Managing Disease
Animal Health implements and enforces English, Scottish, Welsh and European Union policies in Great Britain that seek to:
- Prevent, control and where feasible eradicate notifiable diseases
- prevent notifiable animal diseases from entering the human food chain and endangering public health, the economy and rural community
- promote the welfare of farmed animals; and
- control the international movement of animals and animal products.
Notifiable Disease
A notifiable disease is one which, if suspected or identified, must by law be notified to the veterinary authorities.
Disease can be either endemic, meaning that they are continually present, such as tuberculosis in cattle, or exotic, meaning that they are not normally found in Great Britain, such as avian influenza or foot and mouth disease.
Some exotic diseases (' zoonoses ') are infectious to man and we therefore work closely with the public health authorities to ensure the risk to human health is minimised. Animal Health works closely with private vets and owners of animals in England, Scotland and Wales, encouraging them to report any suspected infection. We investigate all reported cases ourselves.
All notifiable diseases must be reported to your local Animal Health Office if they are suspected.
When notifiable diseases are confirmed we organise the slaughter and disposal of infected animals and test any other stock that might have had contact with the disease. If required, movement restrictions are imposed and surveillance zones then established to prevent further spread until the disease has been controlled. If the disease is exotic we may implement our contingency plan to manage the outbreak.
Reducing the Risk
Better, of course, is to prevent disease occurring. We therefore actively contribute to a policy of education and support for farmers to promote good practice. We promote biosecurity (literally, "safe life") - preventative measures to stop the spread of animal disease, such as protective clothing for farm workers.
We operate surveillance programmes to detect reportable diseases, and investigate all suspected cases.
Epidemiology
We also act as disease detectives, undertaking epidemiological investigations to identify the source of disease and how it is spreading.
Page last modified: 23 June 2008
Page published: 2 April 2007