UK closes on foot-and-mouth source

Strict measures are being adopted to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease

LONDON, England -- Britain has confirmed its fifth case of foot-and-mouth disease and says the farm involved may be the source of the outbreak.

Investigators attempting to trace the source of the potentially devastating livestock disease are concentrating on a pig farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The British countryside has become a virtual no-go area amid fears that the outbreak could ruin the farming industry just as it emerges from a long-running struggle against mad cow disease.

The discovery of the disease has already led to international bans on exports of UK livestock and animal products that the farming industry says could cost as much $12 million (£8 million) a week.

Disease fears spread to Continent

A MAFF spokesman said it was now suspected that the disease may have been present at the Northumberland farm "for some time."

It was known to have recently delivered pigs to the Cheale Meats abattoir in Essex where the outbreak of foot-and-mouth was first confirmed on Tuesday, he said.

Emergency restrictions, including the slaughter of all pigs, have been in place at the farm on Thursday night following reports of a "highly suspicious disease" in pigs there.

"If it is the source, then that will be an important breakthrough in helping trace the disease's movement," said the spokesman.

At European Union headquarters in Brussels, experts fear the disease is so contagious that it may yet spark an outbreak on the Continent.

"This would be an absolute disaster for the meat business, much worse than mad cow disease," said Jean-Luc Meriaux of the EU's meat trading association UECBV.

Pigs can spread foot-and-mouth disease just by breathing

"Can you imagine, we would lose not only consumption, but production too. It's too awful to contemplate."

Britain has virtually sealed off its countryside, with "Keep Out" notices in many regions.

Postal workers have been ordered to leave mail at farm gates and ramblers warned to stay off fields.

The virus can be carried by the wind, on the soles of shoes or on the wheels of cars, and Agriculture Secretary Nick Brown has appealed to the public to reduce contact with livestock.

Officials have imposed wide movement restriction zones around affected sites as well as precautionary measures in Northern Ireland, northeast England, the southern English county of Buckinghamshire and the Isle of Wight, off England's southern coast.

In one case a mother has been separated from her husband and two daughters after their farm was "quarantined" for ten days while she was at work.

Characterised by the development of blisters in the mouths and on the feet of cloven-hoofed animals, foot-and-mouth can be fatal to animals, although experts say it poses little risk to humans.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
EU Commission for Foot-and-Mouth disease control
National Farmers' Union
Food Standards Agency

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