It is difficult to conceive of three more innocuous- sounding words than foot and mouth. Yet when combined - in the context of the highly infectious viral disease of cattle, pigs, sheep and other cloven-hoofed animals - they strike fear into rural communities and tourism and other business interests.
All are keenly aware of the events of 2001 when an outbreak of the disease in the Cooley Peninsula cost the economy more than €200 million as 60,000 animals were destroyed and farming, sports and cultural events were cancelled.
Simultaneously, Britain reacted to an epidemic of the disease by slaughtering seven million animals in a mass exercise characterised by evocative scenes of carcasses piled high on smoky pyres. This cull was part of an official response which was subsequently criticised, notably for a delay in imposing a ban on animal movements. This delay was blamed for increasing the ultimate scale of the epidemic.
Against this background, the British government's reaction to the latest outbreak of the disease - confirmed last Friday in a herd of cattle in Surrey - has been more reassuring. A hands-on approach by new prime minister Gordon Brown has been combined with a halt to animal movements, the destruction of the cattle involved, the introduction of an exclusion zone around the site and a drive to identify the source of the outbreak .
The latter investigation is focusing on two nearby research laboratories which store the same uncommon strain of foot-and-mouth disease with which the cattle were infected. If one of them is confirmed as the source, there will be grave questions as to the controls in place there. However, the chances of containing the outbreak may be improved.
In an Irish context, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture have acknowledged the 32-county dimension in dealing with a disease that does not recognise borders and which entered the Republic in 2001 via infected sheep imported from Northern Ireland. The two jurisdictions have banned live imports from Britain and have sought to adopt a so-called Fortress Ireland approach to prevent foot-and-mouth reaching the island.
The Government's hand in achieving this goal is strengthened by the fact that the events of 2001 gave rise - belatedly - to a new era of controls in Irish agriculture with more rigorous animal tagging, movement monitoring and trader licensing. Farmer vigilance, however, and a determination to maintain restrictions for as long as is necessary will be equally important. As the outbreak six years ago demonstrated, the threat is real.
A parallel issue in this regard is the controversy over the importation into the EU of beef from Brazil where foot-and-mouth disease is widespread but where a regionalisation policy is intended to ensure EU-bound meat is disease-free. The Government must ensure that there is no anomaly between the robust approach to the British outbreak and continued Brazilian imports.