Safeguarding public and animal health
Changes to VLA's diagnostic surveillance service
From the 1 October 2010, VLA introduced some important changes to its diagnostic surveillance service
VLA Newsletter Supplement Autumn 2010
Changes to VLA's diagnostic surveillance service
VLA Newsletter Supplement Winter 2010
Response to feedback from veterinary practices on the changes
Information for private veterinary practitioners
Defra subsidises the cost of diagnostic testing on samples and carcases submitted to our regional laboratories. In return, we provide Defra with information on the disease status of livestock while the subsidy reduces the cost of the tests for veterinary practitioners. Public sector budget cuts mean that Defra has less money available to subsidise VLA's surveillance service.
For example, post-mortem examinations are heavily subsidised by Defra. Carcases can be excellent diagnostic material but there are occasions when they are of poor quality, unsuitable for the investigation or a diagnosis could have been cheaper with other samples.
We have therefore reviewed our service and identified areas we can make savings as well as improve the diagnosis and detection of new diseases.
New procedure for carcase submission
Please contact the Duty Veterinary Investigation Officer (VIO) at your Regional Laboratory before you arrange for the carcase to be sent. The Duty VIO will help establish whether the carcase is the most appropriate specimen and may suggest alternatives such as blood or faeces.
If the Duty VIO decides that a carcase is not the most appropriate method of investigation, or has no surveillance value, you can still submit the carcase. However, the post-mortem will be charged at the commercial rate and not the Defra-subsidised price.
To ensure a successful diagnosis is not delayed, the Duty VIO will commission a carcase from you as soon as possible if a diagnosis is not reached with alternative sampling.
If a carcase is sent to a regional laboratory without prior agreement, the Duty VIO will try to obtain the clinical history. If the submission is of diagnostic and surveillance value, a post-mortem will be carried out and charged at the diagnostic rate.
If the submission is of no diagnostic and surveillance value, we will contact you or your practice. The options will be to leave the carcase unexamined at the regional laboratory for chargeable disposal, or to proceed with the post-mortem at our commercial charge rate.
New charge for carcase disposal
There will be a charge for the disposal of carcase material in line with the charges levied by the main fallen stock contractors.
Neonatal package (currently PC0070)
There will be separate packages for animals under six days old and older animals up to three weeks old; with separate packages for cattle, pigs and small ruminants.
Routine bacteriology will only be included for the younger age group, as it rarely contributes to a diagnosis in older animals. Bacteriology for salmonellae will be carried out on all samples irrespective of age.
The worm/coccidia egg count will be removed from all the new packages as these parasites rarely contribute to disease in animals under three weeks old.
Adult ruminant scour package (currently PC0073)
There will be two separate packages; one for cattle and one for small ruminants.
The worm/coccidia egg count will be removed from the cattle packages as it rarely provides evidence to support a diagnosis in adult cattle. It will be kept for small ruminants.
The Johne's antibody ELISA (TC0366) will replace the smear test (TC0776) in the cattle package. The ELISA is a more senstive test and it is often requested in addition to the current package. With the introduction of the ELISA, the cattle package will now require a clotted blood submission as well as a faeces sample.
An accredited ELISA is not available for small ruminants so the Johne's smear test will be kept in the small ruminants package.
The tests removed from the packages are still available so you can request them separately.
Histopathology package (PC0006)
This will cost £34.35 for the submission of up to three tissues or three specimens of tissue.