http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=14378592&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=vets-practise-for-outbreak-name_page.htmlVets practise for outbreak
By Sarah Probert, Birmingham PostThe Government would scrap the use of funeral pyres and introduce an immediate ban on the movement of animals if faced with a fresh foot-and-mouth outbreak, it was revealed yesterday.
The use of vaccination, an idea likely to be condemned by many farmers, would also be considered to control the disease, vets in Stafford-shire said.
The new approach was revealed during a two-day exercise involving a mock outbreak of the disease, which began yesterday, to test how well systems would cope.
During the exercise, farmers raised concerns that military assistance, which was crucial in controlling the 2001 outbreak, could not be relied upon because of the number of troops serving in Iraq.
Vets in Staffordshire took part in the Government exercise, codenamed Hornbeam, which also involved Ministers and civil servants in London.
They carried out a series of table-top exercises looking at strategic, tactical and operational responses to the outbreak.
Officials from the State Veterinary Service, based in Stafford, used several real-life farms in Cheshire to help with the scenario, which put them a week into an outbreak and dealing with four infected farms.
Defra officials were considering the use of vaccination from the outset as a way of reducing the potential spread of the disease.
However, the slaughter of animals on infected premises and those suspected of harbouring foot and mouth will remain the first options, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.
The Government was severely criticised over the handling of the 2001 outbreak, which cost the taxpayer £8 billion.
In the Midlands there were 130 confirmed cases and 282,204 animals were slaughtered.
The holding of regular exercises was a recommendation put forward by several inquiries held after the last foot-and-mouth epidemic.
Mike Watkins-Jones, divisional veterinary manager for the Stafford-shire division, outlined the changes that would be made if a fresh outbreak occurred.
He said: "There would be a GB movement ban on livestock as soon as the disease is confirmed. The big change is the vaccine side of things. This time vaccination has to be considered."
He said there would be a hierarchy of disposal methods, with rendering being the preferred option.
Officials said a complete movement ban could cause specific welfare problems for animals, as in the 2001 outbreak, and slaughtering of some animals on welfare grounds would take place.
Ian Pearson, regional operations director at Stafford, who led the operation, denied it was merely a PR exercise and said it was a vital aspect of planning for future emergencies.
"It is a classic military manoeuvre, this is how the military practice and plan operations and we feel we are doing the same. It is not a PR exercise - this is planning for real.
"I regard foot and mouth as a war - we are waging a war on a disease and we need to make sure we have the plans in place," he said.
John Lewis, a Staffordshire farmer who was awarded an MBE for his efforts in preventing foot and mouth disease in the county by liaising between farmers and officials, said it was vital farmers co-operated swiftly if there were fresh cases of the disease.
"If an outbreak happened tomorrow, we haven't got the military resources and that would have to be looked at. They are all in Iraq, the police are overstretched, so we are duty bound to help as much as we can," he said.
Mr Lewis, who also took part in the exercise yesterday, said the use of vaccination would be unpopular with some farmers.
"Vaccination would be used as a last resort. Slaughter is still the best solution," he said.