http://www.boston.com/dailynews/123/world/Blair_says_disease_coming_unde:.shtml

Blair says disease coming under control

By Jill Lawless, Associated Press, 5/3/2001 06:59

LONDON (AP) Britain will soon cease burning carcasses of animals slaughtered to combat foot-and-mouth disease, but the crisis is not yet over, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday.

''We are getting the disease under control. We have now all but completely cleared the backlog of animals waiting to be slaughtered, as well as the backlog waiting to be disposed of,'' Blair told a news conference.

''It is not over yet. We cannot in any way be complacent, and it is essential that we be vigilant,'' he said.

Blair's cautiously upbeat assessment made it more likely that he will call a national election in early June, at the same time as local elections.

The government has caught up with the backlog of dead animals awaiting disposal in Devon, the county in southwestern England which was one of the hardest-hit areas, Blair said.

One last pyre was to be lit in Devon on Thursday to burn carcasses, but that would be the last, he said.

''This will mean that no more pyres dispose of large numbers of carcasses will be lit after today's.''

Nine more infected farms were confirmed on Wednesday, raising the total to 1,539 since the first case was announced on Feb. 20, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

The number of new cases each day has declined steadily from a high of more than 40 at the peak of the outbreak, which was first confirmed on Feb. 20. The government has relaxed its policy of slaughtering livestock on farms next to infected sites, and has declared some previously infected areas disease-free.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001