The case involves just one sheep on a farm in Haddiscoe, South Norfolk, which is across the Channel from the Netherlands, where a bluetongue epidemic is ongoing, the UK veterinary service said.
The situation is being monitored on an ongoing basis. The Ministry of Agriculture wants to determine whether the same virus that is circulating in the Netherlands, Belgium and France has also reached Great Britain. Veterinary services have appealed to farmers to constantly check their herds for clinical signs.
Britain has one of the largest sheep populations in Europe. According to the Department of Agriculture, at the end of last year the herd was 31.8 million animals.
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Bluetongue disease spreads among sheep and cows in Europe 
