Thank you David for your explanation of the foot and mouth disease. As In
the UK in Ireland there is a dread akin to a nuclear attack about to take
place if the so called virus comes in here. Imagine no St Patricks Day
parade as a government bid to keep Ireland disease free. It makes me wonder
if we live in a banana republic after all!!!
As I love animals I am very sad about what is happening , mindless culling
of healthy animals. It comes down to one thing , putting profit margins
before the welfare of animals. Its a pity humans can't be tried for this
wanton destruction and cruelty to animals.
Regards
Martha
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Karas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 7:06 AM
Subject: Foot and Moth Disease


> I received this as a forward. I liked it and decided to post it. I
received it
> truncated at the end and am sending it as is. I haven't verified it but it
has a
> ring of truth.
>
>
>                "Stay away from the countryside..
>                    and stay away from the facts!"
>
>       Foot and Mouth - the management of a pseudo-crisis.
>
>             Steven Ransom, Credence Publications
>
> Over this last week, international television and radio news bulletins
have
> brought world audiences graphic reports of an encroaching pestilence. The
> dreaded and highly infectious livestock disease known as 'foot and mouth'
or FMD
> has returned to British shores. The globe is being treated to round the
clock
> reports on 'the extent of the FMD nightmare'. Mounds of destroyed cattle,
> gruesome pyres burning through the night, ashen-faced reporters delivering
the
> latest outbreak statistics, people being warned to stay away from the
> countryside. "As well as being airborne, the foot and mouth virus can
adhere
> to car tyres. Do not venture into the countryside, unless absolutely
necessary."
> warned the BBC Monday 27th Feb 10 o'clock evening news. The same feature
> included reports of international rugby matches being cancelled, a meat
shortage
> crisis pending, pan shots of once-thriving but now empty cattle markets,
lots of
> hype, lots of emotion, lots of TV batten-down specials...but, as we shall
soon
> discover, no actual facts.
>
> In truth, if the events of this last week have taught us anything, it is
just
> how much we are at the mercy of today's media. As a result of this barrage
of
> emotive, inaccurate hype, there are now members of the public who consider
it
> genuinely irresponsible to hang out a strip of bacon for their garden
birds, or
> to go for a walk in the country until this crisis is over. Despite the
> much-trusted BBC, ITV, CH4 pronouncements, the facts surrounding this
'crisis'
> are very different to what we have so far been told.
>
> Abigail Wood is a vet and researcher into the history of FMD, based at the
> University of Manchester in the UK. She remains very down to earth over
these
> latest  'rampaging vicious virus' reports. Credence Publications contacted
her
> as a result of her recent UK Times article (1) which began thus: "Foot and
mouth
> is as serious to animals as a bad cold is to human beings. So why the
concern?"
> Wood's research, in conjunction with research carried out by Credence
> Publications makes it quite clear that FMD is not the vicious gremlin we
have
> been led to believe.
>
> So what is FMD?  The current wisdom which we shall be examining a little
later,
> theorises that FMD is viral in nature. Symptoms of FMD in livestock begin
> usually with a temperature, followed within 24 hours by the appearance of
> blisters and ulcerations on places such as the tongue, lips, gums, dental
pad,
> interdigital skin of the feet, bulbs of the heels and milk teats.
Occasionally,
> ulcerations appear inside the nostrils or on the muzzle or vulva.
Visually,
> these ulcerations are the equivalent of large cold sores. The resultant
illness
> and lameness causes decreased appetite, a drop in milk yield, a drop in
> roductivity, and of course, increased care costs. Afflicted animals almost
> always recover, usually within a week or two. Death occurs in only 5
percent of
> cases. (2) And the meat is fit to eat. (3) For much of the 19th century,
FMD was
> common right the way across the UK. In fact, it was endemic. But it did
not
> destroy farming. We lived with it. Our cattle became ill..and then they
> recovered. Life continued on as normal. So why today's scenes of mass
> destruction? Quite simply, it is because we are continuing to adhere to
some
> woefully errant farming policy instituted nearly 50 years ago. Says Wood:
"The
> instant destruction policy was implemented in the 1950's by the UK
governing
> bodies, as a result of growing pressure over the years from pedigree herd
> owners, (rather than the more common meat and milk producers) who wished
to see
> the eradication of FMD. Continued promotion of the slaughter policy by the
UK
> authorities as the most effective way of dealing with foot and mouth,
eventually
> persuaded the continent and then the rest of the world to follow suit. We
> nstituted the policy, and now we have to live with the results of that
policy."
>
> In those early years, FMD was as much a part of British farming as bad
weather,
> poor harvests and other afflictions affecting livelihood. But in today's
> intensive farming climate, production and global reputation is everything.
> Because of the UK's continued and, as we shall see,  unfounded insistence
that
> FMD is highly infectious, and must be eradicated at all costs, one whiff
on the
> global food markets that UK herds have FMD leads quite naturally to
today's
> totally disproportionate scenes. If we are in a pit, then it is a pit of
our own
> making. And if this latest 'outbreak' is to be referred to as a nightmare,
then
> it is a nightmare brought about by our own political and economic
policies. The
> early zeal for the perfect pedigree - a disease-free herd -  is this same
ideal
> not mirrored in today's genome quest for a disease-free human race? It
seems
> that the FMD 'instant destruction' policy has its roots fair and square in
the
> mistaken belief that all illness and disease, even those considered minor
> and/or harmless, can eventually be eradicated.
>
> The cows, pigs and sheep dying today are not doing so as a result of any
> illness. They are dying entirely at the hands of man. The preliminary
report on
> this latest FMD 'outbreak' submitted by Dr J.M. Scudamore, UK Chief
Veterinary
> Officer, to the OIE (Office International des Epizooties) tells of 35
cases on
> three farms, no deaths occurring anywhere from the actual disease, but 577
> animals on those farms nevertheless instantly destroyed. (4) Should we
line up
> our children because they are coughing?
>
> With the facts to hand regarding FMD, should we not begin to ask some
> fundamental questions?  Why can't our vital farming community, and the
public at
> large be given the necessary facts, and then more importantly, the
opportunity
> to question this instant destruction policy? But therein lies the
difficulty
> folks. "It would be very difficult to change it now."  Wood told us. "That
would
> be to question the perceived wisdom of the last 100 years." It is
entrenched
> scientific error, and intractable pride on behalf of the UK agricultural
and
> governmental bodies, that is the killer in our midst.  A spokesperson from
the
> diagnostic department  of  Animal Health Trust who wished not to be named,
> stated  "The hype is all out of proportion. If the authorities just left
the
> animals alone to recover from FMD, this would make them healthy, and
immune the
> next time around."
>
> Moving on from 'foot and mouth as common cold', what's all this about FMD
being
> viral in nature, being airborne, and sticking to car tyres and Wellington
boots?
> Apparently, the FMD virus is quite choosy, being breathed out by pigs, but
not
> breathed in by cats ordogs. It can be hosted by horses, but to no
ill-effect,
> and humans too can contract the virus, suffering mild skin irritations.
But is
> this pattern of disease grounded in reality?  Does it conform to a
sensible
> pattern of disease? Or are we once again just trusting the wisdom of the
day? In
> attempting to discover how these agencies arrive at a positive diagnosis
of FMD,
> and to try and get an explanation for the seemingly illogical nature of
FMD
> proliferation, some conventional 'dodging' techniques began to surface.
And
> especially when questioned over the possibility of mis-diagnosis.
>
> The blood test used to determine the presence of the FMD virus is known as
the
> ELISA test or enzyme linked immuno-absorbent assay test. The test delivers
the
> positive reading by detecting proteins and antibodies in the blood,
proteins
> and antibodies which are presumed to be there as a result the presence of
the
> virus. At no time is a virus itself ever detected. No actual photograph
exists
> anywhere of the FMD virus. Like so many other viruses in the
$multi-billion
> virus industry, we have only innumerable artists' impressions to go by. As
far
> as actual proof is concerned, there isn't any. We accept the virus model
for FMD
> (and BSE for that matter) because that's what we're told.   But there are
good
> grounds indeed for questioning the validity of this whole approach to
disease
> detection. For ELISA comes to us with a very chequered history.
>
> In the realm of human medicine, ELISA is used extensively to detect
certain
> diseases, particularly HIV.  And this same test is now acknowledged to be
> responsible for delivering a very high number of 'false' positive HIV
diagnoses.
> Conventional medical literature lists some 60 different conditions,
unrelated to
> HIV that can elicit an HIV positive response, including flu! (5) It is
conflict
> of interests, huge pharmaceutical losses, entrenched error and the threat
of
> massive litigation that has so far stopped this disastrous story from
becoming
> more widely known.  Back to the farmyard, and we discover the animal
kingdom
> is equally susceptible to foreign proteins in the blood and heightened
levels of
> antibody activity. The stress of confinement alone can produce an immune
> response in an animal. Kelly Sapsford, Operations Manager at Harlan Sera
Labs, a
> serum and antibody manufacturing company told us "Antibodies are not
necessarily
> specific to one disease. Picture a key that fits a certain lock. The key
to that
> lock is not necessarily unique. There may well be other locks out there
that the
> key will fit.."  What minor illnesses are there in the animal kingdom that
might
> elicit the same immune response to FMD?  And with all these farms being
visited
> at such lightning speed, what are the protocols being adhered to? Are they
being
> adhered to? Surely, we are allowed to know these things.
>
> The officials at Pirbright Animal Health Laboratory responsible for
managing
> this latest 'crisis', however think otherwise. No awkward questions are
> entertained. Under specific instruction from management, a  Dr Tom Barrett
at
> Pirbright told us that staff were not allowed to answer any questions,
except
> through the Medical Director. Numerous telephone calls to MAFF (Ministry
of
> Agriculture, Food and Fisheries) produced the same negative response,
pointing
> us only to their website. Repeated attempts to speak to somebody in
authority at
> Pirbright finally located the Head of Diagnostics, John Anderson. He
informed us
> that whilst the ELISA tests were manufactured 'in-house' "..of course,
they were
> accurate."  This same pat answer is what was being delivered by the
relevant
> authorities as the accounts of HIV misdiagnosis began to surface.
>
> Anderson then  listed the other tests which are used in conjunction with
ELISA
> to supposedly confirm the presence of the virus. Unfortunately, the
confirmatory
> tests he mentioned are all equally susceptible to error. And the fact that
the
> Pirbright FMD tests are manufactured in-house excludes them from that
valuable
> check and balance system known as peer review. When pressed on these
points, Mr
> Anderson would not enter into discussion. But then extracting qualifying
> information from governmental bodies is never straightforward. Colin King,
a
> spokesman from an independent veterinary diagnostics company, stated; "The
> protocol information and detail you seek will be almost impossible to come
by.
> In peace time as well as in war, these government agencies won't really
tell you
> anything."
>
> In summarising the current FMD 'crisis', this simple extract from Abigail
Wood's
> account of the 1920's Cheshire FMD outbreak is most revealing. Trawled
from
> Cheshire local newspapers available at the Cheshire Records Office we read
> "Ministry teams were so far behind in their slaughtering that on many
farms the
> cows had recovered before the slaughterers had arrived. Farmers looked at
their
> now-normal cows in bewilderment and asked  "Was that it? Was that trivial
> illness what all the fuss was about?" (6) Until MAFF and other responsible
> agencies begin to answer these questions, and until we, the general public
cease
> to worship so unremittingly at the altar of conventional medical science,
this
> crisis (as with numerous other iatrogenic, or doctor induced crises) will
remain
> out of control and on the rampage. For it is in researching  this
situation more
> carefully, that we realise the only identifiable entities out of control
and on
> the rampage are our own ignorance of the facts and those official bodies
> conducting the current slaughter. The fact that the latest news bulletins
are
> reporting that 'expert' intervention may now have contained the crisis,
must not
> lull us into a false sense of security over their expertise. There was
nothing
> to worry about in the first place. The whole thing has been an absolute
dis
>