Trading standards Notifiable diseases

These are named in the Animal Health Act 1981 or an Order made under that Act. It states:

"Any person having in their possession or under their charge an animal affected or suspected of having one of these diseases must, with all practicable speed, notify that fact to a police constable."

If you suspect signs of any of the notifiable diseases listed, you should notify your local Animal Health office on 0300 020 0301.

For more information about notifiable diseases please visit the GOV.UK website.

  • African horse sickness 
  • African swine fever 
  • Anthrax 
  • Aujeszky's disease 
  • Avian influenza 
  • Bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
  • Bluetongue 
  • Brucellosis 
  • Classical swine fever 
  • Contagious agalactia 
  • Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia  
  • Contagious epididymitis 
  • Contagious equine metritis 
  • Dourine 
  • Enzootic bovine leukosis 
  • Epizootic haemorrhagic virus disease 
  • Epizootic lymphangitis 
  • Equine infectious anaemia 
  • Equine viral arteritis 
  • Equine viral encephalomyelitis 
  • European bat lyssavirus (EBLV) 
  • Foot and mouth disease  
  • Glanders and farcy 
  • Goat pox 
  • Lumpy skin disease 
  • Newcastle disease 
  • Paramyxovirus of pigeons 
  • Pest des petits ruminants 
  • Rabies (classical) 
  • Rift valley fever 
  • Rinderpest (cattle plague) 
  • Scrapie 
  • Sheep pox  
  • Swine vesicular disease 
  • Teschen disease (porcine enterovirus encephalomyelitis) 
  • Tuberculosis (bovine TB) 
  • Vesicular stomatitis  
  • Warble fly 
  • West Nile virus

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Cattle

TB is an infectious disease which mainly affects cattle. It is a notifiable disease.

The scale of the problem and the cost make TB a big challenge for the farming industry.

The risk to public health is considered very low. This is due to milk pasteurization and Defra is actively trying to control the disease by identifying the disease in cattle on farms and removing TB reactors from the herd, through pre-movement testing, whole herd tests and identification at abattoirs by FSA staff, controlling the disease in badgers through vaccination and culling, improving bio security on farms, and developing TB vaccines for cattle.

Annual (or six monthly) whole herd tests in high risk areas of England, and background 4 yearly testing of herds in low risk areas carried out by your vet, are subsidized by Defra. If reactors are found, the market value of the animal will be compensated.

If you keep cattle, you have a legal duty to adhere to the TB legislation. This will require compulsory testing of cattle 42 days old and over before they move out of annually tested herds, except for animals going for slaughter. All cattle 42 days old and over, which are being moved from annually tested herds, must test negative for TB in a skin test 60 days before they are moved.

Equally, if you are moving cattle for any reason other than to slaughter, a pre movement test is required, which last for a period of 60 days. If you have a TB reactor, your holding will be under TB restrictions and you'll need to have two clear tests 60 days apart before your holding is considered TB clear.

For further advice and guidance please see the following links: