National animal disease detection system tightened
An improved surveillance system is being introduced to detect new and re-emerging animal disease threats in England and Wales.
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) said the new scanning surveillance system would improve both the geographical and species-specific coverage of disease.
Rupert Hine, AHVLA’s director of veterinary surveillance, said: “The current surveillance system has a good history of detecting disease threats such as the first cases of Schmallenberg and bluetongue, but we know improvements can be made to give us better coverage across England and Wales.
“The new model will improve the effectiveness of surveillance by making better use of the expertise of private vets, universities and the livestock industry, as well as retaining the existing AHVLA veterinary network.”
The new system will place greater emphasis on gathering intelligence from other sources of surveillance intelligence, and less on post-mortem examinations of animals carried out at government laboratories.
For example, large numbers of postmortem examinations are already carried out in the poultry sector and some private vets perform them on farm.
Better co-ordination of alternative sources of intelligence will provide a more comprehensive picture of emerging animal disease threats than present.
AHVLA surveillance will continue to be carried out from seven postmortem investigation centres across England and Wales at Bury St Edmunds, Carmarthen, Penrith, Shrewsbury, Starcross, Thirsk and, until 2015, Winchester.
Surveillance at seven other existing AHVLA sites will cease, but access to postmortem investigation services will be enhanced by the greater involvement of other suppliers of animal pathology.
A carcass collection service will be introduced for a three-year period while the network of non-AHVLA pathology providers is established. This will collect carcasses from within the areas where AHVLA postmortem facilities have been closed and are not initially covered by other providers.
As now, livestock keepers will be responsible for transporting carcasses to the collection point, with AHVLA funding the onward journey to a postmortem facility. This service will ensure that surveillance information from these areas is not lost while the new system is introduced.
Statutory disease surveillance, such as testing for tuberculosis in cattle and exotic disease investigations, will be unaffected by these changes.
DEFRA farm minister George Eustice said: “Detection of new diseases and improving our resilience to them is a key part of safeguarding animal health.
“It is a responsibility shared by the farming industry and government, and I fully support this vision of partnership working, sharing skills and expertise to manage disease risk and support our livestock farming industry.”
The new model will be implemented progressively during 2014.
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