Sabotage Eyed In Outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth

Investigators target 'bio security' at labs making vaccine
By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 9, 2007 6:17 AM CDT
Sabotage Eyed In Outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth
A dead cow is moved from a field in Normandy, Surrey, during the foot and mouth outbreak, Tuesday August 7, 2007. Tests confirmed a second outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease southwest of London, Britain's environment secretary said Tuesday, raising fears the highly contagious virus could spread to herds...   (Associated Press)

British officials are pursuing the possibility that latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could be the result of sabotage, the Times reports. They've ruled out water leaks spreading the virus from a research lab to nearby farms,and have concluded that "release by human movement must be considered a real possibility," said a report prepared for Gordon Brown.

Investigators are now focusing on the possibility of equipment failure or a security breach—either accidental or deliberate. They're looking at "a number of bio security issues" at the lab operations. One is run by a government-funded research organization and the other, at the same site, is owned by the Merial pharmaceutical company. (More London stories.)

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