By Klao Bell,
Staff Reporter
STARTING TOMORROW airline passengers from the United Kingdom will be required to wipe their feet on carpets soaked with disinfectant to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock locally.
"We are considering using a foot mat; we are discussing it now and they are trying to implement it," Dr. Cedric Lazarus, senior veterinary scientist at the Ministry of Agriculture, told The Gleaner yesterday.
The precautionary measure will not be complicated or elaborate, he said. "The process is a simple one where carpets will be soaked with disinfectants with an acidic base strong enough to kill the virus."
Foot-and-mouth disease affects cattle and other animals with cloven hoofs causing blisters, boils and excessive salivation and eventually death. The latest outbreak of the disease in England, has been increasing there, forcing local authorities to implement the special measures.
"The number of cases continue in Britain. They were having six cases per day last week but now the number of cases we're hearing of is 10 per day. More of Britain is becoming infected in terms of land mass so the chances of someone bringing it here increases," Dr. Lazarus said.
The virus which causes the disease is transferred from livestock to livestock. And human beings, who are not affected by the virus, can be carriers on shoes and clothing.
Jamaica's relatively small cattle population "would be wiped out overnight if foot-and-mouth were to get among our cattle", Dr. Lazarus said. He said that Jamaica has 180,000 heads of cattle and so far England has had to slaughter some 80,000 cows since the rise of the disease.
Jamaica has two airlines transporting passengers from England, British Airways, and Air Jamaica, the national carrier.
Maxine Whittingham, Air Jamaica's public relations officer, said the airline would willingly comply with the measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
"If the government comes up with something we would adhere to those precautions," she said.
The public information officer for British Airways did not respond to questions from The Gleaner up to press time. More than 10,000 people have come to Jamaica from England since the start of 2000.
Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Bermuda have banned the importation of meat from Britain in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease.
