But for this to be realised the Institute required wide ranging restructuring. This has been achieved and my initial enthusiasm has been fully justified by the creation of the new-look Institute for Animal Health. Infectious diseases pose constant threats to the agricultural industry and society. BSE, salmonellosis and Escherichia coli are obvious examples and there are many other infectious diseases of farm animals that have emerged or re-emerged to threaten the livestock production industry and to remind us in no uncertain terms that infectious disease is not static. New diseases emerge and new strains of existing pathogens evolve that demand either a new control strategy or the modification of an existing one.
New diseases require a speedy response but they also offer new challenges and new opportunities.
Social demands for a sustainable agriculture are placing greater emphasis on the need to control animal disease through biological methods. But with increasing public concerns about food quality, animal welfare and environmental pollution, future control measures will increasingly rely on improved vaccines and other biological approaches. A further cause for optimism in the future was the then AFRC's intent to maximise the potential of biotechnology and to ensure that the Institute played a major role n the biological revolution which was predicted to dominate science into the next century. The Chief Executives, Professor Sir William Stewart, Professor Sir Tom Blundell and Professor Ray Baker have given the Institute massive support in order to ensure that this objective was achieved. Historically, and currently in many laboratories, research on infectious disease has focused primarily on the pathogen.