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That's a bit of a bummer. Still, with the last problem still fresh in peoples minds this should be easier to deal with. It's a bit of a tangent but the news on the Home Secretary cutting red tape to allow a to develop looks promising. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ DG looks like a clued up sort of guy and is floating somewhere between the two.

The question in my mind, Nick, is that among all this disaster is opportunity beginning to develop? Do you get a real sense of change, competence, and zing about all this? Your reporting in this blog has mellowed and become more fluid. Is this in response to what's going on around you or are you taking a lead yourself?

Good old Gordon turning up for the photo shoot (yawn), then he'll deliver a thunderingly reassuring statement (yawn) and then vanish. Can't an expert scientist chair the meeting? Would be far more reassuring!

I don't think that the government are entirely responsible for Foot and Mouth being here...but they are at least partially responsible for the outbreaks that have taken place this year - the problems at the disease place (can't remember what it's called now) and their drainage is at least 1/2 their fault.

It is encouraging however, to see the swift reaction once again to even a suspected outbreak.

It shows that lessons are, albeit slowly, being learnt.

Nick,

The new outbreak at Egham is only about 15 miles away from the original at Pirbright not 30 miles as is being reported - why the inaccuracy?

I wonder if the disease is spreading via the local deer population? Very worrying for all farmers.

Hi Nick, I am not knowledgable in farming, but why are our herds not vaccinated for this disease?
Is it because they cannot be vaccinated for it, or is it because us in U.K. want our herds free from it completely?

This time will the government be taken to task over the failures at the IAH, the lack of funding for maintenance from the DEFRA reflecting treasury priorities as set by GB as Chancellor?

The government has neglected key infrastructure in pursuit of its priorities and it needs to be held to account. Additionally please haul them up for any spin that it is clearly a private American company that is to blame.

Have just seen David Cameron pontificating on this issue on News 24.
Referring to the ban on movement around the original infected farms, he says "the ban was lifted too early". These bans were lifted on Saturday, more than a month after the last confirmed case. They were lifted after testing of more than 8,000 animals in the zones all proved negative.
He also alleged that the chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds, may have lifted the ban because she was put under political pressure to do so. What evidence does he have for this? The FMD contingency plan appears to have been followed to the letter. The NFU member appearing before him on News 24 praised the Government response to this new outbreak, and even said that lessons had been learned from the August outbreak in the way that Defra had acted.
Cameron comes over so badly on these occasions. We know nothing yet about the source of this new outbreak: it may be (God forbid) a completely different strain. Yet he feels he has to make his point, and at this stage his comments show him up as a political opportunist of the worst kind.

The answer to Albert's question re-vaccination is rather a kind of "Catch 22".

If you inoculate all the animals then they all carry antibodies indistinguishable from animals that have been infected. We in the UK might be convinced that none of our animals actually have ever had Foot and Mouth but the rest of the world will treat us as if we have, as they will no longer have any way of telling whether any of the animals had ever been infected or just vaccinated. The belief is we would loose many of our markets to those that had clear evidence of no infection.

Essentially that's why every European country pursues a cull rather than vaccinate policy

So Mr john galpin, tell me why we import and quite happily eat imported beef from Brazil and Argentina where they have been vaccinating against FMD for years???

Please mr Turnip don't confuse the messenger with the message! I didn't say that eating Beef infected with Foot and Mouth or with Foot and mouth antibodies is a human health risk. The risk is argued by politicians to be an economic and animal health and welfare risk.

EU imports of Beef from Argentiana and Brazil ( most of which actually goes to Germany) are regularly interrupted because of outbreaks of F&M which happen even though they have vaccination. This has major cost, animal welfare and overall efficiency issues for them that they "get away with" because land and labour are relatively cheap there. Its argued (and I'm not entirely persuaded) that this would be unsustainable and unacceptable risks in Europe. Also don't forget that many of the South American quotas agreed by the EU were argued ( and again many disagreed) as being necessary because of the shortage of European beef because of BSE in the UK. The following link from last year may give you some idea of the complexities and differences of view, or failing that put "EU imports of Argentinian beef" into Google and watch the fun.

Both Mr Turnip and john galpin are only partially accurate. It is possible to distinguish between natural infection and vaccination, BUT any vaccinated animal will sell for far less than an unvaccinated FMD free one. Brazil and Argentina can get away with selling in bulk, and because it is far cheaper to raise beef there than here (less animal welfare regulation,less red tape, cheaper labour) they can still make a profit despite the financial

I am puzzled by the repetitive outbreaks in the UK.

In the US the last outbreak was 1929 -- and they have far larger herds and many more farms than the UK.

I find it hard to believe that Uk regulation is inferior to US regulation, but perhaps it is.

What is going on?

Unlike Europe the US and Canada have virtually no importation or migration of animals or animal products which could cause a problem. Anyone who has travelled to the US will have seen or been sniffed by the dogs at airports looking for any food products which might be being imported by passengers.The freight side is every bit as strict. Relatively there are few international vehicle movements from potentially infected areas into the US and those that might be actually cross in extremely warm and arid conditions, which destroy F&M virus very quickly. Also they are too far from anywhere for birds to be a vector which has been suggested as a problem in Europe.

Isolation and vigilance pays with F&M.

Dear Nick,
This is fact, Labour MpS here in Brighton are in deep conversation, and holding secret meetings, there is no doubt an election is around the corner.
Old faces of the labour party, and even those who lost their seats in the local elections, are seen to be at the neetings???