Complacency warning over virus

Cattle continued to be slaughtered to contain the virus

LONDON, England -- Britain's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has reached 100 days, with officials warning against complacency as the number of new cases falls.

"The only way we can damp it down is to maintain a strict regime," said the government's chief scientific adviser David King.

Officials hope they are in the last stages of efforts to end the outbreak, which now numbers 1,664 cases.

More than three million animals have been slaughtered or marked for death, and the country's biggest agricultural group said it had been an enormous ordeal for Britain's farmers.

"It's been 100 days of sheer hell," said Ben Gill, head of the National Farmers Union.

King, said there could be new clusters of cases unless measures to prevent the disease's spread are strictly observed.

The disease is highly contagious and though almost always harmless to humans, it has cost the farming and tourism industries millions of pounds.

A map of the outbreaks released on Wednesday indicated the disease was now confined to western Britain.

"We are anticipating that there will be a 'tail' to the epidemic in each of the remaining areas," said Jim Scudamore, the chief veterinarian.

"We could well get sporadic upsurges in areas where we have got a problem and it is important that when that occurs, we put controls in place -- if we do that, we should be able to stamp on it quite quickly."

A fresh outbreak of the disease was detected in Settle, North Yorkshire, on May 10 and now numbers 31 confirmed cases, though it is hoped it is under control.

Fourteen of the first 20 cases in the Settle cluster have been linked by the movement of people, vehicles or licensed movement of livestock, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said.

"The spread of the disease has, inadvertently, been exacerbated by the nature of farming practices in the area," said King and Scudamore in a joint statement.

"Many farms have parcels of land away from the home premises, including some fell and moorland.

"Consequently there have been many movements of people, vehicles and equipment, as well as some 350 licensed animal movements to carry out normal animal husbandry and working practices within the area," they added.