Still Foot and Mouth transmittion by Deer is not ruled out !
If you listen to the reports on the radio and the press, the argument about transmission always centres on soil and traffic. And yet Deer are a viable vector and they are present all around the areas of the outbreaks.
I have no inside knowledge of whether this is the case, but I find the focus of the 'experts' on what they know about, rather than other possibilities very worrying.
I wonder if Deer get mentioned to the PM at his COBRA PR meetings ?
Why is it being ignored ? Perhaps because the implications are inconvenient and show up a level of incompetence in government. The timing may also be politically be inconvenient. After all who can call for a general election during a foot and mouth outbreak and a banking crisis ?
Questions questions ..
Update: The BBC's current summary ( always open to revision ) doesn't mention wild life or deer. I don't understand why not - if only to discount the idea. For some unexplained reason this idea is beyond the pale for the BBC and the government. (Which is of course what makes it so interesting ;-) ).
Update: I note from the press that some of the Foot and Mouth lessons found on the some of the animals of the second outbreak looked old. Possibly there for this is a continuation for the first outbreak which was never detected. Lets hope so as it provides a reason why the outbreak will be successfully contained.
2 comments:
What is a perhaps more observable factor is the weather. The virus would die in drier, sunnier conditions. It is generally considered by the scientific community (of whom Mrs (Dr) Weasel is one, that climate conditions have exacerbated the problem.
There is also the dire example of the interface between public and private cooperation at Pirbright, and petty arguments about who pays for the drains - as if this was an owner's commitee in a tenement!
Mrs Weasel may well be right - perhaps it is a brave man who suggests otherwise ;-)
My point is that people tend to seek explanations in terms of what they know. If you surround yourself with experts in a certain field you will get a certain set of explanations.
What I don't see is someone telling why the deer are not the problem. What measures have they taken to ascertain the situation and how do they rule it out ?
This could cost us all dearly ( no pun intended ).
On the drain as a Chemical Engineer I can't understand is why they aren't stainless steel and if inspection is needed above ground.
What other viruses went down that drain - Anthrax ? Are we really sure it is Foot and Mouth ? ( There have been some questions as to why the affected cattle have collapsed. rather than the more normal being under the weather. )
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