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UK foot and mouth epidemic was a human tragedy, not just an animal one
October 07, 2005Psychological effects of the 2001 UK foot and mouth disease epidemic in a rural population: qualitative diary based study BMJ Online First
The 2001 UK foot and mouth disease epidemic was a human tragedy, not just an animal one, concludes a study published online by the BMJ today.
The UK's foot and mouth disease epidemic in 2001 has been described as the most serious event ever to occur in a country previously free of the disease. Between 6.5 million and 10 million animals were slaughtered across the UK and the disaster caused widespread disruption and closure of much of the British countryside for more than a year.
But because the epidemic was treated as an animal problem, little is known about the human cost of the disaster.
Researchers from Lancaster University Institute for Health Research recruited a panel of 54 individuals, representing a wide range of rural workers and residents. Over a period of 18 months, panel members wrote more than 3,000 weekly diaries which were analysed along with in-depth interviews and participated in group discussions to capture evidence about the impact of the disaster and processes of recovery.
Their reports showed that life after the foot and mouth epidemic was accompanied by distress, feelings of bereavement, fear of a new disaster, loss of trust in authority and a sense that the value of local knowledge had been undermined.
Distress was experienced well beyond the farming community. In the aftermath of the disaster, health and social problems included flashbacks, nightmares, uncontrollable emotion, conflict within communities and increased social isolation. In the longer term, there was evidence of stress, anxieties about emissions from disposal sites, loss of confidence in authority, confusion, bitterness and increased fear of unemployment. Many of these effects continued to feature in the diaries throughout the 18 month period.
But the team also found that suffering was alleviated by trusted informal and formal support networks. This implies that statutory and voluntary organisations have a more complex and enduring role after a disaster than has been understood.
They argue for more flexibility in disaster planning, rather than the creation of new bodies or more targets and protocols. "People who have experienced a disaster may not be sick as a result, but they need careful and appropriate support to rebuild their lives and regain confidence," they say.
They recommend joint service reviews of what counts as a disaster, regular sharing of intelligence, debriefing and peer support for front line workers, increased community involvement in disaster management, and wider more flexible access to regeneration funding and rural health outreach work.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
But because the epidemic was treated as an animal problem, little is known about the human cost of the disaster.
Researchers from Lancaster University Institute for Health Research recruited a panel of 54 individuals, representing a wide range of rural workers and residents. Over a period of 18 months, panel members wrote more than 3,000 weekly diaries which were analysed along with in-depth interviews and participated in group discussions to capture evidence about the impact of the disaster and processes of recovery.
Their reports showed that life after the foot and mouth epidemic was accompanied by distress, feelings of bereavement, fear of a new disaster, loss of trust in authority and a sense that the value of local knowledge had been undermined.
Distress was experienced well beyond the farming community. In the aftermath of the disaster, health and social problems included flashbacks, nightmares, uncontrollable emotion, conflict within communities and increased social isolation. In the longer term, there was evidence of stress, anxieties about emissions from disposal sites, loss of confidence in authority, confusion, bitterness and increased fear of unemployment. Many of these effects continued to feature in the diaries throughout the 18 month period.
But the team also found that suffering was alleviated by trusted informal and formal support networks. This implies that statutory and voluntary organisations have a more complex and enduring role after a disaster than has been understood.
They argue for more flexibility in disaster planning, rather than the creation of new bodies or more targets and protocols. "People who have experienced a disaster may not be sick as a result, but they need careful and appropriate support to rebuild their lives and regain confidence," they say.
They recommend joint service reviews of what counts as a disaster, regular sharing of intelligence, debriefing and peer support for front line workers, increased community involvement in disaster management, and wider more flexible access to regeneration funding and rural health outreach work.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
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Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology) by B.W.J. Mahy (Editor) The seven chapters in this volume provide an account of the present knowledge and understanding of FMD pathogenesis and global epidemiology, the detailed structure of the virus itself and the properties of its RNA genome, the immune response of the host and the state of the art in vaccine production, and the nature of FMD virus evolution. It is clear that in all these areas there is still much more to learn about this fascinating virus. Because of its highly contagious nature research work on FMD is restricted to a small number of laboratories worldwide that have adequate containment facilities. Despite this restriction, the recent progress in research on FMD which is described in this volume has provided a remarkable level of understanding of this unique virus. |
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ABC News Nightline Foot and Mouth Disease During Britain's foot and mouth epidemic in 2001, they ended up slaughtering close to four million farm animals. Foot and mouth is the most contagious disease among animals or humans. So the British government didn't feel that it had any options. But once the epidemic seemed in hand, we didn't expend much more effort on the story. British farmers are still suffering a lot, even where nothing new is happening on the foot and mouth front, but some fresh cases have also been reported and the fear is that new outbreaks will only increase as colder weather sets in. And if it was bad in the United Kingdom, it would be that much worse here in North America. |
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