Fury at new Virus leak from foot and mouth lab
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fury at new Virus leak from foot and mouth lab*
By Nick Allen and Graham Tibbetts
Last Updated: 2:30am GMT 23/11/2007
A new foot and mouth scare left ministers facing fresh accusations of
incompetence yesterday.
Foot and mouth virus was found to have leaked again from the
government-licensed laboratory at the centre of the last outbreak in August.
Location of Merial laboratory in Pirbright, Surrey
The unit is run by the pharmaceutical firm Merial Animal Health at
Pirbright scientific research centre in Surrey, which is also home to
the Government's Institute for Animal Health. A seepage from the site
was blamed for the August outbreak which led to widespread livestock
culls and cost the farming industry an estimated £100?million.
Merial's licence to use the virus to produce vaccines was suspended and
reinstated by the Government on Nov 6. Only 13 days later the laboratory
noticed some virus appeared to be missing and its licence has been
suspended again. The Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, said the virus
had not escaped on to nearby land but the latest biosecurity blunder was
greeted with disbelief.
The shadow environment secretary, Peter Ainsworth, said: "This will
shock the farming community, the science community and the public.
Gordon Brown spent the summer boasting of his competence in handling the
foot and mouth outbreak. Days after the Government approved renewed
production, there has been a further outbreak. This Government's
credibility is rapidly falling apart."
He also asked why the Government took two days to make a statement after
learning about the leak on Tuesday.
advertisement
The fault at Merial was found in a valve on a pipe leading from a
centrifuge used to separate live virus from waste product. The valve
should be checked by two operators and pressure tested before use.
"Despite these measures Merial judged that the valve had been leaking,
allowing an unintended probable release of live foot and mouth virus,"
Mr Benn said in a written statement to MPs.
The live virus, along with the waste, would have been funnelled into a
self-contained drainage system and then pumped into a chemical treatment
facility where it would have been deactivated, Mr Benn said.
"It shows that the defence in depth that we have put in place has
worked," he said.
But a spokesman for the National Farmers Union said: "It's extremely
concerning that part of the system at Merial has failed."
The Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, Chris Huhne, said: "We
cannot have a situation where farmers are in a constant state of fear
that their livelihoods could be devastated by sloppy practice at a
government-sponsored laboratory designed to protect them."
Two previous problems with valves at Pirbright were reported to Defra in
the past 18 months. Both led to effluent being released into public sewers.
Merial's licence was reinstated after a series of biosecurity measures
was introduced, including the relining and sealing of drains and manhole
covers and heat treatment for waste.
The suspension of its licence was a setback for the production of
vaccine to inoculate livestock against bluetongue disease. Merial is one
of three firms invited to tender for the supply of 10 million doses.
After the August outbreak, a report by Prof Brian Spratt cast doubt on
the effectiveness of chemical treatment and citric acid, both of which
Mr Benn said were used to deactivate the virus in the latest breach.
Merial said both processes were "still perfectly approved methods".