Ireland and Britain should vaccinate against foot-and-mouth in areas where the disease has broken out, according to Dr Fred Brown, of America's Plum Island Animal Disease Center.
The former deputy director of the Pirbright Laboratory in Britain - the world validation centre for foot-and-mouth disease - says a test has been available since 1999 which can distinguish between animals which have been vaccinated and those infected in an outbreak. This should allow countries such as Ireland to prove and preserve its disease-free status.
Dr Brown has worked with an American company, United Biomedical Inc in Long Island, to develop the test, trials on which were reported in the journal Vaccine three years ago.
"It's cheaper than killing all those animals," Dr Brown says. "You can watch and you can test for whether those animals become infected by contacting a virus, and you can distinguish between animals that are infected and those that are vaccinated."
The test is based on a piece of protein, a peptide, from the virus. If the infection is present, there will be an antibody reaction against it.
Asked if we should vaccinate here, he replied: "Oh God, vaccinate, especially since there has only been one [case]. The Dutch have vaccinated now. It's sensible."
As to whether the US Department of Agriculture would still respect our disease-free status, he said he did not know. "But, if they asked my opinion, I would give it."