When did FMD become a problem?

The current outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease began in the UK in late February with the confirmation of the disease in pigs.  By mid-March, it had spread to the European mainland, with confirmed cases in France.  Since then, Germany, The  Netherlands, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait have all had reported cases.

The number of confirmed case in the UK stands at 1543 as of May 3, 2001.  The UK has slaughtered 2,542,000 animals, with an additional 112,000 awaiting slaughter.  Additional information regarding slaughter and case statistics is available at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food website.  Similar proportions of confirmed cases and slaughter could be expected if the disease were to enter the US.

A timeline of the progression of the disease can be found at CNN.com.

An interactive Flash timeline, including maps, may be found at the British Guardian site.