Foot-and-mouth ravaging Britain, spreading in the Netherlands

1:30 pm

LONDON - The number of sites in Britain infected with foot-and-mouth passed 750 and the reported three new cases today, raising fears the disease would range even farther than had been feared.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, mindful of the upcoming peak tourist season, gave interviews to American television to ram home his message that the country was "not in quarantine."

He also met to discuss ways of halting the highly infectious disease with farmers' leaders, who urged the British Government to make up its mind over whether to start vaccinating livestock to halt the epidemic.

In the Netherlands, where 10 cases have been confirmed and Prime Minister Wim Kok has called the epidemic "a disaster situation of national importance," the Agriculture Ministry said it would slaughter nearly 100,000 animals.

In Britain, more than 480,000 cows, pigs and sheep have been killed and burned on huge funeral pyres in fields across the country or shoveled by bulldozers into massive burial pits.

Britain's High Court paved the way for a full legal challenge by farmers to the government's policy of killing healthy animals to control the disease, ruling that a hearing on the matter should proceed as a matter of urgency.

It is due to begin on Monday.

The disease has also hit Ireland and France, prompting European Union bans on meat and livestock exports.

One of the three latest cases in the Netherlands was close to the village of Kootwijkerbroek, some distance from the tight cluster that contains the remaining outbreaks, suggesting the disease was spreading further afield.

"We are very worried with the Kootwijkerbroek case because we haven't been able to trace the cause," Agriculture Ministry spokesman Gabor Oolthuis said.

"Since we don't know where it came from, we can't say it is an isolated case," he added.

Dutch farmers have attacked their government's response to the outbreak.

"Almost every day another village is infected," said Dirk Duijzer, director-general of the main farmers' organization.

"Almost every day the minister says he still has it under control."

In Britain, the crisis has been a financial disaster for the tourist trade and Blair has been anxious to tell the world that the country is still open for business despite the blazing heaps of animal carcasses appearing nightly on television screens.

Blair's spokesman said his message to the U.S. networks would be: "The United Kingdom is not in quarantine, the country is not closed. The vast majority of the UK is unaffected."

At home, the epidemic has prompted calls from opposition politicians and farmers for Blair to cancel his plans for national elections on May 3.

But an opinion poll that put Blair a strong 19 points ahead of the Conservatives suggested he should forget worries about a voter backlash if he calls an election while the countryside is ravaged by the livestock disease.

Opposition Conservative Party leader William Hague declared that Blair should delay the vote and put all his efforts into getting on top of the disease, which threatens to ruin farmers, tourism operators and other rural businesses.

"I would not put party before country in this time of national crisis," said Hague, who visited farmers in northern England and Scotland."

After meeting Blair, the National Farmers' Union said a policy of allowing no more than 24 hours to elapse between diagnosis and slaughter had reduced a huge backlog of animals to be culled, but a speedy decision was needed on vaccination.

"No firm decision has yet been taken on whether limited use of vaccination should be made but we are pressing for a decision to be taken as soon as possible so that farmers know where they stand," NFU President Ben Gill said.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Foot-and-mouth disaster

World organisation for animal health

UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Pig Health/Foot and Mouth feature

Virus databases online