The foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK is "fully under control", the government's chief scientist said last night.
Prof David King said the daily tally of new cases at the end of last month was an average of 43. This had fallen to 27 by last Sunday.
"On the basis of the fall in the number of cases being reported, the epidemic now is fully under control," he said.
A further 13 cases were confirmed in the UK yesterday, bringing the total so far to 1,395. Prof King said the optimistic outlook could now also be applied to the worst-hit area, Cumbria. He said there, and elsewhere, the policy of culling infected livestock within 24 hours, and animals on neighbouring farms within 48 hours, was working.
He added: "I have now made a rather bold statement which is that it's under control, but I want to say it's in the nature of epidemics that it's a bumpy ride."
In Cumbria the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) has stopped burning animal carcasses at one pyre, due to local health concerns and pending advice from the chief medical officer, said a MAFF spokesman.
UK politicians have called for daily tests to be carried out around pyres to measure levels of dioxins, which have been linked to cancer and are produced by pyres. It is estimated that because of the epidemic the UK is on course to double its annual output of dioxins.
Initial tests show that the giant bonfires have released levels of dioxins almost equal to a quarter of the UK's annual industrial output, it has been confirmed.
Prof King said that if a vaccination scheme was adopted there would be "no implications" for human health. Vaccinated livestock would not be allowed to enter the food-chain for 30 days after first inoculation, he said. Such a scheme would most probably concentrate initially on cattle in Devon.
He said booster immunising would be necessary only if foot-and-mouth was still in the national herd six months after the first injection.
Prof King said his advice to the Prime Minister had been that vaccination should go ahead only if it did not interfere with the current cull policy and if the farming community wanted to do it. The government continued yesterday appealing directly to farmers to accept its plans for a limited campaign of vaccinations.