The foot-and-mouth virus spread to another part of Britain today amid fears the disease could lead to the slaughter of 500,000 sheep.
Britain's top vet, Mr Jim Scudamore, said the country was now in the throes of a "major outbreak" as the number of cases continued to rise - with the first outbreak in the West Midlands confirmed.
Officials were tonight making it a priority to discover how the virus spread to a herd of 90 cattle at a farm in Little Wyrley, Pelsall, near Walsall.
The outbreak there means the potent virus has now been found in 23 English counties with a surge of first cases in new areas over the last week.
Sixteen other cases were recorded today, all in areas previously affected by the disease, taking the overall total of confirmed outbreaks nationwide to 181.
Agriculture Minister Mr Nick Brown revealed that up to 500,000 sheep due to start lambing may have to be slaughtered in a desperate bid to stop the disease spreading further.
The animals, currently being kept in winter quarters, will need to be moved for welfare reasons and to free space for cattle during the spring.
But transporting them to other farms could create an unacceptable risk of infecting other sites, he said.
Mr Brown also admitted that the crisis was now of a "different order" than previously thought, but continued to insist it was "under control". He added: "There has been a tremendous amount of disease incubating in the national flock. We are now dealing with the problem which is on a different scale to the one it was three weeks ago."
Chief Veterinary Officer Mr Scudamore insisted the "major problem" was still characterised by a handful of regions which had been most affected by the virus.
The bulk of cases, he said, were still being put down to disease spread as a result of livestock movements through Longtown market in Cumbria and through a sheep dealer in Devon.
Both regions have among the highest concentrations of diseased farms and premises.
However, Mr Scudamore's comments are unlikely to have calmed fears in the farming community that nowhere is safe from the disease.
By this morning, a total of 155,000 animals had been earmarked for slaughter, of which 116,000 had already been culled. Investigations were also continuing at 159 farms and other premises.
Such figures prompted yet more criticism from the Government of Britain's handling of the crisis following yesterday's attack by natural resources minister Hugh Byrne.
Mr Brown revealed that he would be seeking a meeting with EU Food and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mr David Byrne ahead of next week's Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels.
He added: "It is not right to say that we are not dealing with it correctly".
"The important thing is that we stick together. The whole of the European Union has a vested interest in eradicating this disease in Britain."
Mr Brown said there were still no plans as yet to call on the Army to help with transporting thousands of livestock carcasses to a rendering plant in Cheshire, although the force's "very small veterinary resource" had been requested to help.
Concerns over the safety of foreign meat imports continued tonight after spinal cord, banned under tough BSE regulations, was found in a consignment of imported beef from Spain.
The material was discovered in two quarters of beef after being delivered to a cutting plant in Blackburn, Lancashire, on Friday.
Details of the breach have been sent to the Spanish Embassy in London and relevant authorities in Spain, said the Food Standards Agency.
The incident joins a growing list of recent alerts over foreign beef imports.