2nd suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth in German livestock

A second suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been reported in eastern Germany, days after an outbreak led to widespread culling and trade restrictions.

A spokesman for the Barnim district in the state of Brandenburg, just outside Berlin, said he was made aware of the suspected case on Wednesday, without offering any details about the location of the site.

The affected animals have already been killed, the spokesman said, with samples from their carcasses currently being tested at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany's national institute for animal disease.

A number of countries, including the United Kingdom and South Korea, have already banned German meat imports after an outbreak was confirmed at a buffalo farm near Berlin on Friday.

FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, causing high fever and blisters in the mouth and hoof area. It is not dangerous to humans.

The government has issued a ban on animal transport and established a restricted zone around the site of the latest incident.

Earlier on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir said that containment measures are a priority, while insisting that farmers will receive economic support.

"No farm should have to give up because of foot-and-mouth disease," Özdemir said in Berlin.