The Development of an Efficient Test Automation and Sample Tracking System in a High-Throughput Veterinary Laboratory to Improve the Emergency Response to Outbreaks of Highly Infectious Disease in Great Britain

Serological surveillance testing for bovine brucellosis, Enzootic Bovine Leukosis, and Warble fly reaches approximately 1.7 million tests every year in the UK. An automated system was developed to improve the quality of data handling for all three surveys. The objectives were to make improvements in efficiency, sample tracking, and test reporting and to develop an epidemiological database. The developed system of bar-coded samples and test plates processed on automated equipment capable of scanning barcodes and transferring information across a computer network met the data objectives. Consolidating and automating the highly repetitive liquid-handling steps met the cost objectives. To reduce the impact of temporary bottlenecks in the system, a philosophy of ‘islands of automation’ was adopted to maximize the throughput. The creation of this system was driven largely by the need to have in place an effective emergency response capability to handle the serological needs of an outbreak of an acute and highly infectious veterinary disease such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the UK.