First UK Bluetongue disease case found

By Sophie Walker

LONDON (Reuters) - A laboratory has found the Bluetongue virus in a cow in eastern England, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday, the first case in Britain and a fresh setback for the country's farming industry.

The livestock farmers have already been hit by the discovery of the more serious foot and mouth disease at several sites in the past two months.

"Laboratory tests have detected the presence of Bluetongue in one cow on a premise near Ipswich, Suffolk," the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement.

"The premises where Bluetongue has been found is under restrictions. One infected animal will be culled and epidemiological investigations are being carried out to assess the situation."

Bluetongue causes fever and mouth ulcers and in some cases turns an animal's tongue blue. It is transmitted by insects such as midges and can be highly dangerous to sheep and cows, although it does not affect humans.

Bluetongue is mostly found in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain and in North Africa, but has spread more widely this year across five more northerly EU countries -- Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The detection of the virus came a day after British authorities said they had confirmed another case of foot and mouth disease at a farm in southern England -- the sixth infected premises found since August 3 -- and ordered the slaughter of its cattle.

"It's another kick in the teeth (for the industry)," Ian Jones, virologist at Reading University, told Sky News.