How foot-and-mouth legacy can aid pandemic response – The Yorkshire Post says

IT is a coincide of timing that New Year efforts to eradicate Covid-19 will correspond with the 20th anniversary of foot-and-mouth, a disease which still strikes fear into Yorkshire farmers.
By YP Comment
Published 26th Dec 2020, 05:45 GMT
What are the lessons of the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic for Covid?What are the lessons of the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic for Covid?
What are the lessons of the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic for Covid?

An epidemic which was so lethal that it delayed the 2001 election by a month. The loss of livestock, as burning pyres dominated the hills of the North, was just as difficult to fathom as coronavirus.

But the rural economy did recover – Tony Blair made a shrewd decision by tasking this to East Yorkshire farmer Chris Haskins – and far stricter welfare standards were successfully introduced to the supply chain.

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This is an important point – both robust regulation and a more enlightened approach to hygiene and related matters are now essential if the rolling out of the Covid vaccine is to succeed in suppressing the virus.

The scene from the air on Malham Moor during the foot-and-mouth cull.The scene from the air on Malham Moor during the foot-and-mouth cull.
The scene from the air on Malham Moor during the foot-and-mouth cull.

And there’s another key lesson that is as relevant today, if not more so, as it was in 2001 when shattered farmers were counting the cost of lost herds and a lifetime of hard labour.

This was the first time that farmers, long regarded as the most resilient and stoic of men, opened up about their mental health struggles because of the turmoil and trauma caused by foot-and-mouth.

The legacy is people from all walks of life being better placed to confront their own demons. And while, understandably, the NHS is working night and day to treat Covid victims, and also patients seriously ill with chronic conditions like cancer, this should not be to the detriment of those who need support, guidance and counselling to come to terms with the impact of coronavirus on their lives.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostEast YorkshireCovid-19NorthTony BlairNHS

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