October 8, 2007

UK says foot-and-mouth-disease unlikely to spread

The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK is unlikely to spread outside Surrey in southern England, government veterinarians have said, the BBC reports on its Web site Friday (October 5).

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said epidemiological studies of the latest cases confirmed the belief that the disease is unlikely to spread outside the area.

Evidence suggested that in the newest cases, the disease was transmitted by the wind or carried by machinery, the report said.

Deputy chief veterinarian Fred Landeg said: "We hope that we will not discover any further new cases."

The report showed that the latest outbreak was "most likely to remain small and not become geographically extensive", he added.

Landeg also said the only potential link between Pirbright - the source of the first outbreak in August - and the secondary outbreak in September was through human or vehicle movement.

It will be at least 30 days from the last confirmed case, discovered last weekend, before the surveillance zone in Surrey can be lifted, he said.