Following the recent notice by Axiom regarding the sheep scab serology test, the Wales Veterinary Science Centre and Moredun Research Institute wanted to provide a brief update and reassurance to our clients. Please see below for full information.
We can confirm that the sheep scab serology test service remains available, and we continue to offer this testing to our clients as normal.
We appreciate that the recent notice may have raised questions, and we are very happy to address any queries you may have regarding the testing service, the testing process, or the results provided. Please feel free to contact our teams directly, and we will be pleased to provide any information or clarification you require.
We remain committed to providing our clients with a professional, reliable and transparent testing service.
The Wales Veterinary Science Centre (WVSC) and the Moredun Research Institute would like to respond to the recent notice from Axiom regarding the discontinuation of sheep scab serology referrals and the concerns raised in relation to the results obtained from samples submitted for screening.
We are disappointed by the decision to discontinue referral of samples for sheep scab serology and, in particular, by the statement pertaining to issues with test specificity. We do not believe that this is a fair or accurate representation of the testing service provided. Our serology tests are able to diagnose sheep scab in the early sub-clinical phases of the disease, when clinical signs may not be apparent. Flocks with no history or clinical signs of sheep scab may therefore yield a positive result.
The WVSC has extremely robust internal quality control procedures in place for the sheep scab serology test. Where results have raised queries or have appeared unexpected in the context of the information provided, samples have been retested and the results reviewed through our established internal processes. We have always taken the reliability and integrity of our testing extremely seriously.
We stand by the sheep scab serology test when samples are submitted properly and when it is used for its intended purpose as a flock screening test. As with any screening methodology, a result must be considered alongside the flock history, clinical findings and other relevant epidemiological information. A single positive screening result does not, in itself, establish that a flock has active sheep scab. Nor does it establish issues with test specificity.
The assertion that there are specificity issues with the test is a significant statement, and in our view it should not be made without clear supporting evidence. To date, we have not been provided with sufficient evidence to substantiate such a conclusion.
We are entirely prepared to investigate genuine concerns regarding individual results, as we have done previously. However, isolated unexpected results should not be used to make a generalised claim regarding the reliability of the test.
We remain confident in the robustness of our testing procedures and in the suitability of the sheep scab serology test as a flock screening tool and not as a test to screen individual animals. We will continue to apply our established quality control procedures and to investigate any results that warrant further consideration.
We believe it is important that clients are given a balanced and evidence-based explanation of the situation. We would therefore not wish the statement that the test has specificity issues to be interpreted as an established finding when, based on the information currently available to us, that conclusion has not been demonstrated.
