FMD may be on the move in England

The Department of Agriculture has reacted cautiously to a possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the English west midlands.

If confirmed, it would be the first outbreak of the disease outside Surrey in the southeast of England where there have been five confirmed cases in the last two months.

British Veterinary Association president David Catlow said it would be a "serious development" if FMD was confirmed so far from its original source, but he said there had been 100 reported cases since the renewed oubreak in August, and the only ones that had been confirmed were in the Surrey area.

A statement from the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) in Britain said the disease had not been confirmed at the site in Solihull, which is just south of Birmingham airport.

A temporary control zone has been put around the site in Solihull as a precautionary measure.

Animal health officials have carried out an assessment of the animals' clinical symptoms and lab tests are under way.

The temporary control zone was set up just hours after Britain's chief vet Debby Reynolds urged farmers to undertake twice daily inspections of their cattle in a bid to eradicate the disease.

Dr Reynolds said about 1,700 animals have been slaughtered since the initial outbreak in August infected two farms near the village of Normandy, in Surrey.

Department of Agriculture officials here are maintaining contact with their counterparts in Defra in London and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Belfast.

Currently there is an all-island ban on British livestock and animal products, but the Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has indicated she is willing to introduce further controls if the disease is seen to be spreading to other parts of the UK.

A Department of Agriculture spokesman said: "if it is positive, we will take appropriate action but, until then, our position will not change."