The British government announced on Wednesday that Control Zones
have been put in place around two premises, one near Peterborough,
Cambridge shire, and one near Ashford, Kent, where two new
Bluetongue cases were found.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
confirmed in a statement that the two new cases are within the
current Bluetongue Protection Zone.
Livestock is seen at
Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm where another cow has been infected
with the bluetongue disease near Ipswich in eastern England
September 23, 2007. (photo: Xinhua/Reuters)
"In line with the UK Bluetongue Control Strategy and EU
legislation, Control Zones have been put in place around these two
new cases, while investigations are undertaken to determine the
disease situation. The existing Protection Zone has also been
extended accordingly," it said.
As at 5 pm on Oct. 16, 2007 there were 41 confirmed premise
affected by Bluetongue, according to the DEFRA which says the
figure is normally updated once daily from Monday to Friday.
According to Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Fred Landeg, given
the nature of this disease and its means of spread, this is not
entirely unexpected. "We will carry out further investigations on
these farms, and in the surrounding area to assess the disease
situation and possible sources of incursion," the officer said.
The first Bluetongue case in Britain was detected on Sept. 22
and the DEFRA confirmed on Sept. 28 that Bluetongue disease is
circulating between the local animal and midge population in East
Anglia, following epidemiological investigation of several cases of
the disease.
A Bluetongue Control Zone around the area where cases have been
identified and a larger Bluetongue Protection Zone were established
on Sept. 29 replacing the Bluetongue Temporary Control Area set up
after the first case was detected.
The Control Zone and the Protection Zone were extended for the
first time on Oct. 10 and further extended on Oct. 16 after
Bluetongue cases were confirmed in Essex and near Lowestoft.
Surveillance and epidemiological investigations are
continuing.
Markets within the Control and Protection Zones, and the
movement of susceptible animals from these Zones to approved
slaughterhouses outside the Zones, have been permitted from
midnight on Sunday Oct. 14, subject to conditions.
(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)
