London - The foot and mouth epidemic was probably spread around Britain by as few as 16 infected sheep from a Northumberland farm, the Chief Veterinary Officer, Mr Jim Scudamore, said yesterday, reports Rachel Donnelly.
At one point the authorities were so overwhelmed by the outbreak of the disease this year they "ran out of vets" and were forced to "learn a lot as we went along", Mr Scudamore told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in the Commons.
Meanwhile, the British government published plans to speed up action at farms infected with diseases such as foot and mouth. The Animal Health (Amendment) Bill will provide powers to slaughter any animal where it is deemed necessary to prevent disease spreading.