Cabinet Office UK Resilience

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Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)

Latest Situation

• On 12 September Foot and Mouth Disease was confirmed at a farm in Surrey. Defra: Foot and Mouth Disease - Latest Situation page [External website]
• Defra has published the latest Foot and Mouth Disease epidemiology report produced by the National Epidemiology Emergency Group. It concludes that Infected Premises 5 provides a link between the August and September cases with Infected Premises 5 probably being infected by mechanical transmission, either from the Pirbright site or one of the first two Infected Premises in the Elstead area. It also concludes that Infected Premises 3 and 4 were probably infected subsequently. Based on the epidemiological report and the overall assessment of risk, two FMD risk areas will come into effect from 3.30pm on Tuesday 25 September:
  • Risk Area: consisting of Essex, Kent, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Greater London.
  • Low Risk Area: The rest of England, Wales and Scotland. In England, farm to farm movements will be allowed also from 3.30pm Tuesday 25 September under stringent conditions and subject to high levels of biosecurity with enforcement by Local Authorities.
• It remains essential for animal keepers to practice the highest standards of biosecurity, remain vigilant for disease and report any suspicions immediately. Livestock owners should examine their livestock twice a day.
• Information for farmers and landowners in the Protection and Surveillance Zone [External website]
• Movement guidance and licences [External website]
• Interactive map - Search by postcode to see if you are in the Protection or Surveillance Zone [External website]
• Access to the Countryside - Including information on horse movements and dog walking [External website]
• Declarations [External website]
• Investigations into the outbreak [External website]
• More information on the Defra Foot and Mouth website [External website]

Description of the Risk:

• Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is an infectious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, in particular cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer.
• While FMD is not normally fatal to adult animals, it is debilitating and causes significant loss of productivity; for example milk yields may drop or the animals may become lame. In young animals it can be fatal on a large scale.
• Advice from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is that foot and mouth disease is not a direct public health threat. The Food Standards Agency considers that foot and mouth disease has no implications for the human food chain.

Information and Guidance for the Public:

• Defra: Foot and Mouth Disease: Commonly Asked Questions [External website]
• Defra: Specific advice and background [External PDF]
• Defra have produced three FMD fact sheets for farmers:
  • How to spot FMD [External PDF];
  • How to prevent the introduction and spread of FMD [External PDF]; and
  • What happens when FMD is suspected or confirmed [External PDF].
• Farmers who suspect FMD in any of their animals should contact their Divisional Veterinary Manager (DVM) as soon as possible by contacting their local Animal Health Divisional Office. To find the telephone number of the local office either visit the  Animal Health Divisional Offices' website [External website] or call the Defra helpline (08459 33 55 77).

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Government Planning and Response:

• Defra [External website] is the lead department for animal diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease. Animal disease is a largely devolved matter, with responsibility sitting with the devolved administrations – the Scottish Executive [External website], Welsh Assembly Government [External website] and Northern Ireland departments [External website]. Defra and the devolved administratinos work very closely together.
• Defra's revised Contingency Plan for Exotic Animal Diseases [External website] was laid before Parliament on 13 December 2006. The plan, produced for Defra by the State Veterinary Service, covers arrangements for response to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Avian Influenza (AI), Newcastle Disease (ND), Classical Swine Fever (CSF), African Swine Fever (ASF) and Swine Vesicular Disease (SVD).
• Defra's FMD Emergency Vaccination Protocol [External PDF, 16 pages 109kb] outlines the factors that would need to be considered in the decision to use emergency vaccination.
• Defra have produced an FMD Disease Control Policy Communications Strategy [External PDF, 24 pages 124kb] aimed at planning for communications in advance of, and during, an FMD outbreak by contributing an 'emergency vaccination' element for inclusion in department's Contingency Plan.

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Recent Cases:

• August 2007 - Following an investigation of suspected vesicular disease by Animal Health on a holding near Guildford in Surrey, laboratory results on the evening of Friday 3 August 2007 indicated the presence of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) virus in samples from cattle on the premises. The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds confirmed the presence of FMD on the basis of the initial laboratory results.
• Defra: Latest Information on the outbreak in Surrey [External website]
• Questions and Answers [External website].
• HSE: Final report on potential breaches of biosecurity at the Pirbright site [External PDF]

Further Information

• Foot and Mouth Disease Lessons Learned  [External website] - the Anderson Inquiry Report. [22/07/2002]
• Response to the Reports of the Foot and Mouth Disease Inquiries by HM Government with Welsh Assembly Government  [External PDF]
• National Audit Office report into the FMD outbreak [21/06/2002] - [External website]
• The Royal Society's Report into the FMD outbreak [16/07/2002] - [External website]
• European Commission for the control of Foot and Mouth Disease [External website]
• FMD information on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) website [External website]

For more background information, go to the Animal and Plant Diseases section of this site.

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