New foot-and-mouth alert

Movement restrictions have been imposed around a North Yorkshire farm after a cow showed signs of footand-mouth disease, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed today.

Vets examining animals at High Worsall, near Yarm, noticed signs which they could not immediately rule out as being the disease and a ban on movements was imposed in a five mile radius. Samples have been taken for testing at the Institute for Animal Health laboratory at Pirbright, Surrey. Definitive results can take up to 96 hours, although initial results will be available tomorrow. None of the cattle on the farm, which was infected in May last year during the crisis, has so far been slaughtered.

Since the last confirmed case of foot-and-mouth on 30 September there have been a number of suspected cases, all of which tested negative.