Germany begins cattle slaughter

HANOVER, Germany - Germany is investigating its first suspected case of foot-and mouth disease in cattle since the outbreak began in Britain.

Calves on a farm in the Lower Saxony region have shown symptoms of the disease and a slaughter began on Sunday.

The suspected case arose after 12 new cases of foot-and mouth disease emerged in Britain, bringing the total number of cases there to 151.

But UK Agriculture Minister Nick Brown insisted in a television interview that the disease has now been brought under control.

Germany's State Agriculture Minister Uwe Bartels said a farm with 99 calves in the district of Vechta reported its suspicions on Saturday evening.

"There's a 50-50 chance that this is a case of foot-and-mouth disease," Bartels said.

Many of the calves had suffered from high fever and blistering around the mouth. But first blood and tissue tests for foot-and-mouth conducted on Sunday were negative, he said.

Bartels said full test results were expected by mid week. Germany has so far escaped foot-and-mouth spilling over from Britain.

It is the first suspected case in cattle, and a handful of suspicious cases in sheep and pigs have all tested negative.

As a precaution against the highly contagious virus, Germany's foot-and-mouth emergency committee on Thursday banned transport of all cloven-hoofed animals between March 10 and March 27, with the exception of direct transport to slaughterhouses and between farms.

Like the rest of continental Europe, Germany has been on high alert for the disease since it surfaced in Britain last month.

Germany has not had a case of foot-and-mouth disease since 1988. It has, however, had 46 confirmed cases of mad cow disease since the discovery of the first one last November.

In Britain, the Agriculture Minister insisted that draconian restrictions on livestock movement and the destruction of 90,000 infected animals were containing the highly infectious disease.

Nick Brown said: "I'm absolutely certain we have it under control. I know the sight of dead animals being burned is horrific and worries people, but it's the right policy to pursue."

So far confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease, which afflicts cattle, sheep and pigs, have been confined to Britain and one case in Northern Ireland. But most of northwest Europe is on alert to protect livestock from infection.

A nationwide ban on moving livestock was imposed two weeks ago in a bid to curb the virus in Britain. Swathes of rural land have been put off-limits, sports fixtures have been called off and animal funeral pyres have burnt across the country.

Despite the precautionary measures nearly 50 cases have been confirmed in the last three days, just as government officials might have hoped to see their actions starting to bear fruit.

"The disease won't obey any timetable I set it," Brown said when asked when it might show signs of ending.

Farmers said they feared the disease, which can incubate for up to two weeks, was set to spread still further. "I think this week will see the rate going faster," National Farmers' Union deputy director-general Ian Gardiner said.

The British meat industry estimates a livestock export ban is costing it £8 million a week in lost sales. Tourism chiefs say their industry also faces disaster as wide areas of the countryside remain off-limits.

See related sites about Europe

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.