Dr Stewart Burgess

Stewart heads up the sheep scab research group at the Moredun Research Institute (MRI). The groups’ research focuses on the development of novel tools for the control of sheep scab, which is caused by infestation of the skin with the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis. Recent developments include a commercially available sheep scab ELISA (blood test) which is able to detect infested animals before the appearance of clinical signs and the first prototype sheep scab vaccine, which significantly reduces mite numbers and the size of the skin lesions offering a more sustainable method of scab control in the future. Stewart is also leading a number of sheep scab control programmes across Great Britain, including the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE)-funded sheep scab control programme in England, which aims to demonstrate the utility of a cluster-based approach to the control of scab in three sheep scab hot-spot areas in England.