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The United Kingdom has banned all imports of pigs, sheep, cattle and dairy products from Germany, over concerns stemming from a confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
German officials first discovered the disease in a herd of water buffalo on January 10 outside Berlin in the Brandenburg region, according to BBC News. Further testing of other farm animals within a kilometer of the initial outbreak yielded no other cases of foot-and-mouth, which is known to be highly contagious among cloven-hoofed animals. This is the first outbreak of the disease in Germany in 40 years, with officials in the country having halted all animal transport in the affected region.
It's unclear how long the United Kingdom's ban will last, although Germany is the country's third largest source of pork, as well as the second largest source for dairy products. While the ban persists, U.K. officials say that they expect disruptions to supply levels.
The U.K. is no stranger to the widespread impacts of foot-and-mouth disease on its own shores. In 2001, a 221-day outbreak of the disease forced the country to slaughter more than four million animals — primarily sheep, but also including cattle and pigs — costing the country's livestock industry roughly £3 billion ($3.6 billion). A smaller 58-day outbreak in 2007 led to the combined slaughter of more than 2,000 pigs, cattle, sheep and goats.
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