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British crisis team tackles virus
LONDON, England -- A high-level crisis management committee has been convened in Britain to deal with the spreading foot-and-mouth outbreak. The Cobra crisis committee, which will meet daily, is assembled only at times of national emergency. It will be chaired by Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, an Agriculture Ministry spokesman said on Sunday. "Officials from different government departments will be meeting daily in the Cabinet Office to talk through the issues on foot-and-mouth," the spokesman said.
The committee last met during Britain's fuel crisis in September last year, when petrol pumps ran dry because of refinery blockades by fuel price protesters. The fight against the highly contagious animal disease has gained urgency since scientific advisers said the epidemic could spread rapidly and that half the country's 62 million livestock might have to be slaughtered.
Prime Minister Tony Blair left the European Union summit early on Saturday as his EU partners were still drafting a communique which expressed confidence that measures being taken would eradicate the disease. The Republic of Ireland, France and the Netherlands have also reported cases of foot-and-mouth. The Dutch Agriculture Ministry confirmed a fourth case of foot-and-mouth on Saturday, just south of three other cases. France reported late on Friday that it had discovered a second case on a farm near Paris. In Britain, where the number of confirmed cases has reached 560, the government said its diagnosis, slaughter and incineration process had speeded up, after warnings that delays could cause the loss of half the nation's livestock. The Defence Ministry said a six-member army logistics team had moved into the Agriculture Ministry to coordinate efforts to combat the disease. About 200 troops were deployed last week to organise the slaughter and disposal of livestock in the worst affected areas. "This is to make sure that as soon as we identify the disease we're immediately slaughtering the animals and taking the actions necessary in the surrounding areas," Blair said between talks with farmers' leaders in Devon. Britain has destroyed some 300,000 animals since the outbreak began just over a month ago. Ireland, which has also called in the army to help contain the crisis, is also culling thousands of animals. EU veterinary experts authorised limited use of vaccines to help the Netherlands fight foot-and-mouth disease but a widespread inoculation policy was ruled out. The Dutch outbreak has been traced to animals that travelled from Ireland through Mayenne, northwest France, where the first continental case of the disease was found. In Paris, the Agriculture Ministry blamed its second case on "fraudulent practices," saying the animals on the farm in Seine-et-Marne had been in contact with British sheep illegally transported from Mayenne. The farmer, whose 100 cows and 200 sheep were immediately slaughtered, angrily denied any illegal practices. The ministry said it was banning the export of all French meat, dairy and animal produce, including leather, that had not been specially treated against the disease. The ban, which came into force at 0700 GMT on Saturday, will remain until at least March 27, when EU veterinary officials discuss the outbreak. The EU leaders' communique said they were confident "... that these measures will contain and ultimately eradicate foot-and-mouth disease and BSE," but made no new promises of compensation to farmers for animals destroyed. The communique demonstrated that German-led calls for more environmentally friendly farming methods were now broadly accepted by all EU leaders. Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES:
Foot-and-mouth set to spiral in UK RELATED SITES:
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