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| Bluetongue protection zone set up | Bluetongue protection zone set up |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A new bluetongue protection zone has been set up after a fresh case of the animal disease was identified. | A new bluetongue protection zone has been set up after a fresh case of the animal disease was identified. |
| The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the case was found near Poole, in Dorset. The zone covers Dorset and the New Forest. | The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the case was found near Poole, in Dorset. The zone covers Dorset and the New Forest. |
| Three new cases have also been found in Sussex, Essex and Norfolk. Protection zones there have been extended. | |
| The virus is spread by a species of midge and can be fatal to animals such as sheep and cows. | The virus is spread by a species of midge and can be fatal to animals such as sheep and cows. |
| The discovery of three new cases means the separate protection zones covering East Anglia and parts of north west London, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire have been merged and extended. | |
| Vector-free period | |
| All the infected animals were found as a result of the testing that farmers must undertake before they are able to move their livestock out of the zones, a Defra spokeswoman said. | |
| In December the government announced "a vector-free period" in which risk of the virus spreading was believed to be low due to a lack of midge activity in the cold weather. | |
| Defra said evidence suggests the animals all had the disease prior to the start of the vector-free period, making it unlikely the virus is currently circulating in the UK. | |
| However, it is not yet clear how the disease reached the infected site near Poole. | |
| Routine testing | |
| Bluetongue was first confirmed in the UK in East Anglia on 28 September and other cases were in south-east England. | |
| The latest case was identified during routine pre-movement testing. | The latest case was identified during routine pre-movement testing. |
| As a result of the discovery, the wider surveillance zone which covers much of England has also been extended into south east Wales as well as all of Somerset and Devon. | As a result of the discovery, the wider surveillance zone which covers much of England has also been extended into south east Wales as well as all of Somerset and Devon. |
| A Bluetongue case was identified in Greater London last week. |