The likelihood that foot-and-mouth disease could have spread through the air from a laboratory to a nearby farm in Surrey is remote, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday evening, after meeting with health and safety experts. "They state that the risk or the likelihood of an airborne spread of this disease from the Pirbright Laboratory is negligible," he told a reporter. Investigators suspect the virus may have originated in Merial Animal Health's Pirbright laboratory, which was producing a vaccine for the disease. It suspended production of the vaccine after the outbreak was discovered last Friday at the farm a few miles away. Authorities are trying to determine how the vaccine could have escaped from the plant if, in fact, that is what happened, the Associated Press reported. Brown said the flow of surface water from the laboratory to the affected farm is "also negligible," but added that investigators are still looking at the possibility that the laboratory's drainage system or the movements of people may be to blame. As many as 150 veterinarians and staff in the affected area have inspected livestock on 46 farms and found just one more outbreak, he said. British Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds announced the second outbreak -- on another farm in Surrey -- earlier Tuesday. "The disease has been contained, so far, and we will continue our efforts looking at isolating it completely," Brown said. Dozens of cattle have been culled.
