Government officials confirmed the infection with foot-and-mouth disease of cattle at a farm in southern Britain and a ban on livestock movement has been immediately imposed.

The infestation was located at a farm in Surrey and authorities decided to seal off the facility and set up a containment zone of 3 kilometers around the farm, along with banning the movement of all livestock across the UK.

A surveillance area covering Guildford, Woking, Godalming, Aldershot, Farnborough, Farnham and Frimley has also been established.

According to UK Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds, sixty cows have been diagnosed with the disease that affects cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, deer and rarely people. The animals will be culled and incinerated.

“We are trying to form a picture of where the infection may have come from but at the moment it's very early stages,” Reynolds said.

“It is the absolute priority at the moment to prevent further spread, and piece together information about how it might have got there in the first place.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown decided to interrupt his vacation in Dorset and return to London for a flash meeting of the emergency committee Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBRA).

The last outbreak of foot-and-mouth occurred in the spring and summer of 2001 and prompted the authorities to kill about seven million cattle and sheep across the United Kingdom, financial losses being estimated at 15 billion dollars.

By October the outbreak was quelled, but many farmers were left without animals as the crisis gave a huge blow to the tourism industry, especially in the area near Lake District in North West England.