First case of bluetongue disease found at UK farm
Britain’s farmers were facing a new threat last night as it emerged that a disease known as bluetongue had been discovered in cattle, joining foot and mouth as a menace to their livestock.
Bluetongue - never before found in the UK - was identified in a cow near Ipswich, Suffolk, according to a statement released from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The virus is characterised by changes to the mucous linings of the mouth and nose and the coronary band of the foot.
First case of bluetongue disease found at UK farm
Farmers reel under new blow as Suffolk outbreak follows fresh cases of foot and mouth in Surrey
by Robin McKie and Jo Revill
Sunday September 23, 2007
The Observer
Britain’s farmers were facing a new threat last night as it emerged that a disease known as bluetongue had been discovered in cattle, joining foot and mouth as a menace to their livestock.
Bluetongue - never before found in the UK - was identified in a cow near Ipswich, Suffolk, according to a statement released from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The virus is characterised by changes to the mucous linings of the mouth and nose and the coronary band of the foot.
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It is thought the disease has been carried by midges swept across the Channel from France and the Netherlands, which have suffered several outbreaks. The virus is not a threat to humans but can be fatal in sheep, cattle, deer and goats, and will cause economic hardship for the farmers affected.
The government’s concern will now be to halt the spread of the new virus, and ensure that farmers are still on the alert for foot and mouth.
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