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Five years on from FMD UK 2001 and still inadequate
recognition of tests for
early diagnosis
Editorial
Filed 07 Feb 06
©www,land-care.org.uk
Although the technology has been
available since the time of the UK FMD epidemic in 2001, the development
of the tests to enable rapid on farm diagnosis has somehow been
allowed to stagnate throughout the ensuing 5 years. It is not a
question of "if" another outbreak of FMD in the UK is
going to occur, but only one of "when". Should it occur
tomorrow, the UK would appear to be in a position to handle it little
better than in the disaster of 2001: that is despite all the inquiries,
the government's responses to them, contingency plans, mock trials
runs, etc. The reality is that in the absence of rapid on farm diagnosis
the management of a future outbreak is likely to be as disastrous
as the last.
The situation is well described in
recent letters to Mary Critchley of www.warmwell.com from Dr Roger
Breeze and Dr Colin Fink, both of whom gave evidence to the inquiries
conducted by the Royal Society, London and the Royal Society of
Edinburgh.
Readers of www.land-care.org.uk are
encouraged to read www.warmwell.com, which has done so much
over the years for the cause of applying good science to major health
problems that threaten our nation's livestock.
©www.land-care.org.uk
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