Britain finds further suspect case of foot and mouth

LONDON (Reuters) - British animal health inspectors discovered another herd of cattle suspected of having foot and mouth disease on Monday, raising fears that the virus may not be as contained as initially hoped.

During checks of cattle within a 10-km radius (6 mile) protection zone set up around the farm where foot and mouth cases were first confirmed on Friday, inspectors found more cattle with signs of the virus, the government said.

"We have been able to rapidly identify this suspect case and take appropriate action swiftly," the country's chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds, said in a statement released by the department for food, environment and agriculture (Defra).

"I continue to urge all animal keepers to be vigilant for signs of disease and practice strict biosecurity."

The animals would be culled "as soon as practicable", Reynolds said, adding that samples to confirm that the cattle were infected with foot and mouth had been sent to a laboratory.

The disease, which affects cloven-hoofed animals and which can be carried on the wind, making it highly contagious, was confirmed in a small herd of cattle on a farm in Surrey, southwest of London, on Friday. The cattle were destroyed.

It was the first outbreak of the disease in Britain since 2001, when the illness caused devastation among the farming community. More than six million animals had to be destroyed, being burnt on vast, unsightly funeral pyres.

The cost to agriculture and the rural tourism industry was put at 8.5 billion pounds ($17 billion).

This time around the impact has been much more muted so far, although the spread of the disease, despite remaining within the exclusion zone, will increase fears the contagion could spread.

EXPORT BAN

Following the discovery of the disease on Friday, the European Union banned all British exports of fresh meat, live animals and milk products. Britain's exports of meat are worth more than $1 billion a year.

It is still not clear how the outbreak of the disease began.

However, investigators looking for the source of the infection have focused their attention on two animal research labs -- one run by the government, the other private -- located about five miles from where the cattle were farmed.

They are also considering the possibility that recent heavy floods across central and parts of southern Britain may have contributed to the transmission of the virus.

To try to limit the spread of the disease, the government has enforced a complete ban on the movement of farm animals nationwide. That is expected to last for at least several weeks and could begin to have a deep economic impact on farming.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, visiting a disease control centre close to the affected area, said a major national effort was under way to halt the infection.

"We are desperately trying at the earliest opportunity to contain and control this disease and then to eradicate it," he said.

The laboratories that investigators are focusing on as the possible source of the outbreak are the government-run Institute for Animal Health and a facility operated by Merial Animal Health Ltd, an U.S.-French company.

Both laboratories handle foot and mouth virus samples for research purposes and to develop vaccines. Both have stocks of the uncommon strain of foot and mouth that was found to have infected the first herd of cattle.

Merial made a batch of vaccines containing that strain of the virus last month. However, both Merial and the IAH have issued statements saying that they have discovered no breach of their biosecurity measures.

After searching both laboratories, government inspectors are due to issue a report on their findings on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt and Kate Kelland in London and Darren Ennis in Brussels)