Utilizing lessons learned ina devastating 2001 outbreak,the United Kingdom contained an August outbreakof foot-and-mouth disease in a week's time. There are few words in the English language that get consumers and farmers quaking in their boots like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). When FMD struck the United Kingdom (UK) in 2001, the image of livestock burning on pyreswas televised into living rooms across the country. All told, theepisode forced the slaughter of six million animals, and rockedthe economy to the tune of 13 dollar billion. Understandably, the country held its breath for nearly a week when on Aug. 3, the news came that the disease had struckagain. But this time, FMD was stopped in its tracks thanks toa lightning-fast reaction from the farming community and thegovernment alike.
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