Essex is the latest county to be brought into the Bluetongue zone (Image: Andrew Partridge)
Essex has been added to the Bluetongue zone in Suffolk and Norfolk as more cases come to light.
The county is the latest to be added to a Restricted Zone and Infected Area as government vets try to curb the spread of the disease, which is carried by infected midges.
Government officials said the decision followed confirmation of the BTV-3 virus - which doesn't affect humans but can be fatal for sheep, cattle and other animals - on a number of premises in Suffolk and continued evidence of local transmission.
The first case this season was confirmed at a farm in Haddiscoe in Norfolk on August 26 and since then other cases have emerged and the zone extended.
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