Recommendation 10

The Chief Veterinary Officer and the APHA emphasised that the Weybridge site is also the centre for an important programme of research.19 There are currently seven research programmes at Weybridge. These programmes include the development of a Bovine Tuberculosis vaccine and a test to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals which is critical to the vaccine rollout. It also carries out research into antimicrobial resistance.20 The Chief Veterinary Office also explained how animal health laboratories are the first line in investigating the role animals are playing in the increasing number of zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans) we have seen in the last 10 years including Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the Zika virus.21