When foot and mouth was detected in sheep in the United Kingdom in 2001, the results were devastating. At the time, the government's contingency plans covered an infection on 10 properties, according to a government report.

Instead, the disease spread to 57 locations before it was detected, and then a lack of coordination slowed the rollout of emergency vaccinations. In the seven months it look to eliminate the virus, more than 6 million animals were killed.

The UK was readmitted to the list of countries free from FMD the following year, but the impact went far wider than trade.

The report found that "tourism suffered the largest financial impact from the outbreak, with visitors to Britain and the countryside deterred by the initial blanket closure of footpaths by local authorities and media images of mass pyres."

The entire episode cost the government and the private sector a total of 8 billion pounds ($9.5 billion).

When foot and mouth was detected in sheep in the United Kingdom in 2001, the results were devastating. At the time, the government's contingency plans covered an infection on 10 properties, according to a government report.

Instead, the disease spread to 57 locations before it was detected, and then a lack of coordination slowed the rollout of emergency vaccinations. In the seven months it look to eliminate the virus, more than 6 million animals were killed.

The UK was readmitted to the list of countries free from FMD the following year, but the impact went far wider than trade.

The report found that "tourism suffered the largest financial impact from the outbreak, with visitors to Britain and the countryside deterred by the initial blanket closure of footpaths by local authorities and media images of mass pyres."

The entire episode cost the government and the private sector a total of 8 billion pounds ($9.5 billion).