More than 50 medical and veterinary scientists from 16 European organizations met in London last week (September 8-10) to plan for a new "virtual institute" that will focus on the prevention and control of diseases transmitted from animals to humans, including foodborne diseases.

The Network for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses, or MED-VET-NET for short, is being funded by a EU grant of 14.4 million euros over the next 5 years. Diane Newell, scientific coordinator of the project, told The Scientist from the sidelines of the meeting: "The foundation is now being laid."

The next step in the creation of the network will come on September 21 and 22 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, when directors from each of the 16 institutes and organizations meet as MED-VET-NET's governing board to discuss management issues.

Fabio Fabbi, spokesman for EU research and development commissioner Philippe Busquin, told The Scientist that the MED-VET-NET was...

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