UK foot-and-mouth 'may have been caused by drains'
The recent foot and mouth outbreak in the UK could have been caused by faulty drainage pipes at the nearby Pirbright laboratories or spread by construction workers from the site, it was reported today.
Official reports into the outbreak in cattle at two farms near Guildford in the UK will suggest workers renovating the laboratories may have spread the disease on their car tyres, The Guardian said.
The studies also point to the possibility drainage pipes from the site may also have allowed the virus to leak, it was claimed.
The Environment Department (Defra) would not confirm whether the reports on the official findings – which are due to be published on Friday – were accurate.
But interim findings by the Health and Safety Executive, whose final report is one of two out at the end of the week, said release by human movement was a “real possibility” and that a number of “biosecurity issues” had arisen in relation to the drainage system at Pirbright.
HSE experts were sent to the Pirbright site, near to the two affected farms, after it was confirmed that the strain of foot-and-mouth disease found in infected cattle was the same as one used in the labs there.
An urgent review was launched into biosecurity arrangements at Pirbright, led by Professor Brian Spratt, which will also be published on Friday.
The site is shared by the Government-funded Institute for Animal Health (IAH), an international diagnostic laboratory, and pharmaceutical company Merial Animal Health.
In its interim report published last month, the HSE said there was a “strong probability” the outbreak originated from the IAH or Merial sites.
The HSE found no evidence of lab spillages or working practices which could have led to a leak, or of airborne escape, but said there were various potential routes of “accidental or deliberate transfer of material from the site”.
“Release by human movement must also be considered a real possibility. Further investigation of the above issues is required and is being urgently pursued,” the experts said.
The HSE report concluded that while the spread of the virus through surface water because of flooding was “negligible”, there was a possibility the cattle became infected through other waterborne means.
It looked at the effluent treatment system at the laboratory site and found that while control measures were in place at both the Merial and IAA premises to chemically treat liquid effluent, a “number of biosecurity issues have arisen which are subject to ongoing investigation”.
These issues included the integrity of the system and all associated pipework, the potential for the virus to have entered this system during the specified time period and whether heavy rain and flooding could have overwhelmed the system.
Today a Defra spokeswoman said: “We do not comment on leaked reports and are unable to comment on any speculation on the contents of either the HSE or Spratt reports into the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Surrey.
“These reports will be published in full on Friday alongside a statement of the further actions that the Government will be taking in the light of these reports.”
She added both the HSE and Prof Spratt’s investigations were complex and should be looked at in full.
“There are lessons for all of us to learn in light of it,” she said.
The National Farmers’ Union said it could not comment until it had seen the official findings.
But a spokesman said: “When we do see it we will be consulting with our lawyers to explore what it will mean to livestock farmers affected by the outbreak.”
The first outbreak of the disease, in a herd of cattle kept by farmer Roger Pride in fields at Normandy, near Guildford, was discovered at the beginning of August.
A neighbouring herd, owned by John Gunner, tested positive days later.
