S.L. 437.50 Art. 64National laboratories.

(1) Member States shall ensure that:

(a) laboratory testing for foot-and-mouth disease is carried out in laboratories authorised for such testing by the competent authorities;

(b) laboratory testing to confirm the presence of foot-and-mouth disease virus or other vesicular disease viruses is carried out in accordance with rule 65 by one of the laboratories listed in Part A of Schedule XI;

(c) one of the laboratories listed in Part A of Schedule XI shall be designated as the national reference laboratory for Malta;

(d) the national reference laboratory carries out at least the functions and duties set out in Schedule XV;

(e) the national reference laboratory referred to in paragraph (c) liases with the Community Reference Laboratory according to European Community legislation and in particular ensures the sending of appropriate samples to the Community Reference Laboratory.

(2) The national reference laboratory referred to in sub-rule (1)(c) of one Member State may provide the services of a national reference laboratory to Malta. In this case, the cooperation shall be formalised in a mutual agreement between the competent authorities of Malta and of the Member States concerned, which shall be notified to the Commission. Such cooperation shall be listed in the special column in the table in Part A of Schedule XI.

(3) (a) The competent authority shall ensure that laboratory investigations provided for in these rules are first of all carried out to confirm or rule out foot-and-mouth disease and to exclude other vesicular diseases.

(b) Where an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed and the serotype of the virus was identified, that virus shall be antigenically characterised in relation to the reference vaccine strains, where necessary with the assistance of the Community Reference Laboratory.

(c) Samples from domestic livestock showing signs of vesicular disease which are negative for foot-and-mouth disease virus and, where relevant, Swine Vesicular Disease virus shall be sent to the Community Reference Laboratory for further investigation.

(4) The competent authority shall ensure that the national reference laboratory on their territory is adequately equipped and staffed with the appropriate numbers of trained personnel to carry out the laboratory investigations required in accordance with these rules.