Originally from: Quita
                        
Hello there,

I received a letter from DEFRA yesterday, in answer to a letter I wrote to Margaret Beckett last December (which is on smartgroups, dated 14 December and headed 'Letter to Margaret Beckett'). I wrote to MB about vaccination and to comment on her remark that tourists wouldn't want to see the fields full of vaccinated animals!

This is the answer I have just received:

Thank you for your letter of 15 December to Margaret Beckett regarding her speech at the International Conference in Brussels on the prevention and control of foot and mouth disease (FMD). I have been asked to reply to your letter and I am very sorry you have had to wait so long for a reply.

You expressed concern that vaccination against FMD was not used in last year's outbreak. Vaccination was considered a number of times throughout the outbreak as a control option. The key assessment was whether vaccination would help ERADICATE the disease quicker than other options. By the time the virus was identified in the UK it had spread across a wide area making ring vaccination an impractical option. Throughout the outbreak the use of vaccination was assessed in a number of localities but the scientific and veterinary advice remained that the best way to achieve the primary objectives of disease eradication was through culling and tight biosecurity measures.

FMD is of international concern and currently there are no OIE-validated tests to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals. (The OIE, The Office International des Epizooties, is the world organisation for animal health). The International FMD Conference held last December recognised the urgent need for a validated test and this is a priority area for action.

During the FMD outbreak concerns were expressed, not least by food processors, that there would not be a market for meat and milk from FMD vaccinated animals. There were also suggestions that products from vaccinated livestock should be labelled as such and there were fears that this would disadvantage those products. It should also be recognised that there are FMD post-vaccination treatments for meat which are not required when vaccinating against other diseases. The OIE specify that meat from vaccinated animals has to be deboned and matured (to pH<6): requirements which are uneconomical for lamb and impractical for pork.

The current international view of FMD is that it should be eradicated. 'FMD free, without vaccination' is the highest international trading status which countries endeavour to protect. Mrs. Beckett's reference to the possible impact that vaccination might have on tourists from overseas was to illustrate the international dimensions of the disease.

Yours sincerely,

Ruth Huxley
Foot and Mouth Division

I should be grateful for your comments on this – and then I'll try and compose a suitable letter back (where are you, Bryn???!!).

Love,
Quita

Quita