Commentary on Sections Part 1 – Animal Health Section 7 – Treatment
27.Section 7 of the Act (amending section 16 of the 1981 Act) enables the Scottish Ministers, for the purposes of preventing the spread of disease, to cause any animal (meaning any mammal except man) or bird to be treated with serum or vaccine (or both). Subsection (1) of section 16 of the 1981 Act is repealed and replaced by subsection (1A).
28.Serum contains disease antibodies, whilst vaccine contains antigen to stimulate the production of antibodies in the treated animal or bird. The power provided in subsection (1A) of section 16 is wider than that previously provided by subsection (1) and could form part of the strategy to stop disease spreading by, for example, vaccinating in a wide area around an infected area to provide a barrier against disease spread.