Dr Carrie Batten

Dr Carrie Batten is Head of the Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratory (NVRL) and is designated as the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly the OIE) expert for bluetongue virus and African horse sickness virus. Dr Batten leads the UK National Reference Laboratories for bluetongue, African horse sickness, African swine fever, morbilliviruses and capripoxviruses, working closely with the other WOAH disease-specific experts at The Pirbright Institute. She has a background in microbiology and virology (University of Plymouth and the University of Southampton School of Medicine, UK) and has over 15 years of experience in viral diagnostics, surveillance and disease control. Dr Batten has played an integral role in the UK's         response to BTV-3 and BTV-8 since 2023. Throughout this period, in excess of 150,000 samples have been tested at the Bluetongue National Reference Laboratory.

Alongside the group's responsibility to provide reference laboratory services to the competent authorities, the group has an active research portfolio. This primarily focuses on the development and validation of new methods and technologies for the detection and characterisation of important livestock diseases. These methods underpin the routine diagnostic work of the Reference Laboratories at The Pirbright Institute and are used to monitor global patterns of disease and identify emerging viral lineages that pose threats to the UK.

Dr Batten has extensive experience in developing diagnostic capabilities to support disease control in low and middle income countries, with her group regularly supporting visiting scientists and delivering training courses for both national and international delegates. Dr Batten also acts as a technical expert for Bio Prevail, a One Health Security Innovation Initiative for Sustainable Laboratories.

The NVRL is currently responsible for The Pirbright Institute's rinderpest virus archive and has worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WOAH to sequence and destroy UK archive virus stocks of rinderpest. As of 2026, all of the UK's wild type rinderpest stocks have been destroyed. Dr Batten acts as Secretariat for the Rinderpest Holding Facility Network.