US quarantines British tractors

The tractors are said to be from an infected area

The United States has quarantined containers carrying used tractors from Britain amid fears of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Officials in the state of Alabama sealed the containers and said that they would be tested for the disease.

The virus could be in the mud

Alabama agriculture spokesman

State agricultural department spokesman Ralph Holmes said there were concerns that there could be traces of the virus on tractor parts.

"The virus could be in the mud," he said.

Reuters news agency quoted agriculture commissioner Charles Bishop as saying that the tractors definitely came from an infected area.

First US measure

The outbreak has not so far spread beyond Britain, but much of Europe is on the alert.

Many countries have taken steps to prevent foot-and-mouth infection since its outbreak in February.

But the quarantine is believed to be the first measure taken in the US, which has been free of the disease for about 70 years.

Alabama Farmers' Federation spokesman Paul Till praised the move, saying the state's cattle industry could suffer greatly if the disease were allowed to spread.

The number of cases of the disease found in the UK has now reached 139.