LONDON - The origin of the virus that caused the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Britain is unlikely ever to be discovered, the UK farm ministry said yesterday.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), reporting the results of its investigation into the outbreak, Britain's worst ever of the disease, said the source was probably contaminated meat or meat products. "...but is is unlikely that the origin of this material and the route by which it entered the UK will ever be identified," DEFRA said in a news release.
It added that the outbreak started at a pig fattening unit in northern England. It was then spread by two routes.
The first route was through the movement of diseased pigs to holdings in Essex and Kent in southeastern England and the second was through the spread of the virus by wind to sheep on a neighbouring holding followed by their sale in markets in northern England.
Other sheep, people and vehicles became infected, spreading the disease throughout England, Wales, and Southern Scotland. Last month, the pig farmer whose animals were said to have sparked the outbreak was found guilty of failing to tell officials his herd had the virus.
Robert Waugh, who ran the pig farm on rented land, faced 15 charges. He was found guilty on several counts of failing to notify authorities of the outbreak at the pig finishing farm, which supplied livestock to an abattoir in Essex near London, where the disease was first discovered in February, 2001.
Waugh was also found guilty of feeding unprocessed waste to his animals. He could face up to six months in prison when he is sentenced later this month.
To tackle the disease, authorities dug mass graves and slaughtered and burned millions of infected cattle, pigs and sheep in huge funeral pyres.
Although the highly infectious disease posed no threat to human health, it devastated livestock herds and robbed the British economy of billions of pounds in lost farming and tourism revenue as the countryside was effectively closed down.:
