There are now twelve reported incidents of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain. Following new reports in Northumberland and on the Welsh border in Herefordshire this afternoon, there has been another report in Devon.
The tenth case, in Northumberland, is thought to have been spread on the wind from the Heddon-on-the-Wall pig farm about five miles away, which is believed to be source of the outbreak.
Cases in Devon and Wiltshire and a further case in Northumberland were reported earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has confirmed that there have been no confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease in theEU outside of Britain, amid growing speculation that the disease may have been imported to Britain.
The Minister for Agriculture Mr Walshis among the EU ministers attending an emergency meeting in Brussels today. The meeting was originallycalled to discuss latest developments in the continuing crisis overmad cow disease.
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Mr Walsh said he is becoming increasingly worried about thedisease spreading to Ireland.
As continental Europe went on full alert for signs of the disease, aspokeswoman for the European Commission said Brussels was in closecontact with ministries in the member states, but there had been nocases confirmed but those in Britain.
The Commission praised the British government's swift response to thefoot-and-mouth crisis as British agriculture minister, Mr Nick Brown,was expected in Brussels later today after.
"The Commission is satisfied with the measures taken by the Britishgovernment to contain this disease," the spokeswoman said today.
The EU's Standing Veterinary Committee meets tomorrow to discuss thesituation and is expected to review its current ban on the export ofall live animals, fresh meat and meat products and milk from the UK.
The ban was imposed a week ago until March 1st and is almost certain tobe extended as the spread of foot-and-mouth continues in the UK.
The discovery of cases of foot-and-mouth disease at a farm in Devon,England, which exports to the EU has raised major concerns for thespread of the disease throughout Europe. The meeting will alsoaddress the crisis caused by mad cow disease.
More than 2,000 pigs, sheep and cattle have so far been culled inBritain as the disease tightens its grip on the farming industry inwhat British farming leaders called a "nightmare scenario".There have been nine cases of the disease confirmed in Britain sofar.
Burdon Farm, a sheep and cattle farm, is part of a chain of 13 inDevon and Cornwall owned by a sheep dealer who exports animals toEurope.
The disease was only confirmed among the farm's 950 cattle herd andvets were examining the 1,500 sheep for signs of infection. The farmsare now under restrictions and being inspected.
It was not yet known how long the disease was active at the Devonfarm or when sheep were last exported to Europe, but the EuropeanCommission has been informed of the risk that infected animals couldhave been sold abroad.
Vehicles from the Devon farm have travelled widely throughoutBritain, particularly in Cumbria, the British Ministry ofAgriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAFF) said.
There were also fears that the outbreak may have spread to northWales. Tests are being carried out on a sheep found with symptoms ofthe disease at an abattoir at Gaerwen, Anglesey.
The area around the abattoir has been sealed off and police have beencalled in to enforce an exclusion zone.
Last night MAFF workers lit a "funeral pyre" for hundreds ofslaughtered pigs at a Northumberland farm devastated by the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Another mass incineration of hundreds of animals from Cheale Meatsabattoir in Little Warley, Essex, where the foot-and-mouth outbreakwas first spotted, and from a nearby farm was also held last night.
The disease has also been found at farms in Essex and Northumberland.
PA
