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FMD Homepage Is UK FMD2007 an own goal?
James Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie,
Perthshire
Filed 04 Aug 07
©www.land-care.org.uk
As mentioned in an earlier article
today on this website (1), the
outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) occurred on a farm just
some 6 kilometres from the Institute of Animal Health Laboratories
at Pirbright. In turns out that this may not just be coincidence,
but that Pirbright might well be the source of the virus. Preliminary
typing of the samples taken from the farm suggest that the virus
could have escaped from the research laboratories in the area that
are involved in the making of vaccines. Merial has a major facility
in the area for that purpose.
In a statement Defra said:
"The present indications are
that this strain is a 01 BFS67-like virus, isolated in the 1967
foot and mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain."
Defra have redrawn the areas
designated Protected Zone and Surveillance Zone (2).
The Protected Zone includes Pirbright.
This may make the management of the
outbreak easier, or it could make it more difficult. A vaccine may
already be in existence and on our own doorstep that can cope with
the allegedly escaped virus.Or has the implicated virus been gathered
from some distant land, and is one that the laboratories may have
been working on in the attempt to create an effective vaccine against
it but so far without success? That could be very important.
Apparently sheep sales have occurred
in the area: particularly at Bicester. As commented on this website's
previous article, veterinarian officials have said that sheep were
on the affected farm.
It is much more difficult to detect
FMD in sheep that it is in cattle. It is possible, therefore, that
the virus may have been spread to different parts of the country
and possibly abroad. Tracing sheep sales is will not be so easy
as tracing cattle movements as it is largely a paper exercise..But
all the bits of paper should be available through the Markets, so
it should not be that difficult.
BCMS should be able to come up with
the the movements of cattle on and off the affected farm in recent
days very easily. That is the purpose of having a BCMS.
So far there is no news that Land-Care
is aware of on either front. Do defra computer buffins work weekends?
The National Beef Association
has useful information for livestock farmers on its website
(3).
©www.land-care.org.uk
References
1. Irvine,
James (2007). Emerging worries about UK FMD 2007.
See FMD Homepage, filed 04 Aug 07, www.land-care.org.uk
Click
Here to View
2. New Defra
Declaration Areas., 04 Aug 07. Click
Here to View pdf
3. http://nationalbeefassociation.com
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