Europe-wide alert over farm virus

The Irish are disinfecting vehicles from the UK

There are fears that foot-and-mouth disease may have spread to the Irish Republic, which has so far escaped contamination from Britain.

A suspected case of the highly contagious livestock disease was discovered in the UK province of Northern Ireland, not far from the border with the Republic of Ireland.

On Wednesday, Northern Ireland's agriculture minister said her department believed there was an outbreak among sheep in Meigh, south Armagh.

In the past, livestock have often been smuggled across the border which will heighten fears of the virus spreading into the Irish Republic - a country which has a large agrictultural economy

The Northern Ireland case was discovered as France stepped up its preventative slaughter of animals, Portugal demanded that travellers from the UK disinfect their feet on arrival, and Germany cautiously suggested it might be free of the disease.

High-level talks

On Wednesday, the Irish Premier Bertie Ahern held talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair about how to prevent contamination reaching Ireland.

Mr Ahern is concerned

The disease has not been seen on the island of Ireland for 60 years.

The government says that police are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the infected sheep in Armagh.

They were supposed to have gone for slaughter, but many have not been properly accounted for.

French fears

Fears of disease spreading have led France to announce that an additional 30,000 sheep which came into contact with British animals are to be destroyed.

This is on top of an already planned cull of 20,000 sheep.

Mr Glavany said France had no suspected cases

The French total of 50,000 animals to be slaughtered is nearly four times the number of animals to be culled in the UK where the outbreak was discovered.

French Farm Minister Jean Glavany said the country had yet to record any suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease, the Associated Press news agency reported.

But France is concerned because it imported a large number of sheep from the UK in advance of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha on 5 March.

Germany, meanwhile, is trying to counter fears that the disease may be present there.

A number of sheep were found to have foot-and-mouth antibodies in their blood, meaning they had been exposed to the disease, but there has been no sign that they contracted it.

'No infection'

"Tests we have carried out so far show that with great probability there was no infection. So we have no genuine suspected cases in Germany", an agriculture ministry spokeswoman said.

German officials have disinfected two sites

German inspectors slaughtered 1,200 animals and disinfected two sites on Wednesday as a precautionary measure.

Portugal has ordered that travellers from the UK clean their shoes on a special mat on arrival. The virus can be transported easily on clothes and shoes.

Belgium is starting its cull of livestock on Thursday, with media reports suggesting some 2,000 animals will be destroyed.

And Spain has instituted its first nationwide measures, banning the "concentration" of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. It also forbade the movement of goats and sheep.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, is apparently sanguine about an unrelated outbreak of foot-and-mouth.

More than 400 pigs have died of the disease there, but the government has not taken any measures other than urging farmers to dispose of dead animals properly.

Dr Leslie Sims, a spokeswoman for the agriculture ministry, said that there was no risk to public health.

Foot-and-mouth disease is common in the winter, she said.