Article 1
(1.
F1The Secretary of State, with the consent of each other authority who in relation to any constituent part of the United Kingdom is the appropriate Minister, shall ensure that the confirmation of classical swine fever is based on:
(a)
the detection of clinical signs and post-mortem lesions of disease;
(b)
the detection of virus, antigen or genome in samples of pig tissues, organs, blood or excreta;
(c)
the demonstration of a specific antibody response in blood samples,
in accordance with the procedures, sampling methods and criteria for evaluation of the results of laboratory tests laid down in the Manual annexed to this Decision.
F2(2.
The United Kingdom National Reference Laboratory may apply modifications to the laboratory tests referred to in the Manual annexed to this Decision or use different tests, provided that an equal sensitivity and specificity can be demonstrated. The sensitivity and specificity of these modified or different tests must be evaluated in comparative periodic tests.
F33.
For the purposes of this Decision—
(a)
“the appropriate Minister” means—
(i)
in relation to England, the Secretary of State;
(ii)
in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;
(iii)
in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;
(b)
“the competent authority” means the appropriate Minister for the relevant constituent part of Great Britain;
(c)
the United Kingdom National Reference Laboratory is the laboratory at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB.