The BCVA has 1,600 members, of whom 1,000 are practising veterinary surgeons working with cattle in farm animal veterinary practices. The referral of cases or samples from practitioners to VI Centres has established a rudimentary disease surveillance system, whereby data is collected by the centres and submitted to a central database. However, the data depends entirely on the submissions received from private practices. Not all practices submit samples or refer cases to their local VI Centre. Private laboratories provide a similar and competitive service.
Many practices have their own in house facilities . . .
The supposition that practices would refer all cases to their local VI Centre, which would then collect data, is incorrect. Submission of cases and samples was based on a voluntary commercial decision of the attending veterinary surgeon. It may be that the original geographical recorded incidence of this disease was influenced by the vigilance and activity of veterinary surgeons in those areas and the relationship they had with their local VI Centre . . . The surveillance of this disease up to June 1988 and indeed the surveillance of any non-notifiable disease is based upon the vigilance and inquisitiveness of the farmer and attending veterinary surgeon, with the voluntary referral to a VI Centre. Mr Wells carried out a review of selected brain sections held by the CVL and a small number of veterinary schools.