Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan has welcomed the negative results of preliminary tests on a fourth suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Surrey, outside the original protection zone.
Speaking after a meeting with senior officials in her department yesterday, she said a positive test result would have been a "concerning development".
However, she added that it would not have warranted the imposition of further control measures over and above those already in place here.
Final results from tests on the herd involved in the fourth suspected case of FMD are awaited. However, livestock culled on a third farm - this time within the protection zone in Surrey - were also found not to have FMD.
Last night, the farmer at the centre of the suspected fourth outbreak said a vet had inspected his animals again and was "99 per cent sure it was not foot-and-mouth".
Laurence Matthews, briefing media outside Manor Farm at Wotton, near Dorking, Surrey, said animal health officials had yet to inform him of test results on 10 of his calves.
Samples from the animals were undergoing precautionary tests for foot-and-mouth after exhibiting signs of a virus - runny noses and swollen eyes - which Mr Matthews believes to be pneumonia. "They have not deteriorated any more. The vet inspected the animals again today and he was happy with them," he said last night.
A 3km temporary control zone has been set up around the possible new case at Mr Matthews' farm, after an "inconclusive assessment" of symptoms in cattle, Britain's department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) said.
Ms Coughlan said Thursday night's "prompt action" by Defra had demonstrated the seriousness with which they were treating each suspect case.
Yesterday's meeting between Ms Coughlan and her officials also considered an interim epidemiology report published by Defra. Ms Coughlan said she welcomed, in particular, the view of the UK's chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds that "the infection may be contained in the Surrey area".
Defra announced yesterday that it had decided not to commence a programme of vaccination for FMD, but that it was retaining "our full readiness to do so".
Vaccination is used as a disease control measure if it is demonstrated that steps additional to a slaughter policy may be required to eradicate the disease.
Defra said the initial findings of its report had concluded that while there was a risk of further cases in the same area, it was unlikely that infection from the original release of the virus would occur. But it warned that further cases could arise from secondary spread.
Ms Reynolds said the decision not to vaccinate at this stage demonstrated that the British government's contingency planning arrangements were working.
"The epidemiology report indicates that infection may be contained to the Surrey area. But these are our emerging findings, this is a developing situation and new information may come to light at any stage which changes our understanding of the outbreak," she said.
The Department of Agriculture and Food has published updated biosecurity advice for the organisers of agricultural, livestock and horse shows as well as marts and other such events.
It has also urged all concerned to apply proper biosecurity measures and, in particular, to provide adequate cleaning and disinfection developments.
In a separate development, four Fianna Fáil MEP's yesterday said the European Commission should give the Brazilian government one month to answer "justifiable" EU concerns about its system of beef exports to the EU. If adequate answers were not provided, a ban on these exports should be imposed, they said.