Britain insisted that it was in control of the foot-and-mouth disease devastating the farming and tourism industries, as government vets confirmed seventeen new cases of the livestock virus.
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The number of confirmed cases is now 191. It follows a record daily total of 25 fresh cases reported yesterday and more were expected to be confirmed today.
But the government insisted foot-and-mouth was under control, and rejected criticism that it had not done enough.
Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's official spokesman admitted that the situation was "serious" and it was unclear how long it would be before the outbreak was beaten.
However, he said all the right steps had been taken.
He said Agriculture Minister Mr Nick Brown had told Mr Blair "that it is not out of control to the extent that it is not an epidemic, and we can say no more than that."
Last week, agriculture ministry officials had indicated they had hoped the outbreak would have peaked by now.
The spokesman added: "We still do not know how many cases there will be to report in the future. It is clear there is still some way to go before this is resolved."
A total of 155,000 animals have now been earmarked for slaughter, of which 116,000 have already been culled.
Since the crisis began three weeks ago, 935 premises have been placed under restrictions, of which just under half still remain in place.
Investigations are continuing at 159 farms and other premises.
AFP