British officials say case of foot and mouth disease suspected in Norfolk

Preliminary testing does not indicate the presence of disease, but further work is now underway to fully rule it out, the Animal & Plant Health Agency tweeted https://twitter.com/APHAgovuk/status/1540299006080843777 on Friday. Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals.

A suspected case of foot and mouth disease is being investigated in Norfolk, British officials said on Friday.

Movement restrictions and a 10 kilometre temporary control zone for animals have been implemented on the farm, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Preliminary testing does not indicate the presence of disease, but further work is now underway to fully rule it out, the Animal & Plant Health Agency tweeted https://twitter.com/APHAgovuk/status/1540299006080843777 on Friday.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals. According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, FMD is not readily transmissible to humans and is not a public health risk.

The last British outbreak was in 2007, but a particularly severe outbreak occurred in 2001, which culminated in the slaughter of more than 6 million animals.