Northumberland last front in fight to end farm virus

Hopes Britain would be declared free of foot-and-mouth were dashed when officials announced antibodies of the disease had been found in two sheep in Northumberland.

Hopes Britain would be declared free of foot-and-mouth were dashed when officials announced antibodies of the disease had been found in two sheep in Northumberland.

The discovery will lead to the slaughter of a flock of 2,100 sheep, despite there being no evidence the animals have contracted the disease.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said vets would continue testing flocks elsewhere in Northumberland, which from today will be the only remaining county officially at risk of the disease. Defra said the final tests in Northumberland could take weeks, scuppering any chance the country would rid itself of the 10-month old outbreak before 2002.

Restrictions on animal movements out of North Yorkshire, Cumbria and County Durham were lifted at midnight on New Year's Eve after blood tests on thousands of animals proved negative. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have already been declared free of the disease.

However, international rules dictate a country can only be declared free of foot-and-mouth if blood tests fail to detect the presence of antibodies to the virus. The Government is keen to ensure all animals with antibodies – other than specialist stock that have been vaccinated – are culled even though they may be free of the virus.

Elliot Morley, minister for animal welfare, said: "Every step towards disease-free status marks a significant achievement by teams on the ground, but until we achieve that objective we cannot afford to be complacent.

"Biosecurity is as important now as it ever was, and it is the responsibility of everyone who cares about the farming industry to maintain the strict standards which have brought us this far."

"This has been the worst serious animal epidemic in the UK in modern times, and the worst foot-and-mouth outbreak the world has seen."

Speaking about the latest tests in Northumberland, Keith Raine, director of the Newcastle Disease Emergency Control Centre, said it "emphatically" did not represent a new outbreak. "What we have found is evidence of exposure to the disease at some point in the past, so we are slaughtering the flock as a precaution.

"We still hope to declare Northumberland foot-and-mouth disease-free in the near future, although there will inevitably be some delay resulting from today's news," he said. The move to disease-free status lets farmers restart the trade in livestock, by permitting animals to be moved across the country under licence.

But it also provided a major psychological boost for the agriculture industry after a bruising year. Ben Gill, president of the NFU, said: "This is one more step on the road towards breaking free of the terrible shackles of foot-and-mouth."