The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra)
Exotic Disease Policy
team has recently published
two Preliminary Outbreak Assessment notices with regard to foot and mouth
disease in East Asia.
Links to the first report published on 23rd
April 2010:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/monitoring/documents/fmd-asia100423.pdf
Links to the second report published on 27th April
2010:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/monitoring/documents/fmd-eastasia100427.pdf
Defra’s assessment is that there is a continual low
risk of introduction of FMD into the UK and the European Union from currently
affected regions around the world. The risk would relate mainly to possible
illegal imports as legal imports of FMD-susceptible animals and their products
from affected regions are not permitted. The latest outbreaks in Japan, South
Korea and China do not change this assessment of the level of risk.
These developments again emphasise the need for
keepers of FMD-susceptible animals in the UK and globally to maintain vigilance
and promptly report any suspected case, and uphold biosecurity measures, and
including for those in the UK in strictly observing the ban on swill feeding.
Defra are keeping the situation under review and
updates on these and other matters can be found at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/monitoring/poa.htm
[30/04/2010]