Japan finds fresh suspected foot-and-mouth case

TOKYO: Japan discovered a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease in a cow in its southern prefecture of Miyazaki, just days after it lifted a state of emergency, an official said.

"We cancelled two auctions of cows in the prefecture after a suspected case of foot and mouth was discovered on a farm," a prefecture official told AFP.

The region reported the case to the farm ministry and was awaiting the test result to determine if it is a fresh foot-and-mouth case.

The highly contagious virus, which rarely affects humans but sickens cloven-hoofed animals, had forced the suspension of meat sales from Miyazaki prefecture and the slaughter of almost 300,000 farm animals this year.

But the prefectural government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency, allowing trade of cows in the region to resume.

Bureau Report

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.