Fears as virus moves west

The sheep at Beirhope farm are being slaughtered

Another case of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway, sparking fears that the disease has spread further in Scotland than previously thought.

The new case near Sorbie is the first to be identified in Wigtownshire and is more than 30 miles from the nearest outbreak area around Kircudbright.

Hopes that the disease was being contained were dealt another blow yesterday when two cases were confirmed at Jedburgh in the Borders.

The cases at Rennieston and Beirhope farms in Hownam are more than 25 miles from three nearest cases at Newcastleton.

Local farmers have expressed concern that the disease may be airborne, possibly spread from the fires used to incinerate dead livestock.

That view has been refuted by Borders Council officials, who said veterinary experts believe it is unlikely.

Foot-and-mouth in Scotland

139 confirmed cases on 7 April

Animals slaughtered:

82,000 sheep

1,000 cattle

Of these:

11,000 sheep with tracings to Longtown Market, Cumbria

66,000 at farms within 3km of infected sites

5,000 at adjacent farms

1,000 cattle in Dumfries and Galloway

Five further cases have also been confirmed in the Dumfries and Galloway region, taking the total north of the border to 140.

Until now, the Borders cases had been located in the south-west at farms near Newcastleton.

The Jedburgh cases are more than 25 miles east of Newcastleton, and are a crushing blow to the area.

As many as 1,700 sheep and lambs will be slaughtered on the two infected farms - which are both owned by the same farmer.

There are also at least 10 farms neighbouring the infected premises with an estimated 10,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle.

It is not yet clear how many others will come within the 3km exclusion zone rule around the infected area.

The Scottish Executive said on Friday evening that the source of the case was being investigated as a "matter of urgency".

It had been hoped that an exclusion zone set up around the south west farms would be enough to slow the spread of the disease.

The Scottish Executive spokeswoman said the latest outbreak was "some distance" outside the nearest 3 kilometre exclusion zone or "firebreak", which represents the maximum distance vets believe the disease can be airborne.

She said: "Because this is outwith the exclusion zone the vets are examining the source of the outbreak."

Fumes from burning beasts has been dismissed

John Askew from Borders Council said: "I can only speak on the advice that we've been given by the divisional veterinary manager and we're told that it is very unlikely to have been spread across such a great distance on the wind.

"His advice is that is unlikely to spread more than perhaps two or three kilometres on the wind.

"It is very unlikely that it will arise from the fires from killing stock because they operate at such high temperatures the virus is destroyed.

"An accelerant is used to make sure that temperature is reached very quickly.

"The other point is that those fires are probably too recent.

"There are varying views about how long the incubation period is for the disease, but it is likely even if it could have been transmitted across such a great distance that it is too early for those fires in the Newcastleton area to have had any effect in this case."