Foot and Mouth Disease (Hansard, 22 November 1951)

§ Sir T. Dugdale

The first outbreak of the present series was confirmed in the East Riding of Yorkshire on 14th November. Up to this morning, 24 outbreaks had been confirmed, most of them near the east coast of England from Yorkshire to Essex.

Infected stock and contacts have been slaughtered and the usual infected area restrictions have been imposed in the vicinity of outbreaks. In addition, because of the large number of initial outbreaks and the risk that the disease may be spreading to other areas of Great Britain, practically the whole of Eastern England from Yorkshire to the English

ESTIMATED PRODUCTION OF APPLES (EXCLUDING CIDER APPLES) AND PEARS (EXCLUDING PERRY PEARS) HARVESTED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, 1936–37 to 1938–39 and 1946–47 to 1951–52 (PROVISIONAL)
(Thousand Tons)
—	1936–37	1937–38	1938–39	1946–47	1947–48	1948–49	1949–50	1950–51	1951–52 (provisional)
Apples:
dessert	^*	^*	^*	^*	^*	120	144	140	200
cooking	^*	^*	^*	^*	^*	264	370	308	450
Total Apples, dessert and cooking	345	156	86	361	595	384	514	448	650
Pears: dessert and cooking	28	10	10	24	39	32	40	23	27
^* Separate figures for dessert and cooking apples are not available before 1948–49

76W

Channel has been made a "controlled area." The movement of susceptible animals within the area is restricted and movement out of the area is not permitted.

As regards the source of infection, experience in previous years has shown that a high incidence of the disease on the Continent at this time of year is usually followed by outbreaks along the east and south coast of this country. There has been recently a very rapid increase in the incidence of the disease in Western Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and the information we have at present suggests that the disease has been introduced into this country from the Continent, probably through the agency of migrating birds.