Foot and Mouth Disease Puts British Government on Alert

Government officials are launching a full scale probe to determine the extent of foot and mouth disease in cattle in the country. The investigation comes closely on the heels of the discovery of infected cattle in a Surrey farm.

Dr. Debby Reynolds, the chief veterinary officer, said the investigations were a direct result of foot and mouth-infected cattle being detected on a farm near Gilford, Surrey. Keeping a positive tone, she said a nominal number of stray cases had trickled in since. Of these, some had already been diagnosed as negative.

The outbreak of foot and mouth disease has put Britain on a heightened sense of alert. Having already borne the brunt of the disease in 2001, Britain has now in place a self-imposed ban on all animal-related exports. The ban is effective on all exports related to cattle: animals, milk, carcasses, and meat products.

The 2001 outbreak wreaked havoc on two key industries in Britain – farming and tourism. In terms of pure statistics, the numbers are chilling – the disease led to the slaughter of more than 10 million animals. Besides, it cost the nation, in all, an estimated £8.5 billion.

With the detection of the disease this time round, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) made the announcement regarding the ban on animal exports. Besides the ban on exports, Defra also has in place what is effectively a quarantine order of sorts – a ban on the movement of all sheep, pigs, and cattle within the country.

Other preventive measures Defra has adopted include the formation of a three-kilometer ‘protection zone’ and a 10-kilometer ‘surveillance zone’ around the farm that had the first cases of foot and mouth infected cattle this time.

Experts in the field are currently trying to determine the source and potential magnitude of impact of the current outbreak. The primary focus of the investigation, according to Dr. Reynolds, has been to determine the point of origin of the disease, and where it could possibly have spread to.

Experts are still unaware if there is an existing vaccine for the virus. As of now, they have not been able to identify the strain. Once the identification process is complete, only then would they be able to determine if British or European vaccine banks have the vaccine in storage.

Currently scientists are still in the process of analyzing the material collected from the animals at the farm. Initial results from these analyses are expected towards the end of Saturday. There is also a possibility that this may take longer, depending on the strain of virus causing the disease.

While government officials have been cautiously optimistic, for the farm owners, it means an uncomfortable waiting period. Only at the end of this wait will they know the actual impact of the disease on their livestock and their economy.