Representing the USDA as an animal health technician (AHT), I left Atlanta, Georgia on May 9th, 2001, and arrived at Heathrow Airport in London, England on May 10th. After checking in at the Swallow International Hotel on Cromwell Road in London, I met with Dr. Ty Vannieuwenhoven (USDA-MAFF liaison) and the rest of the US team 10 (15 veterinarians and/or technicians) downstairs in the lobby of the hotel. At the MAFF, now DEFRA (Department for Enviroment, Food, and Rural Affairs), headquarters on Page Street in London, our group was briefed about the epidemiological history of the current FMD (foot-and-mouth disease) epidemic in England and about what our role would be in handling the situation. That same day we were given personal GPS (global positioning system) units and instructed as to how to use them. Next we were divided into smaller groups and given our job assignment locations. Our group was sent to four different locations in England: Carlisle (Northwest), Exeter (Southwest), Newcastle (Northeast), and Tauton (Southwest). I was assigned to Newcastle upon Tyne (red arrow on map), so my account of how the FMD situation was handled may or may not mirror the policies used in other areas of the country.

The original group (10th team of U.S. vets) with our GPS units in Victoria Tower Gardens.  Houses of Parliment are in the background.  Pictured L to R:  Lester Reschly, Robert "Bob" Linnabary, James "Jim" Willimar, Doug Wyss, George "Windell" Cantrell, Me, Ralph Darling, Joni Scheftal, Patrice "Pat" Klin, Richard Shaw, Ty Vannieuwenhoven, and Max Begue.  Photo by Katherine Feldman.

On Friday morning, May 11th, five others (Dr. Max Begue [Louisiana], Dr. George "Windell" Cantrell [Texas], Dr. Clarissa Engstrom [Virginia], Dr. Joni Scheftel [Minnesota], and Vedpal Malik [Washington, DC]) and myself boarded a train at Kings Cross station in London and rode 1st class (~3 hours) to the station in Newcastle upon Tyne. From there we were taxied to the MAFF DECC (Disease Emergency Control Center) at Kenton Bar in Newcastle. It was here that we were issued our own personal vehicles, a set of maps of the surrounding area, and a mobile phone. We were given the rest of the day off to check into our hotel (Novotel) and to familiarize ourselves with the area (driving my straight-drive Fiat).

On Saturday, May 12th, I was assigned to the epidemiology department at the DECC, where I worked on maps with British Army servicemen and women. Mapping consisted of identifying farm boundaries and their status (crops/grass/open farmland, pigs, sheep, cattle, or culled/slaughtered). Each farm had a CPH (county parish holding) number, which could then be used to plug into the computer database to determine a map reference number. This information helped in getting a general idea of the farm's location on the map.

I'm working on finding map references for farms that will become jobs allocted to TVI's (vets).  This picture was taken by Richard (an English vet) in a portacabin that was part of the epidemiology department.

Sunday through Monday (13th-14th) I attended half-day training sessions taught by Sandra McLaughlin (Scotland) at DECC. I spent the afternoons working in another area of the epidemiology department. Here I worked alongside of British Army service personnel and other veterinary students (5th-year students from the Royal Veterinary College in London), determining map reference numbers for each CPH number. These map reference numbers were placed on job records that outgoing veterinarians were given to perform.

Tuesday, May 15th, was my first experience on an English sheep farm (Mr. Hart & Son, Foxton Farm in the Sedgefield District [south of Newcastle]). I was assigned to Dr. Max Begue (Louisiana) and Vedpal Malik (Washington, DC). We were met at the farm by two RAF (Royal Air Force) servicemen who helped restrain the ewes for us while we took blood samples via the jugular vein. We performed a 95:5 statistical bleed (95% sure that a 5% prevalence of disease within a flock can be detected) on Mr. Hart's sheep. We had to perform two statistical bleeds on Mr. Hart's farm because he had what was considered as two epidemiological groups of sheep (i.e., the two groups of sheep were not in direct contact with one another; separated by a road, river, forest, etc.). This meant we bled about 62 (a few more samples than required, just to be safe) out of a group of 700 ewes plus lambs, and another 62 samples from the second group of about 300 ewes plus lambs. With each group we had to examine the mouths and feet of the ewes in addition to obtaining blood samples (Please note that we only took blood samples from adult sheep.).

Here I am taking a blood sample from a ewe via the jugular vein while Jason held her head.  Denton Grange Gast farm (CD cull) in Darlington.  Photo by Andrew O'Connor (Irish vet).

The purpose for our obtaining blood samples from a representative group on the farm was to detect antibodies to the virus if present in the flock. Sheep were routinely bled for antibody surveillance while cattle were not. The difference between the two species is that if a cow gets FMD, they will have clinical symptoms of the disease (lameness, hypersalivation, and a drop in production), while sheep on the other hand are sneakier. Sheep don't always exhibit classical FMD signs, so FMD can pass through a flock and on to other susceptible animals in the area without ever really making its presence known to a sheep farmer. Therefore, serosurveillance of sheep was a must.

Pigs also pose a threat in the spread of FMD, because they have a pronounced ability to amplify the virus in their respiratory tract, shedding hundreds of times more virus than the ruminant species. Fortunately for us, there were not many swine farms in Newcastle and the surrounding area. Also, infected pigs, like cattle, are easier to identify than sheep because they tend to display signs of FMD (lameness, etc.).

Mr. Hart's farm was inside of a Form D restriction zone (3 km radius of a farm where actual FMD lesions had been found [called an infected premises; IP]). Farms adjacent to an IP that contained susceptible animals (cloven hoofed animals: pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, etc.) were automatically culled (euthanized) and statistical bleeds in sheep on surviving farms within the 3 kilometer zone were performed to see if the disease had spread as well as to attempt lifting the Form D restrictions.  When a Form D was served to a farmer, the farmer had to then obtain a license from MAFF for any movements on or off, human or animal, of the farm. As I would come to find out during my stay, many farmers had been under such restrictions since the beginning of the outbreak back in February. So as one could imagine there were a few ruffled feathers so to speak. But overall, I must admit, I was shocked at how cooperative and compliant the English farmers were with the MAFF and its wishes.

For the next few days, I worked alongside veterinarians from England, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, performing such duties as statistical bleeds in sheep, a risk assessment of a closed burial site, and something called foot patrols. Foot patrols usually involved a two-person team in a vehicle driving to farms in question and determining if the land contained susceptible livestock, or was being used for farming crops, etc. It was definitely a good way to see the countryside, but I felt that a helicopter scouting the areas in question would have saved valuable time and resources. I say helicopter because we never drove onto farms, but had to suit up in our gear (rubber boots [wellies], disposable fabric inner suit, rain gear as outer suit, and rubber gloves) and disinfect as we went on or came off of a farm as a measure of biosecurity. Due to the terrain in some locations, a farm may not be visible from the road and the entrance could be padlocked making the task all the more cumbersome.

Countryside traveling west and south from Alnwick toward the A69 and Carlisle.  Photo by David Hardy.

It was not until Tuesday, May 29th, that I was assigned to a dangerous or direct contact (DC) cull. A DC is a farm that is adjacent or borders an IP (infected premises; a farm where clinical lesions were found). The farm was called North Farms and it was located in Summerhouse Darlington (County Durham) [south of Newcastle]. It was directly across the street from an IP (The Grange, Summerhouse Darlington) that had been culled the night before. The owner of the sheep farm name was Mr. Jeremy Nichols and he had about 158 ewes plus lambs. Dr. Ben Madin (Australia) was the veterinarian in charge of supervising the cull on North Farms. Before the culling began, a livestock valuator was brought out and he estimated the value of Mr. Nichols' flock. When Jeremy agreed with the valuator's figure, he and Ben filled out the legal documents and then the cull began. Mr. Nichols' border collie rounded up his sheep for one last time, and let me tell you how impressive it is to watch a sheep dog work. That's definitely something you don't see every day.

Ben had me perform a 95:5 statistical bleed on the ewes before they were culled. Statistical bleeds were performed on DC's, because it helped to determine if the flock had been exposed to the disease yet (i.e., were we ahead of or still chasing the disease). It also gave the owner some peace of mind, if the lab results came back that their flock did in fact have antibodies to the virus. I also read on the MAFF website that most animals tested positive for antibodies to the disease about 5-10 days after the first appearance of clinical signs, and animals were considered infectious in the 3-4 days prior to displaying clinical signs of the disease. So while I bled 50 of the ewes, Ben began euthanizing the lambs (intracardiac injections). When I completed the blood sampling, Ben had me join him in euthanizing the lambs.

I am euthanizing another of Mr. Nichol's lambs while Peter Kemp holds the lamb for me.  Photo by Ben Madin (Australian vet).

A slaughter team was contracted to cull the ewes using captive bolt guns. After each ewe was captive bolted a slaughterman used a reusable pithing rod to pith the brain stem to ensure the ewe had expired. Ben and I then went through the flock and examined their gums for any lesions before they were loaded onto a truck trailer. Once all of the sheep were loaded onto the trailer, a tarp was placed over the top and the truck was disinfected before hauling the carcasses off to a central burial site (Tow Law). However, the job was far from over at this point. Ben and Jeremy had to fill out several legal documents from MAFF before we could leave. A cleaning and disinfection crew would also be brought in to start work on the farm and Ben and I had to send the blood samples to the lab (the Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright). Like the truck carrying the deceased sheep, Ben and I were disinfected as we exited the farm.

Captive bolt guns used by Peter Kemp and his slaughter team on the DC cull at North Farms in Summerhouse Darlington (County Durham).  Photo by David Hardy	David, the slaughterman, took this picture of me being disinfected with a pressure washer as I left the High Fields farm.

Just imagine that, a person's livelihood, extinguished in about 2-3 hours and all loaded onto one truck. However, that was the responsibility of MAFF agents. It was government policy that an IP be depopulated within 24 hours and neighboring premises (DC's) within 48 hours from the onset of a confirmed case. You have to consider it's a race against time and you're dealing with a highly contagious virus. Therefore, by depopulating these flocks as soon as possible you might prevent the spread of this disease to countless other susceptible animals.

Tractor equipment hauling the culled ewes and rams to the lorrie on Denton Grange East farm (CD cull) in Darlington.  Photo by David Hardy.

Now that I had been involved on a DC cull, I was no longer considered clean but "dirty" and would remain as such for a predetermined 72-hour decontamination period. This meant that I would either be doing desk work (i.e., mapping jobs in the epidemiology department) or continue helping with "dirty" jobs such as IP and DC culls.  On Thursday, May 31st, I was sent to an IP site.   By the time I arrived at the farm (Moore House Farm), all 76 of the beef cattle had been culled.  Interestingly enough, disposable plastic pithing rods are used in cattle instead of the reusable pithing rods in sheep, because of the concern over prions with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a.k.a. "Mad Cow's Disease"). Dr. Marcus Halsworth (Australia), who had helped supervise the cull, showed me the lesions in the mouths and interdigital clefts of the cattle. He said he had observed about 50% of them showing signs of the disease (lameness, and hypersalivation, not to mention the roaring lesions). As he was showing me the lesions, the British Army servicemen began loading the cattle carcasses onto trucks. Again we were disinfected as we exited the farm.

FMD lesions (tongue) in a beef cow at Moor House farm near Kirklevington.  Marcus Halsworth (Australian vet) holds the deceased cow's mouth open for the picture.  Photo by David Hardy.	I am examining a ewe's mouth, after she has been captive bolted and pithed, for any FMD lesions.  None were found at High Fields farm (DC cull)

For the remainder of my time in Newcastle, I assisted with two more DC culls. At each sheep farm I helped bleed sheep for serosurveillance purposes prior to their being culled and checked them for any lesions postmortem. I never observed FMD lesions in the sheep, which was a little discouraging considering we were culling what appeared to be healthy animals for the sake of stopping the spread of the disease. There were of course lots of lesions that could be mistaken as FMD lesions, such as teeth eruptions, traumatic lesions to the gums from consuming rough forage, and foot rot due to the wet winter that had just ended.  On these last two DC culls I got the chance to work with veterinarians from Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. During the last DC cull, Andrew O'Connor (Ireland) pointed out to me some lambs with contagious ecthyma (a.k.a. orf).

On Wednesday, June 6th, five of us (not the original six because Dr. Clarissa Engstrom had extended her stay for another 30 days) boarded the train from Newcastle to Kings Cross in London. When we arrived in London we checked in at the Swallow and had the rest of the day to tour London. Thursday morning we had a debriefing at the hotel and were then given until supper-time to tour the town. At supper-time we met up with the incoming team (#14) of US veterinarians and/or technicians in order to give them some idea of what to expect. On Friday, June 8th, our time of service had come to an end and we were on our own.

Well, it wasn't all work and no play for me in England. I had an opportunity to attend a professional soccer (football) match between Newcastle United and the Arsenal, which ended scoreless in a tie, but the atmosphere inside the stadium was everything I could have hoped for (you see, soccer's my favorite sport). I also managed to do some touring on one weekend and saw  the Durham Cathedral, James Herriot Museum in Thirsk, Birds of Prey exhibit in Kirbe Wiske, and the York Minster. While in York, I also managed to watch my favorite musical, The Sound of Music, at the Theatre Royal York. On Sunday, May 27th, I drove north of Newcastle and visited the Hardy Fishing Museum in Alnwick, Bamburgh Castle, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, the Scottish Art Museum in Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and the club house (golf) at St. Andrews, Scotland.

I'm standing at the entrance of the late James Alf Wight's (James Herriot) veterinary practice in Thirsk.  Photo taken by a museum employee.

Later, when we were cut loose in London (Friday, June 8th), I visited a lot of the traditional tourist sites (Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, etc.). Because I had previously scheduled my departure flight for Wednesday, June 13th, I used those five days (my decontamination period) to tour London, Paris, and Caen (Normandy, France). Never having taken French in school, I had my work cut out for me but I did manage to get around alright. I saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, visited the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. I spent the night (Monday, June 11th) in a youth hostel in Paris and then caught a train from Paris to Caen the next morning hoping to visit the D-Day memorial in Normandy. Because my return train tickets were already set, I wasn't able to see the beachfronts, but I did manage to visit the Memorial for Peace in Caen, France (Battle of Normandy). Even with a little mishap (missed my initial train; probably would have helped if I could speak French), I still managed to make it back to London and board my flight home to the good ole USA.