DEFRA cuts risk disease going undetected

Cuts to animal health surveillance could risk new diseases going undetected and jeopardise public health, vets and pathologists fear.
DEFRA has announced plans to downsize its network of laboratories from 14 to seven across the UK.
Currently, the Animal Health and Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) operates 14 surveillance post-mortem centres across England and Wales. But under the new system, the government plans to halve this number to six “specialist” centres at Bury St Edmunds, Carmarthen, Penrith, Shrewsbury, Starcross, Thirsk and Winchester (from 2015), plus a specialist poultry facility at Lasswade, Scotland.
The AHVLA said the changes would offer an “improved approach to surveillance of animal disease threats” by making better use of the expertise and resources of private vets, universities and the livestock industry and placing less emphasis on government post-mortems.
However, both the Royal College of Pathologists and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) have warned the changes are effectively government cuts that raise serious questions about the future of animal disease surveillance.
BVA president Robin Hargreaves said: “We have said repeatedly that any changes to the veterinary scanning surveillance system must not be based on cost alone. The cost of disease outbreak far outweighs the cost of providing a robust surveillance system.
“The changes must not create a disincentive for farmers to use post-mortem services; we need to be confident in the quality of the identified facilities for gross post-mortems.
“We must ensure that veterinary practices see value in investing in the additional training requirements to provide services and we need to be sure there isn’t a loss of veterinary expertise at AHVLA.”
For the first three years of the new system, a carcass collection service will be introduced to collect carcasses from within the areas where AHVLA post-mortem facilities are closed.
Livestock owners will be responsible for transporting carcasses to a collection point and the AHVLA will fund the onward journey to a post-mortem facility.
During this time, it is expected that a network of non-AHVLA pathology providers will be established.
First opinion gross pathology will be delivered by private veterinary surgeons – with training provided at a cost – and a network of second opinion pathology services established via a tender exercise or provider approval scheme.
The provision of second opinion post-mortems by expert providers will be subsidised by the AHVLA.
However, the provision of first opinion post-mortems at fallen stock yards or on farm will not be subsidised, but will be supported by the AHVLA in the form of training, information, support and diagnostic backup.
A dedicated Surveillance Intelligence Unit will be created to support data capture from a wide range of sources and the use of surveillance findings to trigger mitigation measures or further research.
Archie Prentice, president of the Royal College of Pathologists, said: “The current surveillance system is a success. It protects public and animal health and breeds confidence in a multibillion-pound livestock industry.
“The savings made in these proposed cuts are small compared to the health and financial risks they bring. If dismantled, the expertise, knowledge and trusted collaboration with farmers and veterinary surgeons could be lost.”
Dr Prentice added: “We should be looking at ways to sustain and improve veterinary pathology. We fear the current proposals are likely to damage it.”
Dr Andrew Soldan, head of the surveillance 2014 project at AHVLA, said: “Several studies, including the independent Surveillance Advisory Group, have highlighted weaknesses within the current system.
“The changes will strengthen the ability to detect disease by placing greater emphasis on collecting data from a wider range of sources than simply post-mortems undertaken in government laboratories.
“Such intelligence exists within the private veterinary profession, the livestock industry and universities, but needs better collation and understanding.
“Far from losing skills, AHVLA will develop greater expertise in pathology and epidemiology, which the veterinary profession and livestock industry value so highly.
“While the number of government post-mortem centres will reduce they will develop higher levels of expertise, and other providers of pathology will be added to the national network.”