title: Availability of veterinary medicinal products for food producing minor animal species in the Mediterranean area.
abstract: In its historic role, the Mediterranean used to be the unifying element of heterogenic cultures, economies and societies surrounding its three continents' borders. For the benefit of the leading idea laying behind the present paper and in order to reinforce its original role, the whole Mediterranean area has been deliberately considered as a geographic and legislative unicum relating to MUMS. Such an acronym, well established either in EU countries and internationally, stands for Minor Use/Minor Species and is generally accepted in scientific and regulatory debates to incorporate any reference to a non-core market of a veterinary medicinal product or to an animal species that, conventionally, has not been considered as a major one. Difficulties to develop and market new products have resulted in an internationally recognized severe shortage of drugs for MUMS and, as a consequence, in unacceptable animal suffering, loss of animal life, and financial loss to farm industry. Furthermore, inadequate treatment of sick animals may increase health risks to humans as well as other animals.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Alimentare ed Animale, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Agostino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macrì
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Purificato
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tollis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D013045:Species Specificity; D019155:Veterinary Drugs; D014730:Veterinary Medicine
chemical_list: D019155:Veterinary Drugs