'Strong possibility' Pirbright lab source of disease

There is a “strong possibility” that the Pirbright laboratory facility is the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, it was announced tonight.

A report by the Health and Safety Executive in england said there was a “real possibility” the disease was spread by human movement, but the chances it was caused by flooding or aerial transmission was “negligible.

It did not narrow down the likely source further to either Merial Animal Health or the Institute of Animal Health (IAH), both of which are on the Pirbright site.

The report confirmed the strain found at the first farm was being worked on at both IAH and Merial between July 14 and 25.

There was large scale production at the Merial site (10,000 litres) and a series of small scale experiments (fewer than 10 millilitres in each case) at the IAH site.

It said: “The indications are that there is a strong probability that the FMDV strain involved in the farm outbreak originated from the IAH or the Merial sites.”

The report found no evidence of any incidents such as laboratory spillages or working practices that could have led to a release of the strain.

But report did conclude there were various potential routes for “accidental or deliberate transfer of material from the site”.

It said: “We have investigated site management systems and records and spoken to a number of employees. As a result we are pursuing lines of inquiry.

“Release by human movement must also be considered a real possibility. Further investigation of the above issues is required and is being urgently pursued.”

Preliminary investigations found the possibility that surface water caused by flooding or airborne transfer could have contaminated the first farm was also negligible.

The report identified a “number of biosecurity issues” surrounding the effluent treatment system at the laboratory site, which are now subject to ongoing investigations.

Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown tonight promised that: “The work goes on to isolate, to contain, control and eradicate the disease.”

He added that there would be a second report from the Health and Safety Executive tomorrow, following on from tonight’s interim findings.

In a statement, Merial Animal Health said: “Following the announcement of the independent report’s finding, Merial is assessing the information contained. We will communicate further as soon as possible.”

Professor Martin Shirley director of the Institute for Animal Health, said: “The Institute is obviously concerned about the lack of unambiguous evidence at this stage of what has happened and will continue to review our own biosecurity systems as new data becomes available and will continue to work closely with HSE and with the Spratt inquiry.

“Institute for Animal Health staff are continuing to carry out tests on the strains from the affected animals and on our own reference strains.

“We continue to be concerned about the effect on the farming community in the UK and you can be assured that our staff are working as hard as possible to provide evidence for these inquiries.”

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn tonight announced in a statement that the possibility the strain had been released by human movement would be investigated further as “a matter of urgency” and said he had asked for a further report as soon as possible.

Mr Benn said he agreed a recommendation by the Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds, that footpaths in the original protection zone which covers the two infected farms, be closed with immediate effect.

He said that he had noted that there was no reason to prevent the IAH from operating, but speaking later that the HSE had said they needed to further investigate Merial.

The Environment Secretary said the HSE had done “a good job”, but added that the report only took the Government “a bit further forward.”

Asked about the possibility of deliberate human contamination, Mr Benn said: “The truth is, we don’t know.

“We’re all very very anxious.”

More culling could take place if there were clinical signs of the disease, he said.

He added that the Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds, had ordered a large amount of vaccine, and that vaccination remained an option.

Peter Ainsworth, shadow environment secretary, said the HSE’s report was “bland and inconclusive”.

He said: “It is no surprise but nonetheless shocking that the report identifies a major bio-security failure at a Government laboratory and laboratory licensed by Defra as the two most likely sources of the outbreak of this disease.”

Microbiology expert Professor Hugh Pennington said: “My impression is that they haven’t found any technical fault and flooding is a potential, but only negligible. What you are left with is human movement.”

HM Revenue and Customs tonight announced measures to alleviate the immediate tax burden of individuals and businesses affected by the foot and mouth outbreak.

A helpline has been set up for those affected to get advice on tax matters.