The Surveillance Advisory Group, set up by Defra to make recommendations on how to deliver cuts to AHVLA without jeopardising disease monitoring capabilities in England and Wales, has released its findings in a final report. The SAG’s final report was initially expected last month.

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In its report, the SAG identified the shortcomings of the UK’s current surveillance system, noting that the current model relies heavily on voluntary submissions from farmers and private vets, the coverage each facility affords could be improved and government funding means the model is running to an extremely tight budget, which will only be reduced further.

Veterinary groups and animal health organisations had recommended more leniency in the face of funding cuts for research and surveillance networks, highlighting the public health benefits of a good surveillance system, as well as the benefits to the farming industry.

Stakeholders used diseases such as the newly discovered Schmallenberg Virus as examples of cases where watertight disease surveillance strategy is essential. It is widely believed that the effects of climate change will give rise to more new diseases and increase the spread of afflictions currently affecting other parts of the world.

Nevertheless, the government decided to cut funding for England and Wales’ disease surveillance system down from £10 million to £6 million over the next two years.

The SAG said it was unable to carry out a full cost analysis of its recommendations due to time constraints, having only been set the task in December last year, but nonetheless made a series of recommendations for government ministers. The advisory group recommended:

• Establishing a tiered surveillance network, improving on the current situation wherein only around 50 per cent of holdings and animals having access to a post-mortem facility or collection point within an hour’s travel time of their location. The group recommended aiming of achieve such access for 95 per cent of holdings and animals;
• Setting up species-based centres of expertise to provide more in depth investigation and analysis. (The group suggested caseloads would have to be increased to make this viable);
• ‘Reorganising’ the AHVLA staff, establishing different tiers of expertise compatible with variation in the technical knowledge requirements of the tiered surveillance network structure referred to above;
• Establishing a cost-effective collection service where necessary, to enable access to diagnostic service or achieve minimum caseload;
• Encouraging closer relationships with universities and other relevant institutions;
• Setting up a training service to teach private vets post mortem examination techniques
• Working closely with other organisations, including universities and private vets, to share information

It said that, if implemented and monitored successfully, these recommendations should lead to improving expertise within the surveillance system, smoother and easier sharing of information, improved access for livestock keepers to diagnostic services and earlier detection of emerging threats. The SAG report is available in full here.

AHVLA brass welcomes SAG findings

Executives at the AHVLA today said they welcomed the report’s findings, particularly in relation to improving livestock keepers’ access to post-mortem facilities and reducing reliance on post-mortems in disease detection through building relationships with farmers.

Commenting on the report, Catherine Brown, chief executive of the AHVLA, said, “AHVLA welcomes all of the recommendations of the group, particularly the emphasis on improving the surveillance outcomes that we achieve, while also delivering better access to the surveillance service for a wider range of farmers and private veterinarians.

“The recommendations of the group have set the scene for a progressive move towards a sustainable surveillance system. It gives us a clear direction of travel, and whilst it does not give us all the answers, we will be able to build on the recommendations. We have some big challenges ahead in terms of implementation, but the service we are able to provide in the future will be greatly improved, as we aim to improve very significantly on our current 50 per cent geographical coverage. In designing an implementation plan one size will not fit all, and we will look at the needs of each area in terms of accessing surveillance and the best ways of meeting them, including the areas that have not been well served in the past.”

The group’s recommendations follow a consultation period, where 1,200 private vets and livestock keepers contributed to the discussion on future surveillance delivery. The AHVLA is now developing an implementation plan to enact changes, which will require further input from those in the livestock sector.

The SAG investigation and report follow the announcement in September last year that AHVLA will close 16 regional laboratories, a move which the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee warned could “diminish the UK’s ability to identify and tackle animal disease outbreaks.” There was widespread criticism of the plans, which the EFRA committee pointed out would lead to the loss of certain specialists from the AHVLA network.

Both EFRA and the British Veterinary Association said the plans lacked transparency and condemned AHVLA for conducting “insufficient consultation” prior to announcing the cuts.

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