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| Foot-and-mouth 'will not spread' | Foot-and-mouth 'will not spread' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease is unlikely to spread outside Surrey, government vets have said. | The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease is unlikely to spread outside Surrey, government vets have said. |
| Defra said epidemiological studies of the latest cases confirmed the belief that the disease is unlikely to spread outside the area. | |
| Evidence suggested that in the newest cases, the disease was transmitted by the wind or carried by machinery, the report said. | Evidence suggested that in the newest cases, the disease was transmitted by the wind or carried by machinery, the report said. |
| Meanwhile, the number of reported cases of bluetongue have risen from 24 to 25. | Meanwhile, the number of reported cases of bluetongue have risen from 24 to 25. |
| 'Remain small' | |
| Deputy chief vet Fred Landeg said: "We hope that we will not discover any further new cases." | |
| The report showed that the latest outbreak was "most likely to remain small and not become geographically extensive", he added. | |
| Dr Landeg also said the only potential link between Pirbright - the source of the first outbreak in August - and the secondary outbreak in September was through human or vehicle movement. | |
| It will be at least 30 days from the last confirmed case, discovered last weekend, before the surveillance zone in Surrey can be lifted, he said. | |
| Meanwhile, 25 farms are now infected with bluetongue. | |
| All the infected premises are contained in the existing control zone in the east of England, with most clustered around Ipswich, where the first case was discovered. | |
| Vaccine | |
| Dr Landeg said restrictions preventing movement of livestock out of the control and protection zones, set up after an outbreak of bluetongue was confirmed last week, would last well into next summer. | |
| "Our strategy is to contain it in that area if at all possible," he said. | |
| Manufacturers are currently working on a vaccine, which they hope will be approved by next spring or summer and could be deployed if the disease re-emerges in the UK after the winter. | |
| Dr Landeg said colder temperatures in coming months should stop midge activity and the virus replicating, and reduce case numbers. | |
| But he said it is "crucial" that the government and farmers plan for various possibilities next year, when the disease could flare up again. |