The 1967 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak was a major outbreak of

foot and mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...

disease in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The only centre of the disease, in contrast to the three concentrated areas in the 2001 crisis, was on the Wales border with

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and other European countries were also affected by the crisis.

Background

There were three official inquiries into the foot-and-mouth epidemics and the Government’s response in the fifty years prior to the 1967 outbreak. These occurred in 1922, 1923-1924, and 1953. In the 1950s, there was a substantial outbreak across the United Kingdom. Of the thirteen years leading up to the 1967 outbreak, there were only two years that there was no reported outbreak. During this period, foot-and-mouth was prevalent across Europe.

Outbreak

In October 1967, a farmer from Bryn Farm near

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

in the county of

, concerned by the health of one of their sows, sought veterinary advice and the animal was found to have contracted

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

. Bryn Farm was immediately put into

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

and general animal movement was banned. The virus rapidly spread to the nearby Ellis Farm. Two cows from the latter had already been sent to market, leaving the farmers in a vulnerable position. In the following months, over 2,364 outbreaks were detected in the United Kingdom. Ninety-four percent of the cases occurred in North-West Midlands and

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

Reports

The Minister for Agriculture, Frederick Peart, appointed a committee to investigate the outbreak. ''The Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Foot-and-Mouth Disease'' part 1 and part 2 were published on 7 March 1969 and 3 November 1969. This report became more commonly known as the Northumberland Report, after its chairman the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

, a member of the House of Lords. It provided recommendations to keep the disease out of the country and plans for fighting the foot-and-mouth disease. ''Origins of the 1967-8 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Epidemic'' was published by the Chief Veterinary Officer, John Reid, on 7 February 1968. This report described the lessons learned from the outbreak.

Aftermath

After the outbreak, the United Kingdom adopted a policy to control imports from countries where foot-and-mouth is endemic. After creating this policy, the only outbreak to occur until 2001 was in 1981 on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

Issues

Spread of disease

According to John Bennett, a young farmer at the time of the crisis at Manor Farm in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, the disease was introduced into the county "when a local farmer fed skimmed milk, bought from Shropshire where the disease was raging out of control, to his pigs".

Animal slaughter

Over the course of six months, 430,000 animals across 2300 farms were slaughtered. The average number of animals that were slaughtered in each confirmed case was around 200.

Human transmission

The 1967 crisis saw the last reported case of human foot-and-mouth disease. The victim was a farm-worker who was believed to have contracted the virus by consuming contaminated milk. The disease was not life-threatening and they were able to recover within several weeks.

In popular culture

The outbreak was referenced by the villain

Ernst Stavro Blofeld Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agen ...

in the 1969 James Bond film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. It also featured in the drama series '' Heartbeat''.