Research lab blamed for foot-and-mouth outbreak

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK has been contained after a government report pinned the blame for the outbreak on leaky pipes at the Institute for Animal Health's Pirbright site. Officials had known for years that the drains under the lab were faulty, but they had never been fixed due to a dispute with the nearby Merial Animal Health lab over who was responsible for paying for the repairs. The virus probably leaked through the pipes and into the soil, and was then carried to the surface after the area was hit by heavy rains. Building contractors then unwittingly spread the virus to nearby farms, concludes the report. Merial has refused to accept any responsibility for the biosecurity breach and the issue is probably headed to court. Nevertheless, the scandal has focused a spotlight on security measures in the country's labs.

- see the final report on the findings

ALSO: The CDC won't lift an order for Texas A&M to suspend work at its biodefense lab until the university corrects several shortcomings. In the meantime, an activist group has unveiled new evidence of a researcher being accidentally infected and that a biodefense research building was flooded last February. Report

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Foot-and-mouth outbreak linked to research lab. Report