Volume 3: The Early Years, 1986-88
1. The identification of a new disease in cattle
The passive surveillance system

1.6 The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) relied for the identification of new diseases in animals on what has been described as 'the passive surveillance system'. A farmer, troubled by an animal showing symptoms of disease, would call upon the services of a private veterinary surgeon. The surgeon, if unable to resolve the problem, would seek assistance from the local VIC. The VIC would, where appropriate, seek assistance from the CVL. Both the staff of the VI Service, which comprised the VICs, and CVL staff were part of the State Veterinary Service, which in turn was part of MAFF. Important information was passed quickly from the VI Service and CVL up the management chain to the Chief Veterinary Officer and his group at their headquarters in Tolworth. ¹ In this way, any new condition was likely, in due course, to come to the attention of the State Veterinary Service (SVS) through the CVL. The structure of MAFF and its constituent parts, including the SVS and the CVL, at this time is illustrated in Annex 1 in vol. 15: Government and Public Administration.