August 6, 2007

 

British scientists work to trace source of FMD

 

UK scientists worked Saturday to trace the source of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on a farm in southern England, and authorities imposed a nationwide ban on moving livestock in a bid to stop the virus spreading.

 

The case is the first in the UK since 2001, when an epidemic devastated the farming industry and led to the slaughter of 7 million livestock. Many of the carcasses were burned on huge pyres that dotted the country, and large swaths of countryside were declared off-limits to visitors, damaging tourism.

 

Then, the government was accused of reacting too slowly, allowing the highly infectious disease to spread.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn cut short their holidays when they learned of the new outbreak and were due to hold a meeting of the government's crisis committee, COBRA, on Saturday.

 

Scientists were carrying out tests to determine the strain of the disease, and whether vaccination would be possible to halt its spread.

 

"The laboratory tests are already under way and the earliest possible information will probably come during the later part of today," said the country's chief veterinarian, Debby Reynolds.

She said investigations would try to determine whether the virus reached the UK through the illegal movement of animals, on the wind or by accidental contamination.

 

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, or DEFRA said animals on a farm near Guildford, about 30 miles south of London, had tested positive for the disease, which affects cows, horses, sheep and pigs. It does not affect humans.

 

DEFRA did not immediately say how many animals were infected, but said all animals on the farm would be slaughtered.

 

Authorities imposed a 2-mile radius protection zone and a surveillance zone of 6 miles around the farm. DEFRA said a ban was also imposed nationwide on moving all hoofed animals, including pigs.

 

Reynolds, the chief vet, said it was too early to say how far the disease might spread.

 

She said that at a meeting late Friday, "we looked at the immediate response and we looked at how that would potentially emerge over coming days and weeks and we noted that both the latter aspects are extremely uncertain."

 

The 2001 outbreak started with a pig herd in northern England and spread to cows and sheep. It eventually infected more than 2,000 farms and shut the UK out of the world's livestock export markets.

 

Huge pyres of culled livestock belched smoke and the countryside was effectively shut down, devastating the tourist industry. UK taxpayers shelled out more than $2 billion for compensation, disinfecting, veterinarians and the slaughter.

 

It was months before the UK was declared free of the disease, and even longer before UK exports were allowed to resume.

 

The European Commission said it would make an emergency decision Monday about the export of animal products from the UK

 

Tim Bonner, spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said farmers were extremely worried by the latest outbreak.

 

"Farmers around the country will be hoping and praying that this is an isolated incident and that the disease is not already widespread, because last time when we found out about it, it was already everywhere," he said. "We hope and pray that the lessons from last time have been learned."