Government vets in Britain are carrying out tests today after suspected foot and mouth disease was found in East Sussex.
A 1.8-mile (3km) temporary control zone has been put in place around premises near Rye after sheep showed possible signs of the disease.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said laboratory tests were under way.
If confirmed, the outbreak would be the first confirmed case of foot and mouth outside of Surrey since the summer. The disease has been identified at eight farms in Surrey since August 3rd.
England's farming community is also reeling from bluetongue disease, although restrictions put in place to prevent its spread were eased today despite the virus spreading to sheep.
Bluetongue, which has spread across the continent during the past year, emerged in the United Kingdom last month when a cow on a farm near Ipswich, Suffolk, was found to have contracted it.
Since then, the virus has migrated into Essex, and more than 30 cattle herds have been affected.
PA