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UK FMD Outbreak Daily Update

UK FMD Outbreak Daily Update ? August 15, 2007

  • DEFRA lifts the 2 Temporary Control Zones established on 8/14/07 following negative test results.
  • DEFRA stands down vaccination teams.
  • Government releases Epidemiology Report on the current outbreak. I would recommend any of our members involved in developing response plans for client herds or national programs to review this report. In addition to information already released, the report notes:
    • Infected Premises (IP) 1:
      • 4 parcels IP 1A-D, 64 cattle present
      • FMD confirmed on IP 1A (Normandy) & IP 1C (Elstead)
        • Clinical signs observed in all 38 cattle at IP 1A, age of lesions: 3 ? 9 days
        • No clinical signs/lesions observed at IP 1C
      • Key dates for IP 1:
        • Source window: Thursday 12 July (later amended to Monday 16 July following evidence of the timing of virus handling at the Pirbright site) to Wednesday 25 July.
        • Spread window: Sunday 22 July to Monday 6 August.
        • Date of 1st lesion: Thursday 26 July.
        • FMD confirmed: Friday 03 August.
        • Primary C&D completed: 1A and 1C - 05 August, 1B ? 06 August.
    • Infected Premises (IP) 2:
      • 4 parcels: IP 2A ? D
      • FMD confirmed on IP 2A & B, clinical signs observed at IP 2A, age of lesions: 1 ? 7 days
      • Key dates
        • Source window: Tuesday 17 July to Monday 30 July.
        • Spread window: Friday 27 July to Thursday 09 August.
        • Date of 1st lesion: Tuesday 31 July.
        • FMD confirmed: Monday 06 August.
        • Primary C&D completed: 2A and 2B ? 08 August, 2C - 09 Aug.
    • Virus identified as Type O1 BFS
      • Same strain as recovered from the 1967 outbreak in Great Britain
      • This virus is found in reference labs and pharmaceutical companies but not in circulation anywhere in the world.
      • Most likely source of virus is from one of the two facilities located at the Pirbright site.
      • Isolates are being sequenced to attempt to determine origin and spread.
      • Most likely route of spread from Pirbright is by personnel or fomites.
    • Risk of spread out of the Protection and Surveillance Zones is considered very low.
    • The report provides a nice timeline delineating the outbreak.

    UK FMD Outbreak Daily Update - August 14, 2007

    • DEFRA establishes 2 new precautionary 3 km "Temporary Control Zones" around suspect premises. A TCZ is implemented to restrict movements to and from a premises housing susceptible animals receiving inconclusive assessment of clinical symptoms by Animal Health veterinary staff pending further diagnostics.
      • One premises is located in Kent outside of the existing Surveillance Zone in Surrey.
      • The second is around a facility located in Surrey outside of the existing Surveillance Zone.

    UK FMD Outbreak Daily Update - August 13, 2007

    • Officials have lifted the Temporary Control Zone enacted on August 9th around a suspect premises in Wotton, Surrey. Testing confirmed the absence of FMD on the farm. This leaves only 2 Protection Zones currently in force.
    • Veterinary and animal health officials now feel confident that the disease will be contained within the original 3 km Protection Zone and indicated that "the risk of it spreading out of these areas is low, if not negligible."
    • Test results indicated that the animals (362 total, 338 of them pigs) on the farm depopulated as a dangerous contact premises were negative for FMD.
    • In 2006 and 2007 (January - May), the United States imported approximately 2.1 million kg of fresh or frozen pork from the United Kingdom. Additional U.S. imports from the United Kingdom during this period include dairy products, wool, wool grease, hides, bovine semen, fertilizers, and animal hair. (USDA, Center for Emerging Issues (CEI), Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH).

    UK FMD Outbreak Daily Update - August 9, 2007

    • Chief Veterinary Officer announces the lifting of some movement restrictions outside the 3 km Protection Zone and 10 km Surveillance Zone surrounding the infected premises. This will allow the shipment of animals to processing facilities meeting strict biosecurity measures.
    • An additional farm was ordered culled based on suspicion of FMD. Reportedly, this farm houses cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.
    • Officials established a "3 km Temporary Control Zone" around a premises in Surrey outside the existing 10 km Surveillance Zone to control movements while diagnostics on "suspicious clinical signs" in cattle are being completed.
    • The index farm was identified as Woolford Farm near Guildford.
    • Officials approved the issuance of a "general license" to allow the movement of feed and fodder within a farm and the direct delivery to a farm of feed and fodder from outside the Protection and Surveillance Zones. This action was taken to address welfare concerns.
    • It appears now that the most likely scenario for the movement of the virus was an employee of the Pirbright site (either Merial's operation or the Pirbright lab itself) moved the virus accidentally or intentionally to the index farm. No one has as yet been identified but the investigation is continuing. This speculation may be based more on the elimination of other methods of viral transfer such as aerosol or water-borne escape during recent flooding in the area. Apparently all aerosol safeguards were working properly and the wind direction was not such that would have given this pattern of dispersion during the suspected time period. Water leaving both the Merial and Pirbright facilities is treated prior to discharge. There is some discussion regarding the treatment methodology and some concern that the recent flooding may have overwhelmed the treatment capacity. While still a possibility, officials believe the most likely scenario is human movement of the virus off the site.

    BACKGROUND:

    • August 3, 2007
      • First infected herd confirmed in cattle on a farm in Normandy near Guildford, Surrey.
      • DEFRA establishes 3-km "protection zone" and a 10-km "surveillance zone."
    • August 4, 2007
      • DEFRA imposes countrywide movement restrictions on and off all animal premises (including animals, animal products, carcasses, feedstuffs, etc.)
    • August 6, 2007 - 2nd outbreak confirmed in cattle within the exclusion zone in Normandy.
    • August 7, 2007 - DEFRA announces findings implicating virus escape from either the Merial facility or the Institute of Animal Health located at Pirbright.
    • August 8, 2007 - DEFRA allows movement of animals directly to slaughter under license.
    • Currently, there are:
      • Two 3 km Protection Zones - one involving Normandy and the Pirbright site including 2 infected premises (the index case and one confirmed on 8/8/07) and the newly identified suspect herd. A second Protection Zone is located around the town of Elstead about 7 km south of Normandy which includes the Dangerous Contact premises owned by the same farmer as the index case.
      • One 10 km Surveillance Zone includes both Protection Zones.
      • Two "3 km Temporary Control Zones" in Surrey and in Kent.
    • Map http://www.gisdiseasemap.defra.gov.uk/intmaps/FMD/map.jsp showing location of Protection and Surveillance zones.