Bluetongue testing delays blamed on sample bottleneck
© Tim Scrivener Animal health officials say sample-processing bottlenecks, not lack of laboratory capacity, caused the bluetongue testing delays this summer.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) were responding to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee, which questioned their handling of the bluetongue serotype-3 (BTV-3) outbreak.
See also: MPs demand answers over bluetongue outbreak response
The intervention followed reports from farmers and vets of difficulties securing vaccine and lengthy waits for test results, in some cases of up to five weeks.
In their joint response, Apha chief executive Richard Lewis and VMD chief executive Abi Seager described the outbreak as “one of the first, large-scale outbreaks since the National Audit Office report last year” – which warned of resource issues – adding that extreme weather had brought “new challenges”.
Testing pressure
Before the outbreak, the Pirbright Institute, the national reference laboratory for bluetongue, had planned initial PCR capacity of 2,000 samples a week, rising to 10,800 within six weeks.
Apha Weybridge could initially process another 1,000 samples weekly, increasing to 3,400.
Pirbright tested 10,878 samples from 3,825 submissions between 9 July and the agencies’ response, peaking at 2,026 samples in the week beginning 17 August.
Apha and the VMD said testing capacity had not been exceeded at any point, although turnaround times for some samples increased from five to 10 working days.
Priority results, including those needed for pre-movement decisions, were generally returned within three days, the agencies added.
Unprecedented volume
Officials blamed delays on an unprecedented volume of separate clinical submissions, each requiring individual packaging, processing and reporting.
Pirbright deployed five times its usual staffing at the outbreak peak, with teams working evenings and weekends.
Apha staff were also transferred to Pirbright, and Weybridge began testing samples.
At least two other laboratories are now working towards the licences and accreditation needed to undertake bluetongue testing.
Mr Lewis and Ms Seager said the greatest remaining risk was the ability to handle simultaneous disease outbreaks, with Apha acknowledging its reliance on surge staffing had become “unsustainable”.
Response falls short
Efra committee chairman Alistair Carmichael MP welcomed steps taken by both agencies, but said the response had “fallen far short of what farmers and livestock keepers need and deserve”.
“Vaccine shortages and test times doubling in some cases are unacceptable.
“More must be done to support sectors during the ongoing outbreak, and to ensure we do not see these issues continue into the 2027 midge season.”
As of 23 September, 1,753 premises had tested positive for BTV-3 since 1 July, including 1,513 in England, 207 in Wales and 33 in Scotland.
A further 1,287 premises are under investigation.
Vaccine supply
The response also confirmed BTV-3 vaccine supplies became constrained by mid-August after relatively low uptake during 2025 and the first half of 2026 meant manufacturers had not held substantial excess stocks.
About 4.85m doses of EU-authorised vaccine were imported during August and the first two weeks of September, with another 1.68m expected between September and December.
A further 1.33m GB-authorised doses are expected in January and February 2027.
Apha said vaccination remained the most effective way of protecting livestock, with lessons from the outbreak due to be reviewed in November.