In 2001, the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, on behalf of the Department of Health, coordinated a monitoring programme for the protection of public health during the Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic.  This included surveillance of a number of areas:

1. Suspected human cases of Foot and Mouth Disease
2. Gastrointestinal infections that might be linked to animal burials
3. Surveillance of illnesses that might result from animal burial or contamination of private water supplies
4. Incidents of contamination of private water supplies

The programme also produced monitoring reports covering air quality, burial sites, food, water and human illness.

The results of these monitoring programmes showed that there was no evidence of transmission of FMD virus to humans.  No gastrointestinal disease linked to the animal disposals was reported from any areas affected by the outbreak, and a health impact assessment found that pyres did not have any effect upon consultations or prescriptions for asthma or respiratory distress. Four cases of Q fever were identified amongst those involved in animal disposal, and there was a reported reduction in the incidence of cryptosporidiosis.   

In addition, the Food Standards Agency implemented a programme for monitoring of dioxins and dioxin-like products on herbage and in agricultural produce, such as milk and eggs produced in the vicinity of pyres. This found that there were no implications for human health from the consumption of milk or meat products produced near pyres. The Environment Agency also reviewed the environmental impact of disposal operations and in an interim report concluded that the FMD disposal activities caused minimal adverse impact on the environment in the short term and appeared not to have harmed public health in any way.

• Foot and Mouth Disease Monitoring Public Health 3rd Report (PDF, 60 KB)
  Added/updated: 28 May 2010