Report of the Departmental Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 1952-1954.

  • Great Britain. Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Committee on Foot and Mouth Disease.
Date:
[1954]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Departmental Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 1952-1954. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    by ornithologists as within the normal migration range. With the exception of the Berkshire case previously noted, all materials sent for typing were returned as strain “A”, again identical with the type current on the Continent. There can be little doubt that in both years further primary strikes occurred at dates later than those shown in Fig. 3, but secondary cases arising from origina] centres of disease progressively confuse the general picture until a point is reached where one is not justified in attempting to establish primary strikes, except in very isolated cases. In the 1951 diagram only two such cases are indicated, but undoubtedly there were others. Reports from the field staff in both years stressed the large number of birds seen on infected premises or which had recently been noted on these premises. In nearly every instance the emphasis was on Starlings. As a continuation of the 1951 series, three primary outbreaks were confirmed in Kent between January 10 and 19, 1952. ‘These, the first cases south of the Thames, are of particular interest since they coincided with a definite extension of the Continental epidemic into the Pas de Calais area of France. We have already made passing reference to the close parallel between British primary infections and the disease position in the Pas de Calais. During the five years 1941-45 the Pas de Calais was virtually free from infection. In that period the only primary autumn case in the south-east coastal counties was in Norfolk in 1943, at a time when Holland was experiencing a moderate epidemic. In 1946, however, when a wave of infection in the Low Countries was especially concentrated in the Pas de Calais, eight primary cases in grazing cattle were confirmed in south-east England as follows: 18.10 Dorset 4.12 East Sussex 9.11 Suffolk 11.12 Hertford 23.11 Suffolk 19.12 Dorset 24.11 Kent 25.12 Dorset Material from every case was typed as “ O”’’—the same type as prevailed across the Channel. The sequence of the 1948 outbreaks was: 4.11 Wilts 23.11 Norfolk 23.11 Hants 19.12 West Sussex Again, all were in cattle on open grazing and again, all were typed to strain “OQ”, aS was the parallel French infection. It will be noted that south coast infections have tended to occur rather later in the year than those in East Anglia. The January, 1952, series in Kent follow the same trend. However, Fig. 3, with its comparison of 1937 and 1951 primary cases, shows four strikes south of the Thames between October 31 and November 5, 1937. Although, unfortunately, we have not detailed French disease figures for 1937, the spread of the epidemic in that year was from France into the Low Countries, and at the relevant period the Pas de Calais was experiencing a major epidemic. Con- versely, in the autumn of 1951 the disease spread relatively slowly from the Low Countries into France as the following figures show: Table 4 Number of Outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Pas de Calais, 1951-52 Period to 15/9 30/9 15/10. 21/10. 1511s. BO; Ri 1S(12> oai/t2 15/1 Outbreaks — 4 6 21 33 143 276 333 619 Again using the yardstick of six days from infection to confirmation of disease, the time of contraction of infection in the Kent outbreaks was between January 4 and 13. The maximum expansion of disease across the Channel was in the period January 1 to 15. The sequence of events in the Channel area in December-January gives additional support to the previous contention that the prime essential for the spread of disease to this country is a certain level of infection in an appropriate area of the opposite shores. We appreciate that the period covered by this inquiry is not sufficient to justify any opinion being expressed on the apparent tendency for south coast outbreaks to occur later in the year than those in East Anglia. The impression may prove to be ill-founded but if correct may be
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