Amsterdam, Netherlands — Far from being contained, the foot-and-mouth disease that has devastated cattle herds in Britain gained ground on the European continent, with the Netherlands on Wednesday confirming its first cases.
The announcement by the Dutch agriculture minister that four contaminated cows were detected Wednesday, and the near certainty that hundreds of goats had been infected, quashed hopes that the feared livestock disease could be bottled up in a small corner of France, the only other place in continental Europe where it has been identified.
A farmer in Devon, England, inspects one of his his sheep for signs of foot-and-mouth disease. He says he checks his cattle several times a day, and his sheep twice a day, for any signs of infection.
The European Union in Brussels quickly imposed a ban on livestock exports from the Netherlands and on exports of meat, daily and animal products from four Dutch provinces unless they are treated to ensure they cannot be carrying the disease.
Gunshots from the rifles of government veterinarians rang out across snowy fields at a northeastern farm where dozens of animals were killed after coming into contact with infected animals. Police set up roadblocks to isolate the farm near Oosterwolde and two others 12 miles east, near the villages of Olst and Oene, where the disease was detected. About 17,000 animals were to be destroyed in farms within a 1,000-yard radius of the three farms, the Agriculture Ministry said.
Although not dangerous to humans, foot-and-mouth is deadly for livestock and highly contagious, capable of being spread even by the wind.
The setback in the Netherlands came after the French Agriculture Ministry said Tuesday that 224 herds had been tested but no new cases had been reported since last week, when six farms were put under quarantine.
In Britain, where the outbreak first appeared last month, 72 new cases were confirmed in the past two days, bringing the total to 434 on Wednesday. The government pledged to speed up the destruction of infected animals. So far 223,000 animals have been killed in the United Kingdom, and about 125,000 others were marked for destruction.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst reinstated a nationwide ban on moving livestock, including chickens, just two days after it had been partially lifted. He banned the movement of milk or dairy products for three days.
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