Tests have shown that Britain's bluetongue disease case confirmed later on Saturday is the same strain of the disease which has affected animals recently in Northern Europe.

The virus identified Saturday in a cow on a small farm near Ipswich, some 100 kilometers northeast of London, is serotype eight, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

The strain was previously found in Northern Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany since August 2006, where there have been nearly 3,000 cases of bluetongue, the department said.

If the virus has spread, the department said, it would impose a 20 kilometer control zone around the infected farm, and there would also be a 150 kilometer surveillance zone.

The department said it was not imposing any additional movement restrictions above those currently in force due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

The discovery of bluetongue disease came soon after another case of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Surrey on the same day.

Britain's chief vet officer Debby Reynolds said it remains vitally important that farmers maintain vigilance for this disease and report any suspect cases, particularly as clinical signs may be similar to foot-and-mouth disease.

Bluetongue disease is transmitted by midges, traditionally the Culicoides imicola midge. It is passed from animal to midge, and from midge to animal, but not transmitted from animal to animal.

The virus has long blighted Africa, but in recent years has begun to spread northwards into Europe with some scientists believing that climate change could be behind its spread, as warmer temperatures have seen the biting insects gradually move north.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)