Animal and Plant Disease
The lead department is Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) [External website]. In Scotland, the Scottish
Executive[External website] is the lead department.
This section deals with emergencies which pose a risk to the health of
animal and plant life. It explains the nature of the risk, and includes
links to relevant guidance and organisations.
On this page:
The Level of Risk
The outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) in 2000 has reminded us all of
the very serious impact of animal disease. Following the outbreak, the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) [External website]
has worked hard to better guard against such an outbreak ever happening
again.
A new Animal Health Act, ongoing contingency planning exercises and a
detailed contingency plan have been established to ensure that we can
better contain and control any future outbreak.
In 2001 the UK Government succeeded in controlling the largest outbreak of
FMD ever known in around 32 weeks. The whole of Great Britain was declared
'FMD-free' without vaccination by the Office Internationale des
Epizooties (OIE) on 22 January 2002. Foot and mouth disease is not, though,
the only animal health hazard of concern in the UK.
Animal health hazards can be broadly split into two categories - animal
diseases are those that can be transmitted between (or are shared by)
animals and humans (known as zoonotic) and those that are not transferable
(known as non-zoonotic).
The non-zoonotic diseases that underpin the central UK Government's
contingency planning assessments are Foot and Mouth Disease, Classical
Swine Fever, Blue Tongue and the Newcastle Disease of birds. Zoonotic
animal diseases that underpin the central Government's local hazard
assessment are outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI),
rabies and the West Nile Virus.
Examples
The table below shows some examples of the specific risks which are
assessed as part of the national risk assessment framework. The framework
applies locally, regionally, in the devolved administrations and at the UK
level. Details of the framework and risk assessment methodology can be
found in the risk section of
this site.
Risk Evaluation
|
Type of Risk
|
Risk Categories
|
Outcome Description for Planning Purposes
|
|
Hazard
|
Non-zoonotic notifiable animal diseases (e.g. Foot and Mouth Disease
(FMD), Classical Swine Fever, Blue Tongue and Newcastle disease of
birds).
|
Slaughter of up to 4 million affected and exposed livestock plus the
possibility of a significant number of animals culled for welfare
reasons. For poultry the number of birds culled might be much higher
or up to 120 million birds. An outbreak might last 6-18 months.
|
|
Hazard
|
Zoonotic notifiable animal diseases (e.g. Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI), rabies and West Nile Virus).
|
Culling of up to 120 million poultry (HPAI) or euthanasia of up to 20
companion animals (plus the possibility of wildlife being affected
(Rabies). For West Nile Virus spread by viable vectors in the UK the
slaughter of 20-1000 horses is a possibility.
|
Reports and Guidance
Practitioner Information
Animal Diseases
Avian Influenza
If you find a dead bird, contact Defra's reporting helpline on
08459 33 55 77. Try to provide as much information as you can
about what you've seen so the Veterinary Service can make an initial
assessment.
-
Defra - Bird flu
surveillance to be more targeted [External
website]
An updated and revised strategy to screen wild birds for the presence of
highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was announced today. Defra's
targeted surveillance strategy will involve sampling for the disease in
areas which have higher numbers of migrating waterfowl and larger poultry
populations.
-
Defra - Report on Exercise Hawthorn: [External PDF, 39
Pages, 283KB]
A series of linked exercises testing Government's avian influenza
disease emergency preparedness - October 2005 to April 2006.
-
Department of Health: Public health advice for those going to or
returning from bird flu-affected areas - This leaflet and
accompanying poster provides public health advice for those going to or
returning from Bird flu-affected areas. It contains information on this
potentially serious disease and the precautions you should take to help
protect yourself. Travellers should be aware that cases of a severe form
of bird flu are occurring in poultry and wild birds in some parts of the
world.
-
Defra: Bird Flu Q&A [External
website] Includes: background to the disease, health concerns,
worker protection, current assessment and response
FMD - Foot and Mouth Disease
Plant diseases
Fisheries
Training
-
The Emergency Planning College
(EPC) [External website] is the leading provider
of training for emergency preparedness, attracting delegates with
responsibility for preventing, planning for, responding to or recovering
from a major incident. The EPC runs courses on the impact of animal
diseases as well as other aspects of civil protection:
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