“We remain in constant contact with German counterparts to understand the latest situation following their confirmation of a single case of Foot and Mouth disease,” she said.
“We have robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of this disease to protect farmers and Britain’s food security, which means using all measures to limit the risk incursion and spread of this devastating disease.
“I would urge livestock keepers to exercise the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, follow scrupulous biosecurity and report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.”
Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner added: “The Government will do whatever it takes to protect our nation’s farmers from the risk posed by foot and mouth.
“That is why restrictions have immediately been brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak and we will not hesitate to add additional countries to the list if the disease spreads. We will continue to keep the situation under review working closely with the German authorities.”
Signs of FMD
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals, but poses no risk to human or food safety.
Clinical signs be aware of vary depending on the animals, but in pigs and sheep, signs tend to manifest with lameness with potential for blistering. In cattle, the key signs are sores and blisters on the feet, mouth and tongue with potentially a fever, lameness and a reluctance to feed.
- You can find further details of symptoms to be aware of in this guidance page.
FMD causes significant economic losses due to production losses in the affected animals such as reduced milk yields as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.
Maintaining good biosecurity is essential to protecting the health and welfare of herds and critical to preventing the spread of diseases such as FMD and preventing an outbreak spreading.