Dr John McGiven joined what is now the Animal & Plant Health Agency in Great Britain in 1996 and is celebrating his 25th year there! He joined after graduating in Zoology from the University of Liverpool and started his APHA career working on serodiagnostic assays for brucellosis and keeps returning to this subject although also oversees the bacteriological and molecular work for Brucella and is the APHA Disease Consultant for brucellosis. During his time at APHA he has obtained an MSc in Immunology a diploma in statistics and a PhD in Biochemistry from Imperial College and is now leading the team at the OIE and National Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis. This laboratory oversees the technical aspects of the national surveillance programme for brucellosis and undertakes the confirmatory diagnostic roles. The APHA Brucella Team perform bacteriology, molecular biology, immunodiagnostics and applied research relating to all Brucella species. The focus has been on those species that cause disease in livestock but there has also been a longstanding interest and capability relating to Brucella canis. John is also a founding member of the Management Oversight Board of BactiVac, a global bacterial vaccinology network.
One Health Day highlights the need for a collective approach to tackling joint disease threats to people, animals and the environment. This year, our annual blog focuses on APHA’s role in recent cases of Brucella canis in Great Britain and how, together with the UK Health Security Agency, we immediately responded to this.
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