Foot and mouth disease

As the UK battles the foot-and-mouth crisis and European fears grow, BBC News Online follows the story in Audio and Video.

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27 February 2001

Infected farms are sealed off

Eighteen cases of foot-and-mouth disease are confirmed across the UK as the government indicates it may introduce stricter bans on movement in the countryside. The BBC's Richard Bilton reports.

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26 February 2001

A Northumbrian farmer takes lambs to the slaughter

Five new confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease have left Britain's farmers fearing the worst. Emergency measures are being stepped up on the continent to prevent the risk of the disease spreading overseas. The BBC's Richard Bilton reports.

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25 February 2001

Preparations to burn the slaughtered cattle

A new foot-and-mouth outbreak is confirmed in north Devon, in a "serious" blow to efforts to contain the disease. A 10-mile exclusion zone is set up around the infected cattle farm in Highampton. Investigators carry out tests on another suspected outbreak at a nearby farm.

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24 February 2001

Fires are built to incinerate carcasses

The mass slaughter begins of thousands of pigs and cattle on farms across England. Preparations are made to burn the carcasses on bonfires to minimise the risk of infection. But there are no further signs of the disease spreading. The BBC's Mike McKay reports.

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23 February 2001

A sign of farming's troubled times

More farms are confirmed as having the foot-and-mouth disease. The repercussions of the outbreak are spreading way beyond the industries. The BBC's Richard Bilton reports from the farm in Northumberland believed to be the source of the outbreak.

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22 February 2001

Possible carriers of the disease must be decontaminated

Foot and mouth is an extremely infectious virus. The BBC's Karen Allen looks at how the disease might have found its way into the UK, and what measures can be taken to ensure it doesn't spread further than it already has.

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Farringford farm in Freshwater, IoW

The Fidler family from the Isle of Wight have been split by the crisis, wife Rachel was at work when MAFF officials imposed a five mile exclusion zone around her husband Simon's farm. They both spoke to Radio Solent.

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21 February 2001

The news could prove devastating for farmers

Emergency curbs on the export of live animals, meat, milk and other animal products come into force, after the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain for 20 years.

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