Foot-and-mouth cattle 'infected at time of all-clear'
Tests on animals slaughtered in the two most recent cases of foot and mouth indicate they were infected at the time the UK was declared clear of the disease by officials, it was revealed today.
Chief vet Debby Reynolds said cattle on the fifth infected premises – Klondyke Farm, near Egham, Surrey – had foot and mouth lesions that were more than 10 days old after the animals were slaughtered on Monday.
And animals on Stroude Farm, where livestock were culled last week, had lesions that were up to 10 days old.
The outbreaks on the farms were among three new cases which have emerged in Surrey less than two weeks after the UK was declared free of foot and mouth on September 7, following an outbreak in August on two farms some 10 miles away.
Dr Reynolds said a full epidemiological report would be published by the end of the week and would examine how the animals on the latest farms to be hit had contracted the disease.
And she defended the decision to give the UK the all-clear, saying officials had worked in line with contingency plans and the facts they had at the time.
She urged farmers to be especially vigilant as animal health officers attempted to contain the disease and called for them to check their cattle twice a day.
Dr Reynolds said more than 100 reports of possible cases had been examined and negated and some 1,700 animals have been slaughtered since the initial outbreak in August.
Of the most recent case, she said: “The laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of antibodies in the cattle at the premises where foot and mouth was confirmed.
“In addition, the post-mortem examination has revealed foot and mouth lesions, some of which were more than 10 days old.”
Dr Reynolds went on: “It is absolutely vital that farmers remain vigilant and adhere to strict biosecurity measures and licence conditions.
“This is a disease which can be easily spotted in its early stages. Immediate reporting of any suspicions is critical to the control of this disease.
“Welfare codes already require that animals are inspected at least once a day.
“I am now urging that these checks are carried out twice a day given the current circumstances.”
Richard MacDonald, director general of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “We very much want to get out the shared message to farmers that it is critical for them to be vigilant in terms of looking out for disease.
“Vigilance is absolutely key to containing and eradicating foot and mouth disease.
“In order to enable movements of animals we need to do so on the basis of sound epidemiological evidence based on an awareness of what is going on.”
