Europe reels as nightmare grows

PARIS - The United States has banned meat imports from the European Union after France reported that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease had spread from Britain to mainland Europe.

The news was a fresh blow to the EU, which had already asked non-EU members to lift some restrictions on its agricultural products, arguing that it had its own measures to limit the spread of the highly contagious disease.

After France confirmed the presence of foot-and-mouth in the northwesterly Mayenne department, the EU veterinary committee banned exports of cloven-hoofed livestock - cattle, sheep and pigs - from France for two weeks.

But the US Department of Agriculture, followed swiftly by Canada, went further, banning the import of all animals and animal products from the European Union.

It said it would quarantine and inspect all EU meat imported since February 21.

The US move is likely to affect over $US500 million ($ 1.22 billion) in trade, mostly of goods from Italy, the Netherlands and Britain.

Britain has already slaughtered or planned to slaughter some 170,000 animals in an effort to contain its three-week-old outbreak of the disease, which is not harmful to humans but can ravage farming by causing severe weight loss in livestock.

The French case was found in a herd of 144 cattle near the village of La Baroche-Gondouin in Mayenne, at a farm next to another holding that had imported British sheep last month.

The new case, the first in France since 1981, shows the disease eluded a host of protective measures that France had already put in place, having ordered the destruction of 20,000 sheep imported from Britain in February and 30,000 French sheep that had contact with them.

The entire herd of cattle in La Baroche-Gondouin was slaughtered and due to be incinerated.

France is the EU's primary farm producer. Farm Minister Jean Glavany said the virus might already have spread because the sheep imported from Britain had gone to 20 separate areas.

At least 11 more suspected cases were reported in the Seine-et-Marne department, east of Paris, and in southeast France.

Foot-and-mouth can be carried on the wind or even on clothing and has already infected 205 sites in Britain.

Norway, not in the EU, has banned imports of all French farm products, while and EU members Portugal and Spain closed their borders to French livestock. Germany warned tourists returning from France to leave food behind to avoid spreading the virus.

Until Tuesday, there had been no confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth in Continental Europe, where authorities had banned livestock movement and imposed import restrictions.

Europe's farmers' leaders, battered by collapsing beef prices following the mad-cow scare, were confronting the nightmare scenario of a second economically devastating blow.

Germany's deputy agriculture minister, Alexander Mueller, said Europe faced a "truly dramatic situation" and Belgium's farm minister, Jaak Gabriels, conceded that the outbreak "frightens us," adding: "We have to seek a common reaction together. It affects everybody."

Italy's Health Ministry said nearly 400 sheep from France in the central Pescara province had shown possible symptoms of foot-and-mouth and had been slaughtered as a precaution.

Costa Goldfidis, livestock director of the Europe-wide farmers' body, the Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the EU, said: "We are crossing our fingers and burning candles and hope we can contain the disease."

He added, however, that "people are considering the worst-case scenario - that it is out of control ... "

Separately, Argentina, the world's number five beef exporter, also confirmed an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. It had already stopped certifying meat exports to markets with foot-and-mouth restrictions.

- REUTERS, INDEPENDENT

Feature: Foot-and-Mouth Disease epidemic