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U.S. bans EU meat imports

French farme
Infected animals were burnt after being discovered at a French farm  

PARIS, France -- The United States and Canada have banned meat and meat products from the European Union in a bid to prevent the contagious foot-and-mouth disease from reaching their livestock.

The ban follows the discovery in France of the animal disease, the first case on the continent since an outbreak began in Britain about three weeks ago.

As well as the temporary ban, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantined all EU meat imported since February 21 and said it was sending 40 experts to the EU to try to help contain the disease.

The U.S. imported $1.3 billion in animal imports from the European Union in 1999. The new U.S. ban on animal imports would have the biggest impact on imports of pork from the Netherlands and Denmark.

The ban follows the European Union veterinary committee's decision to ban exports of cloven-hoofed livestock from France for two weeks and also stop exports of milk, meat and meat products from the Mayenne and Orne departments of northwest France where the case was found.

Foot-and-mouth afflicts cloven-hoofed animals like pigs, cattle and sheep, causing severe weight loss.

It has little or no effect on humans, but can be carried on the wind or even on clothing and has spread rapidly in Britain.

Norway, not in the EU, banned imports of all French farm products. Portugal and Spain closed their borders to French livestock, while Germany warned tourists returning from France to leave food behind so as to avoid spreading the virus.

The new case, the first in France since 1981, prompted concerns that Europe's latest food scare will have a knock-on effect on the economy, with farming and tourism at risk of crippling losses and higher meat prices fuelling inflation.

The case was found in a herd of 144 cattle at a farm next to another holding that had imported British sheep in February.

The entire herd was slaughtered and was due to be incinerated, the French farm ministry said.

France is the EU's primary agricultural producer and farm minister Jean Glavany said the virus might already have spread.

"In the last few weeks of February, we imported 20,000 sheep from Britain and the tests which have been carried out afterwards showed that a very large number of these sheep -- at least half of them -- were carrying the virus.

"These sheep were dispatched to about 20 French departments. So they might have possibly transmitted the virus to others."

At least 11 more suspected cases were also reported in the Seine-et-Marne department east of Paris and in south-east France.

Two hundred sites have been infected in Britain and some 170,000 animals have been slaughtered or are due to be killed.

The Netherlands widened its ban on the movement of sheep to all cloven-hoofed animals and Ireland stepped up border defences against the disease.

In the Italian province of Pescara, nearly 400 sheep from France showed possible symptoms and were slaughtered.

In Munich, the Bavarian Farmers' Association asked local farmers going to Wednesday's soccer tie between Bayern Munich and Arsenal of London to keep their distance from the British fans -- and said it would have been better if the English fans had been asked to stay at home.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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RELATED SITES:
Foot-and-mouth disease
French Government
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World Organisation for Animal Health
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