1st October 2005 marked the 10th anniversary of the creation of VLA

Ben Bradshaw,Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, visiting the avian influenza laboratory at Weybridge

This brought together the established Agency of the Central Veterinary Laboratory (based at Weybridge and Lasswade) with the Veterinary Investigation Service, which had been providing diagnostic and investigation services for veterinary practices and gathering disease surveillance information for Government, for over 70 years. During these ten years, we have restructured and invested to create an efficient organisation with a strong customer focus. We have a fully integrated network of laboratories across Great Britain that can meet the Government’s requirement for veterinary research and surveillance, as well as the ability to respond to a wide range of disease emergencies.

It is one of the largest and best-known government veterinary laboratories in the world.

The Mills Building, named after Bernard Mills who provided much support to the Weybridge site redevelopment.

The key role that VLA plays in operating flexible but secure emergency response procedures was highlighted in July 2005 when our Winchester laboratory detected Newcastle disease in pheasants on a farm in Surrey. Confirmatory tests were performed at Weybridge and this swift action and the close working relationship with partner organisations enabled Defra to prevent any further spread of the disease.

The same Avian Virology team has played a major role in the global challenge posed by avian influenza, as an OIE (1) and FAO (2) international reference laboratory for avian influenza, as well as for many other diseases. We are also the designated Community Reference Laboratory (CRL), which requires us to provide co-ordinating and confirmatory diagnostic functions for national laboratories in all the Member States of the European Union. As the disease has spread across Asia and extended into Europe and Africa, VLA has been in the forefront of international efforts to monitor the disease patterns and provide advice on control. As partners in the international networks established by OIE and FAO (‘OFFLU (3)’) and WHO (4), we have provided confirmatory testing, viral RNA sequence analysis, technical support, training and supply of reagents to laboratories across the world. VLA also carries out Defra’s wild bird survey for avian influenza, which was launched in October 2005. Wild bird deaths that meet defined criteria are submitted for initial diagnostic necropsy at a VLA Regional Laboratory or in Scotland to an SAC Surveillance Centre. Samples are sent to Weybridge for testing and in April 2006, the first British H5N1 virus in a wild bird in Scotland was identified.

Our reference laboratory and surveillance work is underpinned by a strong avian influenza research team investigating strain differences, improved methods of detection and a greater understanding of the infection and how it spreads. VLA recognises the importance of ‘follow-through’ from research findings into practical applications. An example of this is the ‘real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction’ (RRTPCR). This important and rapid diagnostic method for avian influenza was developed at VLA and adapted for large throughput surveillance applications. Finally it was subjected to a full validation assessment before we could apply it with confidence to our wild bird survey.

Space does not permit me to go into great detail on all our science activities, but I do wish to highlight the breadth and the depth of VLA’s seven major science programmes. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are still at the forefront of our research, surveillance and reference laboratory work. Even as the BSE incidence in the UK continues to decline, we are facing up to new scientific challenges with the emergence of atypical strains of scrapie. Bovine tuberculosis remains a difficult disease control issue and VLA’s programmes of research and surveillance provide major inputs to the development and implementation of Defra policy. Public health is a major concern on many fronts, not least in the area of food safety and we have recognised this by developing a veterinary public health strategy for the VLA.

Above all I do applaud the commitment and professionalism of all our scientific and administrative staff in helping me and the management team to continue to deliver and achieve our objectives for the year.

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Steve Edwards at the demolition of the main building at Weybridge, initiatinganother phase of the redevelopment programme

The Government’s ongoing programme of capital investment in VLA’s central Weybridge site resulted in the completion and commissioning of a new headquarters for VLA’s Animal Services Unit in November 2005. This new facility reflects VLA’s commitment to sustainability as it has automated natural ventilation, photovoltaic and solar cells that provide 10 per cent of the building’s energy requirements, structurally insulated panels, use of timber and wood base materials from renewable and well managed certified resources, water saving devices and mechanical systems designed to generate low carbon dioxide emissions and requiring minimal energy use. We were delighted to welcome Ben Bradshaw, the Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, to formally open the ‘Mills Building’, which was named after Bernard Mills who had provided so much support to the Weybridge site redevelopment. We are all very proud that the Mills Building achieved two major building awards (see page 28) and I am grateful to all those involved in the design and construction who contributed to this.

We successfully achieved the environmental standard ISO 14001 certification for the Weybridge site last year and this year we have been extending compliance to the network of regional laboratories.

Quality assured services lie at the heart of VLA’s delivery operations. We already had a range of formal certifications in different areas of our business, such as ISO 17025, ISO 9001, GLP, GMP, ISO Guide 43/ILAC G13, Investors in People, all of which have been maintained through the year. But in addition, we were set a demanding Agency target to achieve ISO 9001: 2000 certification for our entire business operation and I am pleased to say that this was successfully achieved in September 2005. This is a tremendous achievement considering the great breadth and depth of our work and I know that it is as a result of the commitment and dedication of everyone working at VLA.

Collaborating with other scientific organisations has always been an important element of our work. Our wide range of collaborators across the world enable us to offer our customers a broader service and call upon a much greater pool of knowledge, expertise and facilities. Our relationship with the Health Protection Agency strengthens our newly developed VLA veterinary public health strategy and our ongoing collaboration with the Institute of Animal Health (IAH) broadens our animal health expertise. This particular relationship will be further explored during the coming year when Defra and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) investigate alternative models for VLA and IAH. Our closer partnership with IAH is evident in the proposed relocation of our Virology Department to the IAH, Pirbright site, by 2011. VLA is playing an active role in both the planning and design work.

In July 2005 VLA, together with five other Public Sector Research Establishments (5), signed a co-operation agreement that will ensure the laboratories work closer together to increase effectiveness in the best interest of the public. The agreement promotes knowledge sharing on topics of strategic and operational importance such as emergency response and disease control. This partnership is known as the Interlab Forum. A similar communication and collaboration network, CoVetLabs, extends across Europe including five national reference veterinary laboratories (6). The aim is to advance high quality veterinary science and enlarge scientific capabilities by disseminating knowledge, sharing experiences and transferring skills and technology.

Winning a substantial award from the DTI’s Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund in January 2006 has helped boost our strategy to increase our commercial work and target new markets. An award of £2.5m was granted to join the DTI Rainbow Seed Fund, which makes awards to commercialise publicly funded innovations. VLA also became a partner of InterAct, a unique partnership offering new technologies and collaborations to the commercial sector. Other partners include the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Central Science Laboratory and the Health Protection Agency.

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“We have again been successful in meeting our key financial and service delivery targets and have continued to implement our Safety Action Plan to ensure an excellent health and safety ethos across the Agency. I am confident that our success will continue and we intend to build on the excellent achievements we have made in the past 10 years and, indeed the 100 or so years before that. Looking ahead I am particularly excited at the closer relationship that we are building with the IAH and also by our growing involvement in animal and public health on a global front. I am confident that VLA will continue to provide a first rate service to our Government and private sector customers.”

Professor Steve Edwards
Chief Executive

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