Although rare and not threatening, it is possible for some people to contract the disease. The symptoms are a milder form of the painful blisters that appear around the mouth, nose and feet in animals. In the current epidemic, public health officials have tested 13 people suspected of catching the disease by touching animals or drinking infected milk. Eight have so far proved negative. It was several weeks into the epidemic before government departments issued guidelines on the transport and disposal of animals once they had been slaughtered.
Officials hurriedly put together advice on the disposal of disinfectants, manure, slurry and milk.
There are serious problems of contamination through footwear, clothing, equipment and vehicles. The virus can be blown by the wind and carried by birds and rodents for great distances. The Environment Agency recommended farmers send dead animals to rendering plants and incinerators. If this was not possible, the Agency said they should be buried in registered landfills. Burning or burying on farms was the least desirable option but, in practice, nearly all disposals have been through this route so far.