The foot-and-mouth disease [FMD] outbreak in Egham has been confirmed, so we’re back in the FMD surveillance zone once more.

It’s stating the obvious that this is bad news indeed. My recent post a FOOT & MOUTH WASH UP provides a summary of the reasons and responsibilities for the previous outbreak. But, this time I believe it’s more serious, because of:

• loss of confidence, both national and internationally, that we are in control of the disease
• Government failings again, originally caused by a failure in bio-security at a government laboratory, and now likely to be a failure to appreciate the measures necessary to eradicate the disease
• potential to kill-off large portions of our livestock farming industry through despair and bankruptcy
• likely reliance on imported meat, from parts of the world and Europe where many more animal diseases are rampant

A BBC journalist read Professor Spratt’s recent report again, and found the following:

“The foot-and-mouth virus is less symptomatic in sheep so an infection from the first outbreak could have been overlooked

The virus can survive in soil for up to 28 days

It can also survive in water for up to 50 days

Foot-and-mouth can also linger in hay and straw for up to 20 weeks

It could be a new strain of the virus, but experts say this is unlikely”

So, if it can linger in hay for 20 weeks, why did Defra lift the FMD ban at the beginning of this week? Yet again there are questions to answer, and yet again they are related to sound government.

Once more, I direct you to WARMWELL as the premier source of up to date information and background on animal diseases.

Let’s all hope that we properly identify the cause this time, remain more vigilant than before, and that this outbreak is the last.