Timeline of foot and mouth scare

October 23: 25 samples from a Dromolaxia farm are sent to the local Veterinary Services lab to test for bluetongue disease, also known as catarrhal fever.
October 24: samples test negative for bluetongue.
October 25: samples tested for the presence of foot and mouth. Results positive. Area of 3km radius is quarantined.

October 26: first batch of 25 samples sent to the community laboratory at Pirbright, UK.
October 27: European Commission notified of possibility of FMD in Cyprus.
October 30: preliminary findings from Pirbright confirm those of the Cyprus lab.
October 31: SNT testing on the first suspect sample comes back negative for FMD. Restrictions lifted on quarantine area.

November 1: second sample from three farms test positive for FMD at local lab. 109 samples dispatched to Pirbright.

November 2: PCR testing comes back negative. Late at night, Pirbright informs Cyprus authorities that 22 of the 109 samples from one farm have tested positive for the type O virus by the solid phase ELISA method.

November 3: European Commission advises return of restrictions for 3km radius exclusion area. European Commission receives findings of both Cyprus lab and Pirbright.
November 4: the Commission informs member-states about situation in Cyprus.
November 5: Two of the suspect herds are culled. Quarantine and surveillance zones (3km and 10km respectively) are enforced. Commission expert arrives on the island.
November 6: Commission receives detailed account of events. Two more suspect herds culled.

November 7: Cyprus sends Commission progress report. Another EU expert arrives on the island.
November 8: More suspect cases established. Samples sent to Pirbright, 60 pigs are culled.
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The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.