New case of foot-and-mouth confirmed in Surrey

12 April 2012

Tests have confirmed a new case of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey.

It is the sixth case in the county since the initial outbreak at the start of August - and the fourth case in the Egham area.

Around 40 cows on the farm - which is within the 3km protection zone set up after the latest cases emerged - were slaughtered as a precaution.

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The foot and mouth crisis has restricted movement within a 3km protection zone

Tests were carried out after the animals displayed clinical signs of the disease.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said last night: "Positive test results for foot-and-mouth disease have now been confirmed at the site where it was decided that cattle should be slaughtered on suspicion.

"The affected animals are within the existing Protection Zone and this now becomes the sixth Infected Premises since August 3 this year."

She said minor changes had been made to the protection and surveillance zones.

Laboratory results have shown that the strain of the disease has been the same in all cases in the outbreak so far.

The latest four cases near Egham have emerged in the last two weeks - after officials declared the UK free of the disease following the August outbreak, which has been blamed on the virus escaping from leaking pipes at the nearby Pirbright laboratory site.

The Pirbright facility is shared by the Government-funded Institute for Animal Health, an international diagnostic laboratory, and pharmaceutical company Merial Animal Health.

Some 1,800 animals have been slaughtered since the first outbreak on a farm in Normandy, near Guildford. Nearly 600 cows, sheep and pigs had to be culled there.

A number of sites outside Surrey have also been investigated and several control zones set up, but these have all proved to be false alarms.

Defra has lifted some of the movement restrictions outside the surveillance zone at what is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for livestock sales.

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