East Midlands is virus-free
25 September 2001
East Midlands is virus-free
By FWi staff
THE East Midlands is officially foot-and-mouth-free.
Leicestershire was declared disease-free on Tuesday (25 September) after vets completed blood tests.
Derbyshire was granted disease-free status last week.
The Leicestershire tests confirmed there are no traces of the virus left in the county, which was the last in the region remaining “at-risk”.
Vets had visited 182 farms since August, testing nearly 12,000 sheep and goats.
The change comes just over a fortnight after 53 cattle suspected of having the disease were slaughtered on two Leicestershire farms.
The scare proved unfounded when the cattle tested negative.
A spokesman from Defras Leicestershire animal health office said the new status would help farmers recover from the crisis.
There will be more scope to move animals for commercial reasons, he added, but he reminded farmers that all movements still require a licence.
There were 15 cases in the East Midlands, including six in Leicestershire, the last of which was at Ashby-de-la-Zouch on 23 April.
Over 20,000 animals have been slaughtered in the region.
The government is working towards reducing the disease status of counties throughout the country to enable more licensed livestock movements over the autumn.
Warwickshire, in the West Midlands, was also recently granted disease-free status.
There was one new case of the disease, in Northumberland, confirmed on Monday (24 September), taking the UK total to 2027 confirmed cases.
- Second virus all-clear for Leicestershire, FWi, 17 September, 2001
- Leicestershire awaits virus results, FWi, 10 September, 2001
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