BBC

A new case of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in the Netherlands, in a remote region which has so far been unaffected by the infection.

The Dutch Government has confirmed that a dairy farm in Ee, near the country's northern coast, has been infected with the disease.

Ministry spokesman Gerard Westerhof told the Reuters news agency the source of the disease at Ee was still unknown.

"It is not likely that there has been contact between animals from this farm and farms [where the disease has been confirmed earlier]. We are investigating if it has been transferred by humans," he said.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), April 11, 2001