*EU confirms Cyrpus foot and mouth outbreak*

 From correspondents in Larnaca, Cyprus

November 06, 2007 04:01am
Article from: Agence France-Presse

EUROPEAN Union experts confirmed today Cyprus is in the midst of its
first outbreak of foot and mouth disease for more than 40 years,
Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou said.

"A specialist from the EU has confirmed from clinical symptoms that
there is foot and mouth on Cyprus after visiting the farms in question,"
Mr Photiou said.

He said the European Commission has issued an export ban on Cyprus meat
and dairy products while imposing a blanket ban on the transport of
animals across the island.

"These are temporary measures and the commission will take a final
decision on what to do next tomorrow (Tuesday)," said the minister.

The development is a huge blow to the sector and sure to have a negative
impact on the Cyprus economy.

Tests confirmed foot and mouth was present in goats and sheep at two
farms in the village of Dromolaxia, near Larnaca, on the south coast, an
area of intensive animal husbandry.

Definitive laboratory results from Britain were expected either later
today or tomorrow.

Photiou said there would be a step-by-step approach to the cull but the
final animal death toll would depend on EU instructions.

"We are taking all the measures requested by the EU and we don't yet
know how many animals will be killed but we expect more to be culled."

About 330 suspected goats and sheep were killed early today, with more
culling planned.

An extended 10-km protection zone is enforced around the farms at the
centre of the outbreak close to the island's main international airport
at Larnaca.

An estimated 150,000 animals are within the exclusion zone, representing
about a third of the island's total livestock.

Culled animals are being buried on the spot at the suspected sites as
part an EU-monitored action plan to contain the highly contagious disease.

The verification comes just days after an exclusion zone on dozens of
farms in the Dromolaxia area was lifted when an earlier scare on another
farm just 500 metres away proved a false alarm.

A batch of samples sent for analysis at an EU-accredited laboratory in
Britain showed a "strong suspicion" the animals on Cyprus had contracted
the disease, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.

The last reported outbreak of foot and mouth disease on the island was
in 1963.

The Government has promised a compensation package - expected to run
into millions of euros -- to farmers aiming to cover not only the loss
of each animal but also loss of income.