Out and About The new Moredun Mobile Laboratory The new Moredun mobile laboratory and outreach bus (BioBus) has been busy out and about since Covid restrictions were eased and allowed events to go ahead. It has been a great success with staff and visitors alike and has had some VIP visitors, including HRH The Princess Royal at the Scottish Game Fair. Orkney The first outing with the BioBus was to Orkney on 24th to 27th August, for a range of roles which showed how versatile it is. Research bus: Moredun scientists, Clare Hamilton, Eleanor Watson, Nuno Silva and Scott Hamilton accompanied Lee Innes and Beth Wells to several farms on Orkney to sample geese, cattle and sheep to further our Mobile lab in Caithness.
Dr Nuno Silva and Dr Clare Hamilton collecting samples.
work on the Orkney Goose Project, working with farmers and policy makers to establish the risk of disease transmission from geese to livestock and people. Here the bus was crucial for the ability to keep samples cool until they were transported back to Moredun.
but the Orkney Goose Project was also discussed with a large audiences of farmers and vets present.
Equine Grass Sickness outreach bus: That evening, Lee Innes and Beth Wells attended a meeting at the Orkney Riding Centre to raise awareness of the EGS project and biobank with horse owners and vets. Orkney has a history of EGS cases so this meeting was well attended and the bus was an ideal way to show people how the project has progressed and how they can contribute.
Parasite bus: The next event for the bus saw Lee Innes, Beth Wells, Dave Bartley and Philip Skuce head to Cumbria for a two-day county show (8th and 9th September). The bus featured The Visible and Invisible (parasites of sheep) which included posters, hand-
Westmorland Show near Kendal, Cumbria
Knowledge Exchange bus: The next day we attended a drop-in event at Orkney Auction Mart, organised with the Orkney Livestock Association, who are Moredun associate members. The bus was in KE mode for this and we had useful discussions with farmers, vets and policy colleagues, particularly on the Orkney Goose Project.
Dr Eleanor Watson and Scott Hamilton collecting samples on farm.
6
Moredun Magazine | Autumn/Winter 2021
Meeting bus: That evening the bus was in meeting mode with NorthVets, one of the Orkney vets practices, to discuss sheep health. The main topics were OPA and toxoplasmosis,
Westmorland Show.
