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New Zealand authorities say they already have measures in place to protect against the introduction of bluetongue, a virus that has been found in a cow in eastern England.
Bluetongue virus affects sheep, goats and cattle and can cause severe epidemics in sheep. It is named for the characteristic swollen blue tongue that appears in the animal around death.
A spokesman for Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's biosecurity arm, Derek Belton said the virus was already widespread in many parts of the world, including Australia where it was detected in the early 1980s. There has never been a case in New Zealand.
"In order for bluetongue to be transmitted it requires both the presence of infected animals and specific species of midge that transmit the virus from beast to beast. The midges which are a vital part of the disease life cycle are not present in New Zealand," says Dr Belton.
A cow was infected with the disease on a farm near Ipswich, 110km northeast of London, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
"This is not a confirmed outbreak unless further investigation demonstrates that disease is circulating," the environment agency said in a statement.
The discovery comes as Britain is trying to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Six cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed on farms in southern England since August 3 and about 1800 animals have been slaughtered since the outbreak began.
Britain's deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg told Sky News that tests would be conducted to determine whether midges were spreading the virus through the animal population.
If the virus is circulating, the government will put restrictions on the movement of animals within a 20km radius control zone around the farm, Mr Landeg said.
The disease has recently been seen in the Netherlands after moving north from Belgium and west from Germany.
"We knew that there was the possibility that infected midges could possibly be blown across the sea," Mr Landeg said.
- NZPA
