Bluetongue restriction zone extended across county

Bluetongue can cause infertility and breathing problems in some animals

Farmers across North Northamptonshire must follow restrictions on moving animals after a regional bluetongue restriction zone was widened.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it had extended the zone after two cases of the disease were reported along the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire border.

The virus is spread by the bites of midges that are often blown over from the continent during spells of warm weather.

DEFRA said bluetongue, which can cause infertility and breathing problems in some animals but does not affect people or food safety, had been found at several premises since the latest outbreak was first detected in Suffolk on 26 August.

Defra said the disease could prove fatal for infected animals "in the most severe cases".

Symptoms vary across susceptible species but include fever, lesions, redness of the mouth, eyes, nose, reddening of the skin above the hoof, excessive salivation and nasal discharge.

But some animals may show few or no clinical signs, the department said.

David Brackenbury, executive member for growth and regeneration at Conservative-controlled North Northamptonshire Council, said: "We must do all we can to try and stop this very infectious disease from spreading further across the country."

Details of the restrictive zone are available on the Defra website and farmers are asked to report any suspicion of the disease immediately.