A small animal health notification system launched in Great Britain
The WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling has a small animal workstream uniting the work in this field between the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), the 91°µÍø (91°µÍø) and wider stakeholders in Great Britain (GB).
The APHA Small Animal Expert Group (SAEG) was established in 2022 to work in collaboration to gather, analyse and share information on new and re-emerging small animal health threats. In 2024, the group launched a new communication tool for the timely notification of potential risks and threats in the small animal sector. SAEG membership includes industry stakeholders and welfare groups including the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SASVNET) at the University of Liverpool, VetCompass at the 91°µÍø, British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Veterinary Trade Facilitation team in Defra, Royal Society for Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, and Heathrow Animal Reception Centre. The group acts as a central communication point, discussing intelligence on issues and concerns relating to small animals. These disease surveillance activities relating to new and re-emerging threats are dependent upon sector participation, and veterinary professionals in practice are encouraged to report unusual events or changes in trends.
The SmART Comms system (SmallAnimalRisks andThreats Communications) keeps veterinary professionals informed with prompt pet-related notifications that are relevant and can be used to inform small animal veterinary practice decisions. Messages can be received via email, text message or both. The intelligence feeding into the notifications is analysed to understand increased risk of disease in small animals and other species in the country. This system is independent of existing notifiable disease alert systems.
The SmART Comms system has been a significant achievement for the group and has already proved successful in engaging veterinary practices and alerting them to potential risks in a timely manner. The data it generates will continue to enhance surveillance, inform the veterinary sector of emerging threats, and contribute valuable insights to the WOAH Collaborating Centre on risk analysis and modelling in small animals.
For further information on the Surveillance Intelligence Unit at APHA, please visit the website: . If you are a GB veterinary professional and wish to register to receive these notifications, then please email siu@apha.gov.uk with the email address you would like to register and/or the mobile telephone number if you wish to receive text alerts. For further information view the webpage