Cattle TB Could Hit Foot and Mouth Level

James Meikle
Saturday April 20, 2002

Farmers yesterday expressed fears that TB in cattle could become worse than the foot and mouth epidemic. Evidence suggests that the disease, which should not pose a major risk to people, is still spreading quickly in parts of Britain.

Ten beef cattle were culled at a farm in Denbighshire, north Wales, this week, the first time TB has reached that part of the country. In the first three months of this year, nearly 800 cattle on 130 farms in Wales tested positive and were slaughtered. During the whole of 2000, 150 farms in Wales were affected by new TB cases.

Testing was suspended during most of the foot and mouth crisis, but has been reintroduced.

The disease has been spreading for years, and the government has sparked anger among wildlife campaigners by culling badgers to establish whether the popular animals can be blamed for the sharp rise in cases in recent years.

Alan Morris, of the Farmers Union of Wales, said the organisation was deeply worried that TB in cattle could get out of control "and become worse than the foot and mouth crisis".

Tony Edwards, chief veterinary officer for Wales, was worried by the spread to a new area. "We need to establish how it got there. We have tried to get the message to farmers buying livestock to ensure the animals are not infected."

The latest figures for Britain as a whole, covering January and February, suggest 184 herds were confirmed as having new TB cases, 147 in England, 34 in Wales and three in Scotland. This was fewer than the 311 in the first two months of last year, and 478 cases for all of 2001. Unlike foot and mouth cases, only affected animals are slaughtered, although others are put under restrictions and tested again two months later.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/footandmouth/story/0,7369,687632,00.html