An investigation by the Public Accounts Committee found that the Animal and Plant Health Authority (APHA) in Weybridge was “continually vulnerable to major harm” because the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “totally failed” to manage the site. . The commission found more than 1,000 “single points of failure” in national facilities that would seriously undermine its ability to undertake the UK’s response in the event of a major outbreak of animal disease. The center would already be struggling with anything more challenging than the current bird flu outbreak, the report said, adding that the UK faces real threats from bovine tuberculosis, African swine fever and rabies. “After the foot-and-mouth disaster of 2001, recent decades have brought one animal-borne disease after another,” said Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC. “It is shocking that the government has allowed the UK’s capability in this area to deteriorate so alarmingly over the same period.” After what MPs call years of “undermanagement and underinvestment” at the site, Defra has drawn up a regeneration program expected to cost £2.8 billion over 15 years. But with the program not expected to be completed until 2036, officials are trying to manage the risk of a major incident that could cripple the facility through “patch and repair” efforts and better resources. The last major incident at the site was in 2014, when backup generators failed, leading to a loss of power in some of the site’s high containment buildings where animals have been infected with viruses and bacteria. “This could have resulted in the escape of a pathogen,” the report says. While the center has contingency plans in place, a major incident at the site could seriously hamper its ability to perform the critical surveillance tests needed during a disease outbreak, for example, to monitor the spread of a disease from farm to farm. farm. “These diseases are devastating to our food production systems, the economy and, when they jump the species barrier to humans as Covid-19 did, to our entire society,” Hillier said. “The government needs to review this critical and long overdue regeneration programme. When it comes to our country’s security, we cannot tolerate any more of the waste and delivery failures that continue to characterize too many major projects.” MPs accuse the government of failing to recognize the impact a major outbreak of animal disease would have. The UK’s national risk register classifies an animal disease outbreak as a Category C event, which entails economic costs of between £100m and £1bn. But the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease crisis would cost £12 billion today, MPs note. The report calls on the government to ensure that the next update of the risk register “adequately reflects the seriousness of this threat”. Paul Wigley, professor of animal microbial ecosystems at the University of Bristol, said the committee was right to highlight the long-term problems and the urgent need for support at the site. “The possibility of an epidemic is always around the next corner. Another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or the introduction of classical swine fever could lead to the collapse of significant farming sectors in the UK,” he said. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Professor James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at the University of Cambridge and a member of the APHA scientific advisory panel, said the steady deterioration of the facilities had been evident for years. “The laboratories at Weybridge are central to the UK’s ability to control an animal disease outbreak and to its ability to detect any new emerging animal pathogen that may develop into a pandemic infection,” he said. “We can no longer rely on laboratory resources from collaborating European laboratories. The importance of laboratories is clearly demonstrated by their central role in the diagnosis and control of the ongoing unprecedented outbreak of bird flu.”
