A "probable" new leak of foot-and-mouth disease has been discovered at the Merial Animal Health facility in Pirbright, Surrey, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said today.
The virus is believed to have escaped through a leaking valve last week, but inspectors have been assured it has not been released into the environment, Mr Benn said.
The Pirbright site, which also contains the Government's Institute for Animal Health, was the source of the foot and mouth outbreak in August.
The latest incident comes after the licence to use live viruses for vaccine production was restored to Merial on November 6th after the summer outbreak.
New measures were put in place to improve the drainage at the site, with both heat and chemical treatment to destroy live viruses.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has suspended Merial's licence, and an inspection team visited the site yesterday.