A fifth cow was confirmed with bluetongue disease in Suffolk yesterday, sparking fears that the Government is about to declare an official outbreak of the disease – but there was better news for the livestock industry with the news that auctions and markets can resume in low-risk foot-and-mouth areas in England, Scotland and Wales next Thursday. Farmers have been desperate to get their trading season under way and in Scotland they have proposed incinerating thousands of lambs trapped in upland areas by strict movement controls and a ban on sales.

The move to resume trading will also help to relieve severe welfare difficulties being experienced on many upland farms. It paves the way for exports from low-risk areas to the Continent, possibly by mid-October.

Debby Reynolds, the Chief Veterinary Officer, said that she had reported the bluetongue cases on four farms in Suffolk to the World Organisation for Animal Health. It is understood that there is some dispute among international experts on the definition of an outbreak and Britain might be following a different interpretation of the rules from other countries. As reported in The Times yesterday farmers’ leaders were convinced that this was the first outbreak of the virus and it would only be a matter of time before an official declaration.

Dr Reynolds stopped short of confirming an outbreak. She said: “Obviously we must face the very real risk that bluetongue could already be actively circulating in this country. It will be some time before we have the scientific evidence to confirm whether or not this is the case.”

The fifth case is at Burstall, Suffolk. But government veterinary scientists believe the disease could also be found in Norfolk and Essex; farmers in these counties have been banned from moving their animals.

Farmers are being paid for their animals to be slaughtered but if an outbreak is officially declared, the payments will stop. Farmers will have to live with the risk of disease and possible mortality in their herds and flocks.

The disease poses no threat to human health and does not affect pigs or poultry. Cattle, sheep, deer and goats are most at risk.

A bluetongue outbreak will have lasting impact on farmers throughout the East of England. The draconian movement controls mean that trading to the Continent is banned for 120 days after the last case, and it would be two years after the last case before exports could resume to bluetongue-free countries, or one year after the last vaccination. There is no vaccine available for the BTV serotype 8 strain which is present in northern Europe and in Suffolk, but one is expected to be ready by the spring.

Government vets are preparing to attend a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health in Brussels next Tuesday and Wednesday. They hope to report that the resurgence of the foot-and-mouth outbreak has been contained.

A temporary surveillance zone imposed on a farm near Maidenhead, on the outer fringe of the control area, was also lifted yesterday quelling fears that the disease had moved out of Surrey into Berkshire.

Without the opening of livestock auctions there had been pressure from farmers’ leaders for the Government to approve a welfare scheme for animals trapped on uplands.

The Scottish Executive has approval from Brussels to slaughter and incinerate any animals to relieve suffering, but the Treasury has made clear that it will not pay compensation to farmers for their animals.

Farmers’ leaders in England have opposed this slaughter and incineration and have argued for the Government to buy up any lambs in a welfare scheme and keep the meat in cold storage. It could be used to feed public sector workers, military personnel, prisoners, patients and schoolchildren. By opening the markets on Thursday it is hoped that such welfare schemes will no longer be required.

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