LONDON, 6 August 2007 — British farmers and the food industry are both amazed and angry at a possible link between the foot and mouth outbreak and a government laboratory complex in Pirbright in southern England, as health and safety inspectors yesterday started carrying out tests to verify whether the complex was a possible source of the outbreak at Wolford farm, near Guildford in Surrey.

The complex houses the Pirbright Laboratory of the Institute of Animal Health, which is owned and run by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It also houses a private pharmaceutical company, Merial Animal Health.

Defra yesterday confirmed that “the present indications are that this strain is a 01 BFS67-like virus, isolated in the 1967 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain.”

The strain of the disease found is identical to that used for vaccines and testing at a Pirbright research site, and was also used in a batch of vaccine manufactured on July 16, 2007 by Merial. The 01 BFS67-like virus strain is not one normally found in animals but is used in vaccine production and in diagnostic laboratories. Merial yesterday suspended all vaccine production at its facilities at Pirbright, as the hunt to identify the virus’ transmission mechanism continues.

Assuming the virus did escape from the Pirbright site, health and safety inspectors would want to establish how it got out. There is speculation that it either escaped through the ventilation system or possibly an employee carried it out accidentally on a boot or piece of clothing.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, chairing yet another meeting of Cobra, the government emergency committee, yesterday reiterated that the aim is to “contain, control and then eradicate this disease. I’m determined that we do everything to ensure that the biosecurity that we want to see is properly in place and we can be assured of that.”

The inspectors’ report is expected to be completed in the next two days. But, the government insists that the ban on the movement of cows, sheep and pigs would remain in place. In fact, Defra yesterday extended the protection zone around the affected farm near Guildford to 10km. The farm is situated near the Pirbright laboratory complex.

Thus far, no new outbreak of the foot and mouth disease has been reported, which suggests that the link to the Pirbright facilities is the most likely explanation. But Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, who cut short his holiday in Italy, has urged people in the rural areas to remain vigilant because the source of the virus strain had not been confirmed.

Benn told BBC News that the link to the Pirbright site was a “promising lead,” and that safety inspectors, led by professor Brian Spratt of Imperial College in London, would first examine the Merial site, and then carry out an urgent review of biosecurity at the site. The inspectors will also question staff on management procedures, particularly in relation to biosecurity issues.

Merial Animal Health in a statement yesterday stressed: “There is intense speculation regarding the possible sources of this outbreak. While Merial has complete confidence in the integrity of our biosecurity, and our initial investigation shows no breach of our procedures, it is too early in the investigation for anyone to determine the source of the outbreak.”

Institute of Animal Health director, professor Martin Shirley, yesterday confirmed that there has been “limited use” of the identified strain at the institute within the past month, but insisted there had been “no breaches of our procedures.” In fact, the facilities at Pirbright are being redeveloped following a 2002 report in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2001 foot and mouth outbreak, which heavily criticized the institute.

The 2001 outbreak led to the culling of between 6.5 million and 10 million animals at a cost to the taxpayer of over 8.5 billion pounds.

Some 64 cattle have culled at Wolford farm in the current outbreak, and another herd at an adjacent farm was also destroyed as a precautionary measure.

Conservative leader David Cameron yesterday said that if it “turns out that the virus was released either from the Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright or from the next-door lab at Merial - which, by the way, is inspected and licensed by the government - it will be astonishing news, because the organizations responsible for stopping things like foot-and-mouth will effectively be responsible for starting it.

“The government will have some serious questions to answer about the report which came out in 2002 that said the facilities were shabby and not up to standard. Farmers up and down the country are going to be quite angry because they have done masses to improve their own biosecurity and they are all suffering at the moment, apparently because of mistakes made at a laboratory which is meant to stop foot-and-mouth. While the movement ban is absolutely right we shouldn’t forget that the ban on moving all animals around the country is not pain-free,” he added.

The ban on livestock movements means that abattoirs are closed for business but they still have to pay their staff. It means that markets and auctions are completely out of business while the ban continues.

The National Union of Farmers (NFU) warned that its members are in a state of “anger and amazement” at links between the foot and mouth outbreak and a nearby research center.

The first priority, it added, was to contain the “devastating disease” before looking at blame and compensation.

“We are deeply concerned to hear that the FMD virus may have originated from the Pirbright site shared by the Institute of Animal Health and Merial Animal Health Ltd. Livestock farmers throughout the country will be in a state of anger and amazement to think that a site concerned with animal health may have allowed this terrible virus to get into our farming stock,” said the NFU in a statement yesterday.