Question to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - NW221

23 March 2023 - NW221

Breedt, Ms T to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Whether she will furnish Ms T Breedt with a list of the State laboratories of the Department of Agriculture in each province that are (a) currently operational and able to conduct clinical tests and (b) not operational; if not, why not; if so; what are the relevant details; (2) whether there is a backlog of tests; if not; what is the position in this regard; if so, what is (a) the current backlog, (b) being done to improve the response period and (c) the average waiting period for test results at each laboratory; (3) whether outsourcing is ever used with regard to the testing at the specified laboratories; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how much of the work was outsourced since 1 January 2022, (b) what are the financial implications of outsourcing the work and (c) which laboratories were used for outsourcing?

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Link

Reply:

(1)(a),(b) Yes. Please refer to Annexure A. The list of approved laboratories and their capabilities (scope of tests) is published on the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s (DALRRD) website at: http://www.dalrrd.gov.za/Branches/Agricultural-Production-Health-Food-Safety/Animal-Health/Epidemiology/Approved-Laboratories

It should be noted that Government laboratory services is a provincial veterinary mandate. Provinces decide on the location and feasability of maintaining a laboratory as well as the procurement of equipment, reagents and the scope of diagnostic tests. Maintenance of a laboratory that is able to provide diagnostics of an acceptable standard is very expensive; therefore most provinces opt to have only one laboratory. The decision to not provide a service and become inactive is mostly a financial decision, although staff shortages can also play a significant role.

(2) No. DALRRD is not aware of any current backlog in any of the laboratories. SANAS accredited and DALRRD approved laboratories must have a Quality Management System, which also deals with laboratory turn-around time. An average turnaround time for test results at each laboratory is 5 working days but exceptions do exist when test methods may require a longer period to be completed. Examples of these are Tuberculosis and Johne’s disease diagnostics which require a turnaround time of weeks or even months.

(a),(b),(c) Falls away.

3. Yes, some laboratories outsource as not all have the same diagnostic testing scope. Clients are therefore encouraged to ensure that samples are sent to the correct laboratory to minimise the need for outsourcing which could impact on turnaround times and costs. Samples may only be outsourced to laboratories that are accredited and approved for the required diagnostics.

a) The number of samples that were outsourced is not available at national level as it is an agreement between laboratories.

b) Outsourcing will inevitably result in increased costs and longer turnaround times.

c) Currently, all samples sent to the Western Cape Provincial laboratory will be sent to other laboratories as the laboratory is currently being upgraded. Samples are outsourced if specialised diagnostics are required such as sequencing of samples to determine the virus makeup as only a few facilities offer such a specialized and costly service. Examples are Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever. As indicated in (a) above, information on which laboratories were used for outsourcing is not available at national level as it is an agreement between laboratories.

Annexure A to NA-QUES 221 of 2023

STATUS OF GOVERNMENT AND PARASTATAL LABORATORIES

No	Province	Laboratory	Laboratory type	(1)(a),(b) Currently operational and able to conduct clinical tests and not operational	SANAS accreditation
1	Western Cape	Department of Agriculture George State Veterinary Office	Government	Expired/Not active -
2	Western Cape	Department of Agriculture Swellendam State Veterinary Office	Government	Expired/Not active -
7	Eastern Cape	Grahamstown Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending - Audit Date: 2019-09-18
8	Eastern Cape	Middelburg Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -
9	Eastern Cape	Queenstown Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending -	V0052
10	Free State	Bloemfontein Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -
12	Free State	Kroonstad Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending -	V0044
24	Gauteng	NICD Centre of Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (CEZD)	Government	Expired/Not active -	M0029B
25	Gauteng	NICD Centre for Respiratory Disease and meningitis (CRDM)	Government	Expired/Not active -	Medical PCR
26	Gauteng	NICD Special Bacterial Pathogens Reference Laboratory (SBPRL)	Parastatal	Expired/Not active -	Medical Micro
27	Gauteng	OVI Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) Laboratory	Parastatal	Suspended -
29	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Transboundary Animal Diseases Programme (TADP)	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending - Audit Date: 2018-09-07	V0034
33	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Tuberculosis Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-55 Audit Date: 2023-02-22
34	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Biotechnology PCR Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-10 Audit Date: 2023-02-21	V0001
35	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Rabies Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-02 Audit Date: 2019-04-03	V0003
36	Gauteng	ARC-OVR Virology Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-46 Audit Date: 2022-09-12	V0001
39	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Bacteriology and Zoonotic Diseases Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-01 Audit Date: 2023-02-15	V0003
40	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Epidemiology Parasites and Vectors Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-30 Audit Date: 2023-02-14	V0017
45	Gauteng	ARC-OVI BSE Laboratory	Parastatal	Expired/Not active DAH-56 Audit Date: 2019-06-27	V0003
46	Gauteng	ARC-OVI Serology Laboratory	Parastatal	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-57 Audit Date: 2023-02-16	V0003
52	KwaZulu-Natal	DALRRD Vryheid Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Suspended -	no
54	KwaZulu-Natal	KZN DARD Allerton Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-21 Audit Date: 2022-09-22	V0037
57	Limpopo	DALRRD Lephalale Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -	no
58	Limpopo	DALRRD Makhado Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -
59	Limpopo	DALRRD Mokopane Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -	no
60	Limpopo	DALRRD Thulamela/Sibasa Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -	no
61	Mpumalanga	DALRRD Ehlanzeni Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Suspended -	no
63	Mpumalanga	DALRRD Lydenburg Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Suspended -	no
64	Mpumalanga	Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land & Environmental Affairs Mpumalanga Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending - Audit Date: 2023-01-30	V0041
66	Mpumalanga	DALRRD Skukuza Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Expired/Not active -	no
67	North West	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Vryburg Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-22 Audit Date: 2022-06-21	V0038
68	North West	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Potchefstroom Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approval pending DAH-14 Audit Date: 2022-11-02	V0018
70	Northern Cape	Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Land Reform & Rural Development (DAELR) Northern Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	SANAS Accredited, DAH Approved DAH-49 Audit Date: 2022-06-21	V0036
73	Western Cape	Western Cape Department of Agriculture Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Voluntary suspension DAH-29 Audit Date: 2018-10-12	V0029
76	Western Cape	DALRRD Beaufort West Veterinary Laboratory	Government	Suspended -	no

Source file

RNW221-230323.docx

23 March 2023 - NW221

Breedt, Ms T to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Reply:

Source file

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