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LONDON : Experts launched an urgent investigation on Sunday into a private vaccine laboratory and a government-run research facility at the centre of a probe into Britain's foot and mouth outbreak.
Amid fears of a repeat of the devastating epidemic that ravaged Britain's farming six years ago, animal health specialists descended on the Pirbright research site just five kilometres from the south England farm where the foot and mouth outbreak was confirmed late Friday.
Both the government-backed Institute for Animal Health and the private lab which shares the site said initial checks had shown no breaches of biosecurity, but they vowed to cooperate in whatever way was necessary.
"There has been and continues to be intense speculation regarding the possible causes of this outbreak," said David Biland, managing director of Merial Animal Health Ltd, which is owned by US drugmaker Merck and Co. Inc and France's Sanofi-Aventis SA.
"While we at Merial have complete confidence in the integrity of our biosecurity and our initial investigation shows no breach in our procedures, it is really too early... for anyone to determine the cause of the outbreak."
Inspectors have begun their review at Merial, which last year posted sales of US$2.2 billion (1.07 billion pounds). The company has suspended its vaccine manufacturing operation while the inquiry progresses.
Britain's chief vet Debby Reynolds reiterated it was too early to say if either of the two laboratories was the source of the virus.
"It's wise to wait until we get the results of the inspectors' visit and the overall independent assessment of biosecurity before we take any steps to make any decisions about the future," she told BBC television.
About 120 cattle from three herds on three separately-owned holdings on the Normandy farm site in southern England, between Guildford and Aldershot, were killed as precaution Saturday after the outbreak was confirmed.
Two positive tests were found in two cows, an environment ministry spokeswoman told AFP on Sunday.
Four further cases of possible infection elsewhere were all found to be negative as of Saturday. The spokeswoman refused to comment when asked if any more potential cases had been reported.
While there was some relief that experts were closing in on the source of the outbreak, the National Farmers' Union said it was "deeply concerned" that an official research facility might be to blame.
"Livestock farmers throughout the country will be in a state of anger and amazement to think that a site concerned with animal health may have allowed this terrible virus to get into our farming stock," it said in a statement.
The environment ministry said on Saturday that the strain discovered at the farm was a "01 BFS67-like" virus, which was isolated in the 1967 outbreak of the disease in Britain.
An oval-shaped three-kilometre protection zone and a 10-kilometre surveillance zone are in place around the affected farm and the Pirbright laboratory.
In line with European Union legislation, a national ban on moving sheep, cattle and pigs is in place. The virus passes easily between cloven-hoofed animals like cows, pigs and sheep but is rarely contracted by humans.
Britain has voluntarily suspended the export of meat products, animal carcasses and milk. The EU said it would endorse the measures on Monday.
A number of European countries have announced precautionary checks on cattle, pigs and sheep as well as British livestock imports. Others slapped a temporary ban on meat from susceptible animals.
Farmers fear the disease, which normally takes three to six days to manifest itself, could already be widespread.
The last foot and mouth epidemic in 2001 cost Britain's economy an estimated eight billion pounds and dealt a hammer blow to rural communities.
Between 6.5 and 10 million animals were slaughtered and torched on huge pyres. - AFP/de
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