大象传媒

• The worst outbreak so far was in 1967 when 400,000 animals were slaughtered.
• In 1981 a single case occurred on the Isle of Wight.
• Since 1982 Britain has been classified as free of the disease.
• The total number of confirmed cases in the UK has reached 1.928 cases.
  3,656,000 animals have been slaughtered.
  38,000 awaiting slaughter
  21,000 awaiting disposal

Day 49- April 10
The government says there's evidence that outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in areas previously free of infection are being caused by the virus being carried on people or their vehicles. Teams of slaughtermen are continuing vigorous efforts to stamp out isolated outbreaks in the Scottish Borders, South Wales and Yorkshire. However, ministers have called on farmers to use stringent disinfection measures to prevent the virus being carried accidentally on to or off their farms.

Day 48- April 9
There's further evidence of the impact that foot and mouth disease is having on tourism in rural areas. A survey, conducted by NFU Countryside, suggests that many people who had been planning to go to the countryside at Easter have cancelled their trips. The Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown, plays down concern about new outbreaks of foot and mouth in previously unaffected areas. He says officials had warned that the disease might occasionally "leap-frog" -- and insists that it was vital to stick to the government's culling policies.

Day 46- April 7
The Government's heading for a clash with county councils which refuse to re-open footpaths closed because of the foot and mouth outbreak. Ministers say government vets have found no evidence that the disease is being spread by tourists and ramblers and they're urging councils to relax restrictions in uninfected areas. The environment minister, Beverly Hughes, has asked to meet the deputy leader of Buckinghamshire county council to hear why every footpath and bridleway is closed, even though th county is free of foot and mouth. But the Conservatives say they deplore the government pressurising councils to lift restrictions against their best judgement.

Day 45- April 6
It's emerged that a report into the last major outbreak of foot and mouth in Britain criticised the government for not bringing the army in sooner, the same criticism which the Conservatives and farmers have levelled at ministers during the current epidemic. The government is intensifying its campaign to encourage visitors to return to the countryside. The Prime Minister will visit rural Yorkshire this morning to reinforce the message that Britain is open for business in spite of the foot-and-mouth epidemic. He'll also announce that a further 120 million pounds in loans is to be made available to small firms suffering because of the crisis.

Day 44- April 5
Experts are closely monitoring the spread of foot-and-mouth after indications yesterday that the efforts to stamp out the disease are finally beginning to have an effect. The total number of cases has risen to one-thousand-and-24 but scientists say the pattern suggests the epidemic may be flattening out, and could start to decline next week. However, the government is emphasising that measures against the disease will not be relaxed. Today, more vets arrive from America to help tackle the crisis.

Day 43 - April 4
The government's chief scientific adviser, Professor David King, said that emergency measures to deal with Foot and Mouth were "starting to bite". A Downing Street spokesman said that as a result vaccination of healthy livestock was now unlikely but was still being kept as an option.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy proposed a package of relief measures to help the farming and tourist industries cope with the impact of the crisis. His suggestions included an immediate allocation of 拢100 million from Treasury coffers to compensate farmers.