20 September 2007

1 minute read

Europe

Cattle from an infected farm in Surrey were taken to St Merryn Meat, Merthyr Tydfil, before the latest outbreak was confirmed.

There was no sign of the disease at the plant and retail packaging was continuing, a spokesman said. The link was found through a routine tracing exercise: the Assembly Government says there is no evidence of infection anywhere in Wales.

St Merryn Meat was the site of a similar scare in mid August.

Meanwhile a temporary control zone was set up around a premises near Solihull yesterday as officials investigated another suspected FMD case. Defra said the control zone was a “precautionary measure” and the disease had not been confirmed.

Wales’ chief vet Dr Christianne Glossop yesterday confirmed that tests on animals slaughtered in the two most recent FMD cases indicated they were infected at the time the UK was declared clear of the disease.

Livestock on both farms had FMD lesions more than 10 days old.

The outbreaks were among three new cases which emerged in Surrey less than two weeks after the UK was declared FMD-free on September 7.