The foot-and-mouth crisis will not peak until early May at the earliest - the time tipped for the British government to go to the country for local and general elections - according to a leading epidemiologist.
Professor Roy Anderson, who was called in by the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare projections of the likely pattern of disease, said that was the best-case scenario. His projections show that the outbreak will not be eliminated until at least August, BBC2's Newsnight reported last night.
"I think everyone is in agreement, both the government, the farming community and the independent scientific advice, that this epidemic is not under control at the current point in time," Professor Anderson told the programme.