Merial Statement On Foot And Mouth Disease (FMD) Outbreak In The UK

UK - Merial welcomes the arrival of the independent investigation team to our foot and mouth disease production centre at Pirbright, UK. This centre operates to the very highest international standards and we insist on stringent adherence to processes and procedures for health, safety and environmental protection, quality control, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.

Merial have been operating from this site for fifteen years and, during that time have produced hundreds of millions of vaccine doses. In all that time, we have never had a breach in our biosecurity.

There has been and continues to be intense speculation regarding the possible causes of this outbreak. While we at Merial have complete confidence in the integrity of our biosecurity, and our initial investigation shows no breach in our procedures, it is really too early in this investigation for anyone to determine the cause of the outbreak.

To support these investigations, we have voluntarily suspended viral production at this centre. This decision was made in consultation with DEFRA and we are constantly reviewing this decision with them. We will make a statement should our position change. As part of our ongoing commitment to support the investigation teams, we have asked our staff to remain on site to make sure that every possible assistance is given to the investigation teams.

At Merial we are committed to continuing to work with DEFRA and to playing our part in helping to contain, control and eradicate this outbreak as quickly as possible. We intend to take all action necessary to help the authorities to achieve this.

We have served the farming community for over fifty years and welcome the speed and efficiency of the Government’s response to this outbreak. We will continue to do everything we can to support them in their investigations.

ThePigSite News Desk

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