November 5, 2007

British college says UK lacks animal disease experts

Outbreaks of bird flu, foot-and-mouth-disease and bluetongue in the UK have revealed a startling revelation that the country has a shortage of disease experts, according to the Royal Veterinary College.

Although the UK leads the way in training people in veterinary studies, the changing nature of disease occurrence means there is now a shortage of skilled professionals.

The British government has relied heavily on its epidemiology work recently to form a vital part of the risk assessment used to lift livestock movement restrictions.

Prof Dirk Pfeiffer from the Royal Veterinary College said veterinary epidemiology "is like detective work, trying to identify the reasons behind occurrence of disease" and therefore studies should be analysed crucially to understand the nature of the disease and how it spreads.

Experts say these skills will be increasingly in demand as African swine fever becomes the latest disease to migrate to Europe from its tropical home.

Global warming and an increase in the movement of animals will further increase the threat of disease in the UK, say experts.