Foot-and-mouth disease devastated British farms. Credit: D. BEREHULAK/GETTY

British labs handling the most dangerous diseases need additional funding to ensure that devastating outbreaks do not ravage the nation, an influential group of politicians has said. The review was triggered by last year's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which was traced to a damaged pipe at the Pirbright laboratory in Surrey, and cost the government £47 million (US$92 million).

A report by the House of Commons' science select committee warns of “shortcomings” in Britain's funding of high-containment facilities, especially in terms of maintenance costs. “This must be rectified to ensure the incident at Pirbright is not repeated,” the report says.

The report also warns of a “striking” lack of coordination between the bodies that pay for and run high-containment labs.

In the United States, which is selecting a new site for a high-containment livestock disease lab, a report has warned that an outbreak from such a lab could cost more than $4 billion, depending on where the lab is placed. Five sites shortlisted to replace the ageing Plum Island biosecurity lab off Long Island in New York are all on the mainland.