Though this isn’t confirmed yet, it might be an interesting biosecurity story to follow. From NYTimes, “An investigation, ordered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on Tuesday concluded that the spread of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock at two farms in southern England was probably caused by human movement from nearby laboratory facilities that was either “accidental or deliberate.””
One key debate in Britain is whether to vaccinate all livestock. The issue is that once a nation’s livestock is vaccinated, there can be non-symptomatic carriers of disease. This then poses a threat to other national herds when animals or animal products are traded. Thus, if Britain goes ahead with vaccination, “it would immediately lose its designation as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease.” Article below.

August 8, 2007
British Outbreak May Be Linked to Human Action

By JANE PERLEZ
LONDON, Aug. 7 — An investigation, ordered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on Tuesday concluded that the spread of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock at two farms in southern England was probably caused by human movement from nearby laboratory facilities that was either “accidental or deliberate.”

The report, issued by the government’s Health and Safety Executive, said there was a “strong probability” that the outbreak originated at the laboratory facilities, but found a negligible chance that the virus had been released from the facilities by becoming airborne or as a result of recent flooding in the area.

The laboratories had already been identified as a “possible” source of the virus earlier in the week, but a definitive conclusion had not been reached.

The two laboratory facilities, about four miles from the farm where the disease was first detected in cattle on Thursday, are the government-run Institute of Animal Health and Merial Animal Health, a commercial producer of veterinary vaccines that is jointly owned by the American drug maker Merck & Company and Sanofi-Aventis, a French company.

On Tuesday, British agricultural officials said that the disease had been found in cattle on the second farm in southern England and that 102 animals from that farm had been slaughtered.

The new herd of infected cattle was within a six-mile protection zone established after the first outbreak of the disease was confirmed at a farm in Guildford, in Surrey, about 30 miles southwest of London.

Despite the discovery of a second case of the highly contagious disease, the authorities appeared to be relieved that the new case was in close proximity to the first.

The farmer who owns the land where the second outbreak was found said his family was “absolutely devastated.” The farmer, Laurence Matthews, told BBC Radio, “We were starting to think that maybe this virus had been contained.”

He added, “Most farmers are very, very scared, and all activity on farms has almost come to a standstill.”

Both of the laboratory facilities identified by government investigators use the foot-and-mouth virus for research and the production of vaccine for the disease. The strain of the virus found in the cattle was described by British officials over the weekend as the same as the virus used at the laboratories.

The Institute of Animal Health and Merial Animal Health have denied that there had been any breaches in their biosecurity procedures.

Given the latest outbreak, the farming industry has debated whether it will be necessary for farmers to vaccinate their livestock against foot-and-mouth disease, a move that has been resisted over the years.

If the government decided to vaccinate livestock, it would immediately lose its designation as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease. Experts said that even if small numbers of animals were vaccinated, Britain would be unable to export meat or livestock to non-European Union nations for six months.

The European Union banned imports of British livestock over the weekend as soon as the news spread that the disease had been found. The decision was formalized Monday and affects all live animals, all fresh milk and meat.

The Meat and Livestock Commission said cattle and beef exports in 2006 were valued at about $202 million.

Mr. Brown, who canceled his summer vacation to take charge of the outbreak, received unusually high marks from the British news media for quick action.

In 2001, the Blair government waited three days before imposing a ban on the movement of livestock around the country, a delay that could have helped spread the virus, a government report said later.

The conclusions of that report — especially the recommendation to stop the transportation of animals and to quickly destroy infected livestock — helped drive Mr. Brown’s actions this time.