| ■ Vaccine Lab Likely Source of U.K. Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak | 2007.08.11 |
| It's likely that a vaccine lab was the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in southern England and that the disease was spread by human movement, Britain's Health and Safety Executive said Tuesday. The agency said the possibility that the disease was transmitted by air or floodwaters was "negligible." Foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed at two farms located within a few miles of the Pirbright vaccine laboratory, which is shared by the government's Institute for Animal Health and a private pharmaceutical company, Merial Animal Health, the Associated Press reported. The possibility that the highly contagious virus was spread by human movement will be urgently investigated and footpaths in the area of the two affected farms will be closed immediately, said Environment Secretary Hilary Benn. A protection zone has been established around the two farms in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease to other farms in southern England, the AP reported. |