Virus Strain 'Same In Foot-And-Mouth Outbreaks'

The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Surrey is "likely" to be the same strain that infected two farms in the area last month, the government has confirmed.

The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that initial tests had revealed that the virus found at the Milton Park Farm in Stroude Road in Egham was similar to that found at the other two farms, close to the Pirbright research site.

The farm in Egham is ten miles from the scene of the previous outbreak. All cattle at the farm and at a neighbouring farm also suspected of being infected have been slaughtered, a 10km exclusion zone is in place around the site of the infection and a national ban on the movement of livestock, except for emergency slaughter, is again in force.

It has also emerged vets in Norfolk are investigating the case of a sick pig at a farm there and a temporary exclusion zone has been set up around the site.

Foot-and-mouth cases were confirmed at two farms in Surrey last month. A report suggested that the likely source of the outbreak was the nearby Pirbright research site, which is shared by private pharmaceutical company Merial and the Institute for Animal Health. However, the report said it was not clear which of the labs was responsible.

Last Friday, the government said that the affected area was now free of foot-and-mouth and is now facing criticism that it declared Britain free of foot-and-mouth too quickly.

However, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the decision to give the all clear was made on the basis of scientific evidence.

He said that it was a decision "made by the chief vet (Debby Reynolds) and it was "supported by many academic experts and that there was absolutely no truth" in any suggestion political pressure had been applied to influence the chief vet.

The spokesperson also said that tests were still being carried out on the latest samples to discover definitively which strain of the virus was involved.

Mr Brown chaired another meeting of the government's civil contingency committee on Thursday morning to discuss the latest outbreak. Speaking on Wednesday, he said that he fully understood the "anxieties and worries" the farming community are experiencing and added that the government would do everything "to get to the root cause" of the outbreak and to "control and eradicate" the disease.

However, speaking on Wednesday, Shadow Environment Secretary Peter Ainsworth said: "It seems possible that, in their eagerness to put the issue behind them, they relaxed security measures too early. I fear that farmers may pay a heavy price for the government's complacency."

(KMcA/SP)