Magnitude of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Surprises British Experts
LONDON — Foot-and-mouth disease proved the great leveler Saturday as the Queen Mother joined thousands of horse racing fans in sloshing across a disinfectant mat on her way to a day at the races.
The 100-year-old royal matriarch joined crowds at Sandown Park, near London, to watch two of her horses compete. Racing resumed Wednesday in Britain after a weeklong suspension because of the outbreak of the highly infectious livestock ailment.
As the number of cases rose to 139 Saturday, officials admitted they were surprised by the scale of the crisis, which has all but paralyzed the British countryside.
“I have to say that we have been taken by surprise by the extent of the outbreak,” Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore told the British Broadcasting Corp. “It is a very rapid spread throughout the whole country.”
More than 82,000 animals have been slaughtered in a bid to stop the spread of the disease, which was identified in Britain on Feb. 20.
Foot-and-mouth disease--which strikes cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, pigs and cows--is easily spread by afflicted animals or by carriers such as humans, horses and wild animals.
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