The chief veterinary officer is satisfied that FMD has been eradicated from Surrey

Defra has published reports from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Imperial College London, into the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Surrey.

Alongside these reports, Defra has published the Government's response which accepts, in full, the recommendations made in both reports.

In particular, Defra is taking the following steps:

• Put in place new requirements for IAH and Merial to ensure that all waste is sterilised within a high containment area;

• Establish improvement plans setting out the action which both IAH and Merial must take, which will be subject to inspections;

• Revise guidance and licence conditions on access to restricted sites;

“The thorough and detailed work carried out by the HSE and by Professor Spratt shows that there is no absolute certainty about how the outbreak occurred and no one single factor can account for it.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for environment, food and rural affairs

• Require other relevant laboratories, through HSE and Defra safety alerts, to satisfy themselves that their own facilities and procedures address all the issues identified in these reports;

• Establish a review of the regulatory framework for animal pathogens led by Sir Bill Callaghan, which will also address the position of Defra as regulator, licensor and inspector of SAPO 4 regulation and as a major customer of animal pathogens research and diagnostics;

• A review of funding, governance and risk management at the Pirbright site.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for environment, food and rural affairs said: "The thorough and detailed work carried out by the HSE and by Professor Spratt shows that there is no absolute certainty about how the outbreak occurred and no one single factor can account for it."

The Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds, has also said that she was satisfied that FMD had now been eradicated from Surrey.

The 10km surveillance zone around the infected premises in Surrey will be lifted at noon on Saturday September 8. This is the earliest that this can be done under European disease legislation.

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