August 6, 2007

 

UK foot-and-mouth lab: No biosecurity breach found
 

 

A British vaccine laboratory at the centre of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease said Monday (Aug 6) it had found no evidence of a breach in biosecurity, as government officials assessed links between the facility and infected cattle.

 

Veterinary experts matched a strain found last week in cattle on a farm outside Wanborough, 30 miles south-west of London, to a laboratory close by, which is used to produce vaccine against the disease.

 

Officials at the UK's agriculture department said the strain of foot-and-mouth disease was identical to one used at a site 4 miles away, which is shared by the government's Institute for Animal Health and a private pharmaceutical company, Merial Animal Health - the UK arm of Duluth, Georgia-based Merial Ltd. Merial is a joint venture between French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) and New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK).

 

Merial Animal Health Managing Director David Biland said Monday initial inquiries have shown there have been no failures in security procedures at the plant.

 

The site "operates to the very highest international standards, and we have complete confidence in the integrity of our operation here," Biland said.

 

"To date, our investigations continue to show no breach in our procedures. However, it is still too early in this investigation for anyone to determine the cause of the outbreak," he said.

 

The Institute for Animal Health, or IAH, said a check of records had found "limited use" of the virus in the past four weeks.

 

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told BBC television it was not yet clear whether the IAH or Merial were directly linked to the outbreak.

 

If the outbreak is found to be linked to one of the two sites, it is likely to mean the infection will be contained to nearby cattle, reducing the risks of a repeat of mass outbreaks in 2001, when 7 million animals were culled and incinerated on pyres dotted across the landscape, devastating agriculture and rural tourism in the UK.

 

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said some 120 cows were slaughtered after the virus was identified.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he hoped to have an initial report from Health and Safety officials within 48 hours.

 

The UK has banned exports of livestock, meat and milk and halted the movement of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs nationwide to prevent the spread of the virus.

 

Japan and the US immediately banned UK pigs and pork products. UK beef is already banned in both countries because of mad cow disease. The South Korean government banned imports of UK pork and pigs, the Agriculture Ministry said Monday. The European Union is likely to ban UK livestock imports Monday.