Safeguarding public and animal health
Contagious equine metritis
The VLA has a number of roles in relation to Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) and CEMO.
- to advise the Food and Farming Group of Defra (FFG) on the control of CEM, and
- to isolate and identify CEMO.
VLA Bury St Edmunds is an OIE Reference Laboratory for CEMO.
This involves identifying suspect CEMO isolates notified to Animal Health and FFG, and carrying out bacteriological examinations in support of Animal Health/FFG investigations into CEMO infections.
In addition, VLA Bury St Edmunds provides bacteriological examinations for CEMO on samples submitted as part of international trade requirements. The majority of these samples relate to the pre-export licence requirements of other countries.