MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK Press Points to Argentina in Foot-and-Mouth Epidemic.

The British Ministry of Agriculture has declined to comment on newspaper suggestions that Argentina, which exports meat to Britain, could have been the source of the outbreak of foot- and- mouth disease devastating the United Kingdom.

A London Times report, dated March 1st, is headlined "Hunt for Source of Infection Turns to Argentina". It says:" The search for a foreign source of the outbreak turned to Argentina after Brazil and South Africa dismissed suggestions that they could have exported the virus to Britain".

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in London declined to comment on the report, which it regards as speculation. A Ministry spokesman told Mercopress "We are trying to work out the source of the outbreak. We do not know at this stage".

Britain's last major foot-and-mouth epidemic, in 1967 and 1968, the worst in its history, was traced to pig swill food on a farm in Oswestry, Shropshire, in the English Midlands, which contained infected Argentine lamb.

The Falkland Islands Government imposed an immediate ban, dated February 22, on imports of frozen meat (except poultry), milk and milk products, from the United Kingdom. But the Falklands proclamation said then, "it will not apply to anything obtained from elsewhere and merely in transit through the United Kingdom -- for example from the Republic of Ireland or Uruguay".

However, it is prudent to keep the position under review, as there have been fears that the Republic of Ireland is vulnerable after reports that infected animals have been found in Northern Ireland, near the border, as well as in Scotland and Wales, and in several locations in England, where it was first detected in pigs.

"Brazil Accuses Argentina" Says Times

The Times report, datelined Rio de Janeiro by Gabriella Gamini, says: "Brazil has accused Argentina of putting other countries at risk by failing to confront the virus....Last week international regulators stripped the country of its disease-free status ...However, Argentina maintains that it has suffered no outbreak of foot-and- mouth disease in the past 12 months despite strong evidence to the contrary".

The Times report says Argentine ranchers burned at least 3,500 head of cattle last year after claiming that the disease had spread into ranches through livestock from Brazil and Paraguay. The report continues: "The Argentine Government denies that the outbreaks took place but leading farmers' representatives and b