Dutch confirm more foot-and-mouth

Dutch given permission to start vaccinating

A fifth outbreak of foot-and-mouth has been confirmed in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Agriculture Ministry has confirmed a new case of foot-and-mouth disease, taking the total number of infected farms in the Netherlands to five.

The latest case was reported at a cattle farm in the north-eastern town of Oene in the province of Gelderland. It now has two of five national outbreaks.

Animals at four other farms, some in the south, were showing symptoms of the highly contagious livestock illness, leading to fears that it will spread beyond Gelderland.

The Dutch authorities believe all can be traced back to animals imported from Ireland via the French department of Mayenne, the site of the first continental infection.

Results from tests on several other Dutch farms where foot-and-mouth is suspected are expected to be released on Monday.

Face with a rising number of cases, EU vets decided on Friday that the Netherlands could inoculate animals around infected farms awaiting slaughter, overturning a 15-year-old policy.

EU Consumer Affairs Spokeswoman Beate Gminder said the decision to allow vaccination would not set a precedent.

Exports freeze

The EU opposes widespread vaccination, saying it would hit export markets in the longer term as the Union would lose its status as a zone "free of disease".

Exports in the Netherlands will most likely be frozen for three months due to the problem of differentiating between healthy and infected livestock.

Vaccinated animals carry the same antibodies as the sick.

Israel joined the growing list of countries to ban imports of Dutch meat.