(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-13 20:46

LONDON - The strain of foot and mouth disease found on a farm in southern England is "likely" to be the same as that found in two previous outbreaks in July and August, the ministry of agriculture said on Thursday.

"As the Secretary of State said earlier today, initial sequencing of the virus show this to be type 01 BFS. It is therefore likely that this is the same strain as found in the August outbreak," it said in a statement.

"We will not be able to confirm the full virus strain until all sequencing is completed. This is currently in progress. We do not have a timetable for when these final results will be received," it added.