UK winning animal virus fight - Blair

LONDON, England -- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair says the programme to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease has "entered the home straight."

Britain has culled more than two million animals in an attempt to rid itself of foot-and-mouth, and the average number of new cases has dropped from 50 a day at the height of the epidemic to eight.

More than 1,500 cases in British livestock have been confirmed since it first broke out in late February, with 26 cases in the Netherlands, two in France and one in Ireland.

Blair made his announcement on the day that many analysts had predicted a general election would be taking place. He delayed -- with many now expecting the poll on June 7 -- in order to allow time to rein in the virulent livestock disease.

AUDIO UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: We remain on watch 485K/45 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Agriculture Minister Nick Brown: An effective disease strategy 540K/50 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Chief Scientific Adviser David King: Convinced but not complacent 263K/24 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    ALSO Blair prepares for election    IN-DEPTH Foot-and-mouth: Fear and slaughter   •  Disease timeline   •  Q&A on the disease   •  Humans test negative   •  Interactive map   •  Global incidents   •  Key players   •  News search   •  Audio/video archive

"We are getting the disease under control ... but it is not over yet," Blair told a news conference in his Downing Street office on Thursday.

"The battle is not over yet but I believe we are on the home straight."

Blair emphasised that 15 suspected human cases of the disease had all tested negative.

The government's chief scientific adviser, Professor David King, who for some weeks has been predicting that the disease would be drawing to a close by the summer, said he remained convinced that the epidemic was "fully under control."

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said evidence suggested the disease peaked at the end of March. But the government was cautious.

"We cannot in any way be complacent and it is essential that we remain vigilant about it," Blair said.

The government had caught up with the backlog of dead animals awaiting disposal in Devon, the county in southwestern England that was one of the hardest-hit areas, Blair added.

One last pyre would be lit in Devon on Thursday, but that would be the last, he said.

"This will mean that no more pyres to dispose of large numbers of carcasses will be lit after today's," he said.

Brown said the government expected to spend £600 million ($820 million) to compensate farmers for slaughtered animals.

The Ministry of Agriculture said 2.4 million animals had been slaughtered, with 59,000 still awaiting disposal. Another 100,000 animals were awaiting slaughter.

The number of animals culled represented 2.5 percent of the nation's herds, Brown said.

Blair also praised the army which he mobilised to help dispose of the carcasses.

"It has probably been the biggest peacetime logistical challenge that the army has faced," Blair said.

"The scale of combating foot-and-mouth disease has far exceeded, for example, the logistical demands even of the Gulf War."

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Foot-and-Mouth disease
Ministry of Agriculture
British government

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