Farms are under quarantine and thousands of cows, pigs and sheep have been destroyed.
British authorities are bracing themselves for more reports of the highly contagious livestock epidemic. The latest suspected case, at a farm in the British province of Northern Ireland just three kilometers from the border with the Irish Republic, has sent new shock waves through an already alarmed Europe, still struggling to deal with the BSE crisis. The European Union has extended an export ban on British livestock, meat and dairy products. Fears over the growing British outbreak have prompted European nations to tighten border control measures, including checks on travelers, who may be bringing back agricultural products. Germany is setting up a crisis committee to prevent the disease from spreading should it break out anywhere in the country.