Notifiable Diseases
The Animal Health Act 1981 requires that anyone having in their charge an animal affected or suspected of having certain disease must notify that fact to the police or veterinary authorities i.e. Animal Health. The diseases covered by this legal requirement are known as notifiable disease.
Animal Health investigates all incidents of suspected notifiable disease. If you suspect signs of any of the notifiable diseases in the table below, you must immediately notify your local Animal Health office.
A comprehensive list of notifiable diseases can be found on the Defra website, but some of the most important are shown in the table below.
If you are a livestock keeper, it is important that you are vigilant for signs of notifiable disease and the actions you take to reduce the risk or impact of these diseases.
A more complete list of animal diseases is also available on the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE’s) website.
Measures to prevent or control notifiable animal disease
Notifiable diseases can be either exotic (not normally present in Great Britain) or endemic (normally present). The way in which diseases are controlled will differ in some aspects between exotic and endemic disease, and also between specific diseases.
- For information on recent exotic disease investigations see the Defra website.
- For information on endemic diseases surveillance see the Defra website.
Both exotic and endemic diseases may also be zoonotic (diseases and infections which are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans).
Specified and notifiable horse diseases
Some diseases are not deemed notifiable by the Animal Health Act 1981 but are also compulsorily notifiable as either:
- Specified diseases under the Infectious Diseases of Horses Order 1987
- Notifiable horse diseases on Defra website
- Reportable eg salmonella
The main aspects of notifiable disease control
Biosecurity and good hygiene
Good biosecurity is a vital part of keeping new disease away from animals. It also helps to improve farm efficiency, protect neighbouring farms and the countryside.
See our page biosecurity information for advice on how to help prevent the spread of disease, and improve farm efficiency.
Disease surveillance
Animal Health undertakes disease surveillance activities, such as routine or pre- and post-import testing, for certain diseases.
Quarantine
Animals entering Great Britain from abroad may be required to entered quarantine in order to ascertain their disease status. For more information on Rabies quarantine see the Defra website. For information on the Pet Travel Scheme see our Pet Travel Scheme page.
Vaccination
For some diseases, vaccination is an effective and approved method of disease control. For more information download the Vaccination as a Control Tool for Exotic Animal Diseases (PDF 122KB).
Disease control
The law enables animals to be culled on account of notifiable disease being confirmed or suspected. It also gives an inspector powers to declare an infected place where disease is suspected; to carry out a veterinary inquiry, prohibit the movement of animals, carcases and other potentially infected materials and equipment onto or off the premises and require the proper cleansing and disinfection of premises and equipment.
The law also enables for the imposition of restricted zones (normally a 3 km protection zone and a 10 km surveillance zone) around premises where disease is confirmed. Restrictions would remain in force for a variable time depending on the incubation period of the disease in question.
For more comprehensive details of animal disease control in Great Britain, including the Exotic Disease Contingency Plans see:
