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LONDON - A laboratory has found the Bluetongue virus in a cow in eastern England, the agriculture ministry said yesterday, the first case in Britain and a fresh setback for the country's farming industry.
"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.
Defra said the discovery in Suffolk was not considered an outbreak unless further investigation demonstrated that the disease is circulating.
Bluetongue causes fever and mouth ulcers and in some cases turns an animal's tongue blue.
- Reuters
