Dr Carrie Batten

Dr Carrie Batten is Head of the Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratory and is  designated as the World Organisation for Animal Health (formally 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 Pirbright. She has a background in microbiology and virology (University of Plymouth, University of Southampton School of Medicine, UK), and  has over 15 years’ experience in viral diagnostics, surveillance and disease control, playing an integral role during the UK BTV-8 outbreak in 2007.

Alongside the groups responsibility to the competent authorities to provide reference laboratory services, 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 disease. These methods underpin the routine diagnostic work of the Reference Laboratories at The Pirbright Institute and are used to monitor the global patterns of disease, and to recognise new emerging viral lineages that pose threats to the UK. Dr Batten has extensive experience of developing diagnostic capabilities to support disease control in LMICs with her group regularly supporting visiting scientists and running training courses for both national and international delegates.

The group 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. Dr Batten acts as secretariat for the Rinderpest Holding Facility Network.