ABSTRACT
The recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe have been a stimulus to bring to the market new diagnostic tests which can be used on the farm or in the laboratory to increase the speed with which suspect outbreaks can be confirmed. A more rapid diagnosis, particularly in species such as sheep that often show only mild clinical signs, would likely reduce the number of animals slaughtered during an outbreak, and allow a more accurate definition of the size and distribution of an outbreak. However, before these new tests are introduced, they must be rigorously tested under different conditions to clearly document their sensitivity and specificity, as, if they are to supplement or replace existing methods, they must provide advantages to a disease control program. The large scale slaughter that took place in the United Kingdom during the outbreak horrified the general public, and has prompted the political leaders to insist on a re-assessment of the use of vaccination as an alternative strategy. But political will is not sufficient to overcome all the problems associated with the use of vaccine in the face of an outbreak of FMD.
