Farming leaders are playing down fears as investigations and testings continue following a confirmed outbreak of brucellosis in a beef suckler herd in Cornwall.
DEFRA has imposed movement restrictions on seven neighbouring livestock holdings in south east Cornwall.
The decision was taken after preliminary tests revealed five animals in a single herd at Landare Farm, near Liskeard, tested positive for the abortion-causing disease.
However, farming bosses said the outbreak was unlikely to affect Britain’s status as brucellosis-free. Peter Rudman, NFU veterinary and public health advisor, said: “This is more serious than previous incidents, but as long as we take the right actions we won’t lose brucellosis-free status.”
The loss of that status would
lead to increased and costly testings and also damage the UK’s export potential, particularly in the post-BSE market.
Meanwhile, he said, investigations and tests were continuing into both the source of the outbreak and to try and discover any potential spread of the disease. Some industry insiders expressed fears of further contamination from cross-UK trade, particularly with animals from the south west region being shipped to Scotland.
At the moment, there have been no further confirmed cases and the infected herd had now been slaughtered said Rudman. However, the source of the original outbreak has yet to be identified.
“There have been cases recently in Ireland and Scotland, and certainly Ireland cannot be ruled out as a potential source. It is something that does happen now and again, but we’re hoping this case is a one off.”
The Food Standards Agency also released a statement to reassure consumers. It said that while it was possible for humans to catch the disease by drinking infected unpasteurised milk or dairy products, the risk was very small.
However, milk from infected herds is not allowed into the food chain unless it has been pasteurised, which kills the bacteria.
Risk from meat products was also insignificant, it said, as meat infected with brucellosis has never been reported as a source of human illness.
Ed Bedington
DEFRA has imposed movement restrictions on seven neighbouring livestock holdings in south east Cornwall.
The decision was taken after preliminary tests revealed five animals in a single herd at Landare Farm, near Liskeard, tested positive for the abortion-causing disease.
However, farming bosses said the outbreak was unlikely to affect Britain’s status as brucellosis-free. Peter Rudman, NFU veterinary and public health advisor, said: “This is more serious than previous incidents, but as long as we take the right actions we won’t lose brucellosis-free status.”
The loss of that status would
lead to increased and costly testings and also damage the UK’s export potential, particularly in the post-BSE market.
Meanwhile, he said, investigations and tests were continuing into both the source of the outbreak and to try and discover any potential spread of the disease. Some industry insiders expressed fears of further contamination from cross-UK trade, particularly with animals from the south west region being shipped to Scotland.
At the moment, there have been no further confirmed cases and the infected herd had now been slaughtered said Rudman. However, the source of the original outbreak has yet to be identified.
“There have been cases recently in Ireland and Scotland, and certainly Ireland cannot be ruled out as a potential source. It is something that does happen now and again, but we’re hoping this case is a one off.”
The Food Standards Agency also released a statement to reassure consumers. It said that while it was possible for humans to catch the disease by drinking infected unpasteurised milk or dairy products, the risk was very small.
However, milk from infected herds is not allowed into the food chain unless it has been pasteurised, which kills the bacteria.
Risk from meat products was also insignificant, it said, as meat infected with brucellosis has never been reported as a source of human illness.
Ed Bedington
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