Written question WQ100275
- Asked by
- Iain McIntoshReform
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 9 days
Question
What action is the Welsh Government taking to increase the supply and availability of bluetongue vaccines, and to increase laboratory and diagnostic capacity to ensure suspected cases can be confirmed as quickly as possible during the current outbreak?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability (Llyr Gruffydd)
The Welsh Government is part of the GB Bluetongue Vaccine Taskforce and is working closely with industry, vaccine manufacturers and wholesalers to monitor Bluetongue vaccine availability and support continuity of supply.
The Pirbright Institute is the National Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue diagnosis. As its capacity is being stretched by the current outbreak, additional surge testing is being undertaken at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge.