New Foot And Mouth Case Confirmed

A new case of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed on a farm near Egham, Surrey, and another suspected case is under investigation in Hants.

Englefield Green, where the latest confirmed outbreak took place, is now the seventh site in Southern England to play host to the virus since the beginning of August.

Chief Vet Debby Reynolds said: "the disease could have been spread to the farm by the movement of people or vehicles, but not through animal-to-animal transmission or by airborne means."

Those words may sound ominous to walkers who were kept out of large swathes of countryside during the 2001 outbreak, but it isn't all doom and gloom. A report into the outbreak found that the risk of the wider spread of foot-and-mouth is low, and so there's no imminent danger of the mass footpath closures that played havoc with most outdoor pursuits - and the rural economy - six years ago.

Full details and images on the BBC website.

Bluetongue disease hits as well

As if foot-and-mouth disease wasn't trouble enough, a second case of Bluetongue disease was confirmed yesterday near Ipswich. It used to mostly be a Mediterranean disease that's borne by midges, but the warmer climate of the last few years has brought it northwards to the UK and much of northern Europe.

As it's a midgey issue, keeping people away from the countryside won't contain it though. It's the little blighters that need keeping away, which is bad news for farmers as midge control is hardly a straightforward science, although no doubt summer visitors to the Scottish Highlands and Islands would be willing to lend a hand:-)

Full details and images on the BBC website.