FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE

Shannon News, 9 October 1928, Page 4

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE

DANGER FROM ARGENTINA,

A LESSON OF THE WAR,

During the war when imports of chilled beef from Argentina almost ceased foot-and-mouth disease almost disappeared in England. This statement was made by. Lord Ernie in the House of Lords. The resumption of imports from the Argentine, he said, had coincided with outbreaks unparalled in violence since 1892.

Were any steps being taken, the speaker asked, to warn the public of the dangers to which they were exposed? They should ..be told that chilled meat must be treated «ith great care until it was cooked. The Argentine Government had invited a number of peers to visit that country and sec for themselves the care that was taken to prevent the export of infected carcases. A much better step would be to feed a herd of pigs on imported chilled beef to see if they developed the disease. "In that way," observed Lord Ernie drily, "we should learn more from 20 pigs than from 40 peers.'' He also suggested that chilled beef from the Argentine should be kept in quarantine here for 21 days. This, following the 21 days-on the voyage, would-be sufficient to cover the total possible period of life of the germ in the blood.'' The discussion was begun by Lord Hindlip. who asked the Government whether frr January, 1928, when the Ministry of Agriculture conducted an official ' investigation into " foot-and-mouth disease in South America, the Ministry assumed that the risk of infection from imported meats lay in the bone and marrow, and there was no serious danger in the blood of the chilled carcase, and that consequently as a means of conveying the disease there was no distinction between chilled and frozen meat, and whether the Ministry

still makes that assumption; and moved for papers. The Earl of Stradbroke, Parliamentary Secretary to the* Ministry of Agriculture, assured Lord Hindlip that the Ministry were very much alive to the importance of the subject and to the work of the research committee but none of the experiments that had been made could*be considered as verified until they had been tried over again and ratified by outside people. They were anxious to get beyond the experimental stage and find out not only howto check the virus but, if possible, ascertain how meat could be imported into this country without being infected.