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Government says preliminary tests for FMD at 2 new sites are neLONDON (AP)--Preliminary tests for foot-and-mouth disease on livestock at two sites are negative, the British government said Aug. 15, announcing that the risk of the virus spreading beyond an initial outbreak was now "very low." Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said further tests would be conducted to confirm that the animals on a farm and at a popular zoo and theme park did not have the disease. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, or DEFRA, said an epidemiology report on the outbreak published Aug. 15 "concludes that the risk of disease spread outside of the Surrey Protection and Surveillance Zones is now very low." The government had previously said the risk was "low, but not negligible." Reynolds said that provided final tests confirmed the negative result, officials would ease restrictions on the movement of livestock imposed after FMD was confirmed on two farms earlier this month, and would take vaccination teams off emergency status. On Aug. 14 DEFRA set up 3-kilometer (2-mile) protection zones around a farm in southeast England and Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo, a tourist attraction southwest of London. The suspected cases raised fears the highly contagious disease may have spread beyond an initial outbreak in the county of Surrey, southwest of London. Both new sites were outside the protection zone and the 10-mile (16 kilometer) radius surveillance zone set up around the original outbreak. Chessington said veterinarians were called in after a sheep at the zoo showed signs of disease. The second suspected case was among cattle on Honeychild Manor Farm in the county of Kent, southeast of London. "I'm absolutely delighted," farmer Stephen Furnival said Aug. 15. "I'm waiting for the final confirmation from DEFRA--hopefully today--and then restrictions will be lifted and life will go back to normal." Confirmed cases of FMD have so far not spread beyond a small area about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of London. An epidemic of the highly contagious ailment in 2001 led to the slaughter of 7 million animals and shut British meat out of world markets for months. An investigation has concluded that the disease probably spread by human movement from a research laboratory facility in Pirbright, Surrey. The complex houses vaccine-maker Merial Animal Health--the British arm of U.S.-French pharmaceutical firm Merial Ltd.--and the government's Institute of Animal Health. Experts are still trying to determine exactly how the disease spread. FMD can be carried by wind and on the vehicles and clothes of people who have contact with infected animals. Animals on two farms near the lab complex tested positive for FMD disease and were slaughtered. FMD affects cloven-hoofed animals including cows, sheep, pigs and goats. It does not typically infect humans, but its appearance among farm animals can have a far-reaching economic impact. Several countries have banned imports of British livestock and Britain has voluntarily suspended exports of livestock, meat and milk products since the outbreak was identified Aug. 3. Date: 8/23/07
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