Bluetongue found in imported cows

Farming leaders called for an import ban on livestock from bluetongue areas in Europe after the disease was discovered in the herd on a farm near Worcester.

The case, which is inside the current bluetongue surveillance zone that covers much of England, is the second incident of the disease found in imported animals in a week.

The virus was detected by Defra's routine post-import testing and controls have been set up around the farm. The cows had been imported from a bluetongue protection zone in the Netherlands.

While there is no evidence the disease - which is spread by midges - is circulating in the area, the animals will be culled to prevent the local midge population being infected.

Last Friday a cow imported from a disease protection zone in Lower Saxony, Germany, was found to have the disease in Middlesbrough, outside the existing protection and surveillance zone.

Fred Landeg, acting chief veterinary officer, said: "As with the case of bluetongue found in an imported animal in Middlesbrough last week, this re-emphasises the importance of livestock-keepers carefully considering the potential risks to the UK industry as a whole from importing animals from bluetongue restricted zones."

The National Farmers' Union said imports from restricted areas should be banned to help the livestock industry control the disease until a vaccine could be manufactured.

A spokesman said: "This is the second time in a week that animals infected with bluetongue have been imported.

"Until such time as arrangements are in place to prevent this sort of thing happening, the only safe course of action is to ban all imports of livestock from the bluetongue infected areas."