Farmers on alert as new outbreak is suspected outside protection zone

A third suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was feared last night after a 3km temporary control zone was set up around another farm in Surrey ­ outside the existing surveillance zone.

Tests were being carried amid worries that the disease had spread beyond the previously controlled zone. Deborah Reynolds, chief veterinary officer, refused to confirm a new outbreak, but said: "This is a developing disease situation. The containment and eradication of FMD remains our priority. This is why we have moved swiftly to put in place a temporary control zone while we investigate this development. At this stage disease has not been confirmed and laboratory results will follow."

Ms Reynolds said animals on the farm, thought to be about 15km east of the initial control zone, just west of Dorking, had shown "mild" signs of the disease and that the measures had been put in place as a precaution. She added: "I reiterate my message to animal keepers to practice the highest standards of biosecurity, remain vigilant for disease and report any suspicions quickly."

Hugh Broom, of the National Farmers' Union, said the suspected case was "very worrying" and urged farmers to keep on top of biosecurity. He told BBC News 24: "Farmers in Surrey are taking biosecurity seriously and we would urge them to keep that up ... People are going to be even more apprehensive than they have been throughout the whole of this. It won't come as welcome news if a third case is confirmed."

Earlier yesterday the public laboratories run by the Institute of Animal Health (IAH) at Pirbright were embroiled in a fresh controversy after it was revealed that a contractor who worked at the site is suffering from legionnaires' disease. The Pirbright laboratories, comprising the IAH and privately-run Merial company, are believed to be the most likely source of the outbreak, which has paralysed three farms.

The latest revelation comes as a profound embarrassment for the management of the laboratories, who have gone to great lengths to deny any breaches of health and safety regulations. "They need this like a hole in the head," said a source at Merial.

A report of the independent inquiry into the outbreak of foot and mouth disease will be delivered to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, within days. The report, by Professor Brian Spratt of Imperial College London, is expected to be damning and far-reaching. It will focus on security at the Pirbright laboratories and is almost certain to recommend tougher controls. It is expected to focus on the use of a live virus by Merial in the manufacture of vaccines and the appropriateness of having a site in the middle of a farming area.

The main clue that a breach in security at Pirbright was responsible for the outbreak was the discovery that the same strain of the virus found in the cattle was used by Merial on 16 July for the manufacture of vaccines. It was last found in the countryside in 1967.

In a further development last night, BBC's Newsnight reported that part of the Merial facility was built on an area considered at "substantial risk " of flooding, in breach of guidelines.

The possible case of legionnaires' disease was discovered by a bizarre coincidence. Inspectors from the HSE, which is investigating the foot and mouth outbreak, were working on the site when a team from the separate Health Protection Agency visited the Pirbright laboratories to check water sources which could harbour the disease. "They are completely unrelated, " said an HPA official. "It has nothing to do with bio-security."

Professor Spratt's report could indicate a worrying history of poor maintenance under the IAH. The Pirbright facilities were attacked as " shabby" in a Commons report before a major rebuilding programme, and last December, the IAH's sister site at Compton, Berkshire, was served with an improvement notice for failing to protect workers from Legionnaires' disease.

Early findings from the current investigation, which looked at the building in which the infected person worked, suggest the institute was carrying out all necessary maintenance and monitoring work in compliance with relevant codes of practice. The inquiry is examining everywhere the patient has been in the 10-14 days before falling ill.

Meanwhile, the findings of an HSE investigation into soil samples from the Merial laboratories are expected to be handed to the Government today. But Mr Brown is braced for the report on Monday by Professor Spratt, whom he appointed to carry out an independent investigation into safety at the plants.

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