been tested in recent experiments. The results show that they may temporarily reduce the severity of the disease in some situations, but there is no evidence that they can eliminate X. fastidiosa under field conditions during a long period of time.
The computer simulations showed that, because of its warmer temperatures, the areas most at risk are those of southern Europe. However, the model showed some variation depending on the subspecies. For example, multiplex has more chance of settling in the north of Europe to the other subspecies. The information on the risk of establishment is used to establish programmes for the monitoring and detection specific to each country.
A review of the scientific literature and the analysis of data revealed significant differences in the symptom-free period for different combinations of host and subspecies. This information will also help the design of monitoring programmes specific and will help in the decision making about the time of maintenance of the demarcated areas.
For Stephen Parnell, president of the working group of the PLH, ?has been a scientific challenge to be complex, with many areas of uncertainty, but we have drawn some important conclusions that will help risk managers and researchers. The computer simulations are at the core of this scientific opinion. The models that we have developed are robust and, more importantly, flexible so that they can be adapted to explore a wide range of different scenarios and to support emergency planning?.
Dr. Parnell explained that, ?since the publication of our last opinion in 2015, it has obtained a great amount of new information, largely generated by EU-funded projects, such as POnTE and XF-ACTORS. It is vital that we continue investing in research that helps us to control not only the outbreak, but also to anticipate them?.
