ARCHIVE: Veterinary surveillance: The RADAR Project
What does the RADAR system do?
The RADAR system brings together key surveillance information collected in other systems about animal diseases and conditions in a structured and consistent way. RADAR also contains current, accurate information about the number and location of animals. This allows a better understanding of animal disease in the UK and the risks posed by them. This information helps us control animal related diseases.
Where does RADAR get its information from?
The information in RADAR will eventually come from a number of different collection activities and systems across the UK. Examples of the types of data include:
- Agricultural holdings, land and livestock data from UK government databases;
- Animal health data from private veterinary surgeons and animal owners;
- Companion animal data, including that collected by the PETS travel scheme, and horse passport registrations;
- Information on carcass condemnations and throughputs from abattoirs;
- Diagnostic data from veterinary laboratories;
- Information on the number of fallen stock consigned for destruction, and
- Meteorological information from the Met Office.
When will all this information be available on RADAR?
RADAR is being developed and released in phases between now and 2013. The first release happened in March 2005 and made information available on the GB cattle population and cases of Salmonella.
Phase 2 will run throughout 2005 and 2006. We are currently considering what UK surveillance data should be made available in Phase 2. Our range of possibilities includes population data about other livestock (sheep, pigs, poultry), livestock movement information (cattle, sheep, pigs and goats), information from statutory surveillance programmes (Brucellosis and EBL) and information about the occurrence of some diseases (BSE and TB). Once we have finalised the scope of phase 2 we will publish our delivery plan on this page.
Phase 3 onwards, will continue to expand the surveillance data available in RADAR. Our prioritisation process, once it is developed and put in place, will eventually decide what information should be held on RADAR.
What benefits will RADAR bring to veterinary surveillance?
Many of the different computer systems, which currently hold surveillance data, are often not able to share this data with each other. RADAR will take data from existing systems, convert it and quality assure it so that it can be used in ways that have not been possible before. This will allow new and powerful analyses to be done.
It will help us identify changes in disease distribution sooner by being part of an early warning system. All of this will improve our ability to prevent and control disease. By collecting data gathered from systems across the UK, it will allow disease data and a range of disease risk factors to be compared directly against the population of animals. RADAR will be central to identifying what diseases exist, how much disease there is and how they are spreading. RADAR is the technical solution for delivering the UK Veterinary Surveillance Strategy which is part of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy.
Further information
Page last modified:
September 8, 2009