VLA Divisional Directors
The Directors of VLA are responsible for the three main Divisions of the Agency.
Roger Hancock - Surveillance and Laboratory Services
Roger Hancock
VLA's network of laboratories continued to provide early warning of new and emerging diseases of livestock.
The first cases of bovine lymphotropic herpes virus in cattle associated with an unresponsive metritis were reported, whilst Salmonella Gallinarum, a cause of significant mortality in poultry flocks, re- emerged on two occasions after a period of absence from Great Britain.
Routine surveillance included a mandatory EU survey of laying flocks for Salmonella and surveys for spongiform encephalopathies in both farmed livestock and wildlife. Both primary screening and confirmatory testing of large numbers of sheep and cattle were undertaken. A further survey was started to establish whether there was any evidence of BSE or chronic wasting disease in deer.
Potential threats to public health were also identified and the enzyme Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL), which has been associated with antibiotic resistance in humans, was identified from E.coli associated with disease in cattle.
VLA's emergency response capacity was called upon to deal with different manifestations of avian influenza (AI). These included an outbreak of low pathogenic AI H7N3 in a Norfolk flock, the first incursion of high pathogenic AI, H5N1, in UK wildlife, a whooper swan found dead in Scottish coastal waters and the first case of H5N1 in domestic poultry in Suffolk.
Chris Thorns - Research
Chris Thorns
VLA's international activities continue to ensure our high scientific profile.
Many VLA scientists are group members of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), where they contribute to risk assessments, policy formulation and implementation at the European level on animal health and food safety issues. We are also leading many key activities in EU funded Networks of Excellence on zoonoses, exotic animal diseases, TSEs and tuberculosis.
This year, VLA organised and hosted a variety of international workshops and meetings including highly successful conferences on avian influenza, prion diseases and mycoplasmas. We were also a major contributor to the VTEC 2006 conference held in Melbourne, which was a result of several years of concerted study aimed at gaining new insights into the fundamental nature of the interaction between verotoxigenic Escherichia coli and ruminants.
VLA is an International Reference Laboratory for many exotic animal infections and our scientists have developed new and productive collaborations with institutes in Russia, China, Korea and Africa, which will facilitate greater awareness of the global appearance of new and emerging diseases.
Chris Morrey - Business
Chris Morrey
The Business Division's role is to provide high quality support services to aid the delivery of the science.
This support incorporates the maintenance of VLA's facilities and the redevelopment of the VLA Estate, which this year included the construction of a new Modular AI Laboratory and new post mortem facilities.
A successful, externally facilitated simulation exercise was undertaken to test our disaster recovery plans. This identified some improvements that have been incorporated into the Business Continuity Plans.
A key asset of the Agency is the people we employ. During the year, we produced a Pay and Workforce Strategy and implemented a new appraisal system to better reflect the skills we are looking for.
Progress was made on environmental issues and the International Standard ISO14001 certification was extended across the whole Agency. We are also in the process of producing a 3 year Sustainable Development Action Plan as we strive to make our contribution as a responsible employer and as part of the Defra network.
